Wat Mahaeyong (วัดมเหยงคณ์)

Thai-Singhalese. Name of an ancient Buddhist temple in Ayutthaya, which was built in 1438 AD and commissioned by King Borommarachathiraat II (1424–1448). The temple is located north of the former royal palace and has a walled corridor decorated with lotus motifs, that connected to the arched entrance of the ubosot and was reserved for the king and members of the royal family (fig.). The temple also features a bell-shaped chedi with a square base of which the surrounding area is decorated by a row of White Elephants, similar to Wat Sorasak in Sukhothai (map - fig.) and Wat Chang Lom in Sri Satchanalai (fig.). Prior to the first fall of Ayutthaya in 1569, this monastery was used by the Burmese King Bayinnaung as his military headquarters, while his armies besieged the city. After the fall, he also received the defeated Ayutthayan King Phra Mahinthrathirat in this temple. Eventually, the temple was deserted after the last fall of Ayutthaya in 1767. The elephant terrace of Wat Mahaeyong is depicted on a Thai postage stamp issued in 1994, as part of a set of four stamps to commemorate the annual Thai Heritage Conservation (fig.). Also transcribed Wat Maheyong. See MAP. 回