Wat Neua (วัดเนือ)

Thai. Name of a Buddhist monastery located in the Amphur Selaphum (เสลภูมิ) in Roi Et. Affiliated with the Mahanikaya order and functioning as a community monastery, it occupies a land area of approximately 30 rai, 1 ngan, and 1 square wah. Although the present monastery was formally established in 1879 AD, archaeological evidence indicates that the site is significantly older. Within the temple grounds stands an ancient brick Mon–Dvaravati-style chedi, distinguished by its square base, tiered superstructure, and remnants of stucco decoration characteristic of early historic religious architecture on the Korat Plateau. This chedi is regarded as one of the oldest surviving religious monuments in Roi Et Province and suggests that the area formed part of the broader Mon–Dvaravati cultural sphere, which flourished between the seventh and eleventh centuries AD. The presence of this chedi implies the existence of a local religious community long before the founding of the present village and monastery. Surrounding the chedi are numerous Dvaravati-style sandstone bai sema embedded around the chedi. These stones were discovered in 1983 when the chedi's was being restored. The contemporary monastery was granted wisung khama sima, the consecrated boundary authorizing ordination rituals, on 30 April 1928 AD. Its principal structures include a 200-year-old Isaan-style sim (ubosot) measuring 6 by 14 metres, a sala kaan parian constructed primarily of timber and measuring 15 by 18 metres, several kuti of both wooden and concrete construction, a multi-purpose hall built in 1984, and two reinforced-concrete halls used for merit-making and funerary rites. The temple houses two principal Buddha images and many subsidiary statues. In a section of the temple's outer wall stands a stone pillar made from laterite. It is circular with a distinctly rounded top, standing on a square base. It measures approximately 25 centimetres in width and 1.5 metres in height, with an inscription at the lower section arranged in tiered layers resembling lotus petals. The inscription, written in the Pallava script of ancient southern India from the Dvaravati period, reads ‘Punnamaya’, a term meaning ‘one who has merit’, ‘one who has created with a generous heart’, or ‘one who has established something to designate a merit-making area’. This significant artefact was discovered on 29 August 1922 at Khum Sra Ahng (คุ้มสระฮาง), on the sidewalk in front of the home of Nai Chuay Hohthaayut (นายช่วย โฮธายุทธ), in Nai Meuang (ในเมือง) Subdistrict, Meuang District, Roi Et. Archaeologists believe that it may once have served as a city boundary marker or as a marker of a Buddhist sanctuary. Upon its discovery, the villagers were overjoyed. They held a seven-day celebration, after which the pillar was ceremoniously paraded around Roi Et city. It was then brought to Wat Neua, where it has been enshrined ever since. In front of the temple sits Phra Phutta Chayantih Mahamuni Bophit, a large Buddha statue in the pahng nahg prok pose. The statue is positioned on an elevated base that functions as a small hall. Within this hall are wax effigies of highly venerated monks, including of Somdet Phra Yannasangwon, the 19th Supreme Patriarch of Thailand (fig.) and Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong (fig.). WATCH VIDEO and VIDEO (EN). 回