Wat Poh Thong (วัดโพธิ์ทอง)

Thai. ‘Temple of the Golden Knowledge’. Name of a Buddhist temple in Bangkok's Jomthong (จอมทอง) District. Off the beaten track and tucked away in a quiet corner along some small canals in western Bangkok, this charming temple has a great variety of unique statues of Buddhist and Hindu mythology. It also has a multiple domed hall dedicated to King Rama X with murals depicting scenes from his life and coronation. The main and central image of worship in this hall, i.e. the Phra prathaan, is however a large statue of the Hindu god Ganesha. In addition, it houses a number of life-sized golden statues depicting deities from Hinduism, as well as from Buddhism, from both the Mahayana and Theravada schools of thought. Its inner walls, ceiling and domes are adorned with colourful murals. The painting of the ceiling of the lobby is fashioned in the form of a giant mandala, while the main dome has a large painting of the legless demon and god of darkness Rahu swallowing the sun, or alternatively the moon, which is here represented by a rounded window that lets in the natural light. There is also a large mural depicting the Churning of the Ocean of Milk and opposite of it a mural of the god Indra riding his three-headed elephant Airavata, who was produced during the churning of the Ocean of Milk and whose name means ‘Arisen from the Ocean’. The elephant, known in Thai as Erawan, is painted thrusting towards the viewer. The adoration of the royal family is also expressed in the murals of the temple ubosot, that has a number of depictions from scene in the life of King Rama IX, as well as of the Grand Palace and some famous historical and Buddhist sites in and around the capital, such as the Golden Mount of Wat Saket, the Mahakan Fort (Pom Maha Kaan) and Phra Phutta Monthon. The complex also has a small mondop or sala-like edifice, known as Wang Ong Phaya Muchalin Nagaraat (วังองค์พญามุจลินท์นาคราช), i.e. ‘Palace of the Naga-King Phaya Muchalinda’. On either side of its front entrance is a statue of a hermit (reusi): one standing, the other seated. Inside are a number of rather unique statues, including one of Tao Ramathep, Phra Upakhut (Shin U Pagok), Phra Siwalih (Shin Thiwali), Trimurti, Phra pit tah (Phra Maha Ut) seated on a coiled snake, and so on. The temple also features a large teak building in traditional style which in the front has an outdoor altar with a variety of deities, including statues of several yak (giants), Phaya Suban (Garuda), Phra Sangkatjaai seated on a turtle, Phra Siam Thewathiraat, etc. In the back of this wooden building, on the canal side, is a statute of a dancing Ganesha, flanked by two Garudas and facing a golden multi-headed naga that stands with its back to the canal. To the left of this is a wooden sala with a golden statue of King Rama V wearing the Crown of Victory, and a scale model of an ancient three masted sailing ship. Another unique statue is found to the left on the outside of the southern entrance to the temple complex, i.e. a Buddha image in the Pahng nahg prok pose, in which the snake coils its body around the Buddha (fig.), rather than depicted as usual, i.e. with the Buddha seated in meditation on the coiled body of the naga (fig.). This statue on the outside of the temple wall forms the back of a shrine within the temple complex that houses other rare statues, such as that of Muchalinda seated on a multi-headed snake and a multi-headed Shiva. In the centre of the complex, underneath a tree in between the many buildings, is a gilded statue of Bhumidevi (Thoranih), the goddess of the earth, whilst in the tree hang traditional Thai dresses in various colours, clothes typically worn and offered to Mae Soi Manee (แม่สร้อยมณี), i.e. the ‘mothers of the ruby necklace’. Also transliterated Wat Pho Thong. WATCH VIDEO. 回