พระอุโบสถวัดหน้าพระเมรุ

หน้าบันพระอุโบสถ

พระประธานภายในพระอุโบสถวัดหน้าพระเมรุ

พระพุทธรูปแบบทวารวดีในพระวิหารน้อย

Wat Na Phra Mane

Wat Na Phra Mane is located on the right bank of Lob Buri River in north of the Ancient Palace. King Ramathibodee 2 commissioned constructing it in 1503. Originally, its name was “Wat Phra Merurachigaram”.  King Maha Chakkapat used this temple to make a contract with King Burengnong for ceasing fighting in 1549 in a war called “Songkhram Changphuak (War of fighting on white elephants’ backs).
Wat Na Phra Mane’s Ubosot

The temple was renovated three times, once in the reign of King Boromakot, and the other two in the reign of King Nang Glao in 1835 and 1838. The things we see nowadays are the mixture of the new things and the old things transferred from Ayutthaya period, the reign of King Buddha Lerdla Napalai, the third king of Rattanakosin (Bangkok) period, and King Bhumibol, the present reign. Remarkably, this temple was not destroyed when Ayutthaya was lastly defeated.
The Ubosot contains 9 rooms with 41 meters long. It was situated on a high base that makes the Ubosot visibly large and high. The temple has been renovated until the reign of King Buddha Lerdla Napalai, and the Ubosot’s gables were carved wood primed with black lacquer and covered with gold leaves. The gables were also decorated with pieces of colored glass, and the wood was carved in figures of the god, Vishnu (in Thailand called Phra Narai or Narayan) mounted on Garuda standing  on naga’s head and on top of the demon head, Ra-hoo (A monster supposed to cause eclipses by taking the moon and the sun) surrounded by a group of 26 gods placing their palms against palms. There were three doors as entrances into the Ubosot. The top of the large middle door panel was decorated like roof of a casle, and the door was used only as the entrance of very important people. The door mentioned was later blocked and leaving only a high window.

Inside the Ubosot, there are 8 pairs of huge octagonal pillars with budding lotus supporting the wooden roof structure. The wooden beams are beautifully carved and the ceiling adorned with wood carving in stars and the moon in the sky.

The Small Wihan

The Small Wihan or Wihan Noi was constructed in the reign of King Buddha Lerdla Napalai, the third king of Rattanakosin. The wihan was decorated with patterns and modeled figures. The doors and windows were carved in western and Chinese flowers like the style favored in King Buddha Lerdla’s reign, especially the patterns of flowers in vases and altars in Chinese style.
The Buddha image in Tharawadee style in Wihan Noi

A big Buddha image in Tharawadee style is situated inside Wihan Noi. He was a seating Buddha image putting his feet on blooming lotus and made from dark green stone. He was said to be moved from Wat Na Phra Mane in Nakhon Pathom, the place where many Buddha images in Tharawadee style were discovered. Two Buddha images in this style were moved to Ayutthaya (The other one is at Chao Sam Phraya National Museum).
The Buddha image has many remarkable characteristics as follows:

1. The halos around the image’s head has flame indicating Chinese influence.
2. The short hemline exposes the image’s left knee, and looks different from those of other images in Thailand.This is similar to the images of Phra Sri Ariyamettrai created during the Tang Dinasty in China.
3. Hands of the image rest on the knees, which is different from the postures known in Thailand.

Reference
Kasetsiri, Chanwit, editor. (n.d.). Discovering Ayutthaya. pp. 98-100.