Murals at Phra Vihara of the Reclining Buddha

King Rama III ordered a major renovation of Wat Phra Chetuphon to preserve the original structures together with the construction of a new complex. He instructed Krommuen Phumintharaphakdi (Prince Ladawan), who was supervising the construction, to ensure that the craftsmen built the Reclining Buddha before the Phra Vihara. The Reclining Buddha, cast in brick and stucco, lacquered and gilded, measures 46 meters in length and 15 meters in height. The feet of the Buddha are five meters in length and three meters in height. The soles feature 108 auspicious symbols inlaid with mother-of-pearl. In the middle there is the feature of a wheel, which symbolizes one of the spiritual signs of a great man. The Reclining Buddha is the most beautiful of its kind in Thailand.

Murals at Phra Vihara of the Reclining Buddha have existed in this temple for hundreds of years. They tell the story of Buddhism and how it flourished in the land of Suvarnabhumi – and these tales have strongly inspired many Buddhist devotees. These fine murals have faded with the passage of time and hence in recent years, renovation work started and thankfully with the excellent craftsmanship of the artistes, the difficult tasks of restoring the murals have been mostly successful.

Murals at Phra Vihara of the Reclining Buddha are divided into two sections. The first section is found above the four window panels and on kho song (the secondary beam placed between the main roof beams). It depicts scenes from the Mahavongsa, which chronicles the history Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) and the spread of Buddhism to the land of Suvarnabhumi and traces the regimes of the Sinhalese kings of Ceylon. The second section, covering the area between 32 window panels, illustrates 13 bhiksuni (female monks), 10 laymen, and 10 laywomen.

The significance of these murals is that they not only depict interesting details of the history of Buddhism but they also show many interesting representations of the Thai way of life, such as the types of houses people lived in, and the games played during that period of time. One such example is the story about Phra Nang Khema Theri, King Pimphisan’s Queen. She had such strong faith in Buddhism that she asked permission from the Buddha to enter the monkhood. Another story is about Phra Nang Sukhon Wanna Theri, the beautiful daughter of a millionaire, who also asked to be ordained. It was told that while meditating on Buddhist principles in the forest one day, she was raped by her cousin who was later killed in a terrible accident.
Foreign influence is also depicted in the paintings – such as through the European and Chinese-styled houses, and pictures of foreigners of various nationalities. The abbot of this temple believed that these pictures were the works of Khrua-inkhong, who adopted the Western painting techniques which were not well-known in those days. Another mural relates the story of a wealthy man’s daughter, Phra Nang Patacharatheri. It was told that she had an affair with a servant, became pregnant and had to escape from home. The servant, who escaped with her, later married her.

Although the Indian tradition required a woman to deliver her baby at her parents’ home, Phra Nang Patacharatheri did not -- as she delivered her baby whilst she was on the way to her parents’ house. A tragedy struck later when her husband was killed by a snake as he was gathering branches to make a bed for their second child. Alone Phra Nang Patacharatheri traveled with her two children to her parents’ house. Along the way, she was struck another blow of misfortune as her first child drowned and her second child was taken by an eagle. Upon reaching her destination, she was even more distressed when she found out that her parents’ house had burned down. Utterly bereaved, she traveled on and then she met Buddha who advised her on how to deal with her sufferings. She listened to him and believed and she was later ordained, becoming one of the Buddha’s most disciplined devotee.

Mr. Somyos Thassaneekul, chief of the restoration team, said, ”My team and I are very proud to be involved in this mural restoration. Few people are given this unique opportunity to repair these murals left to us by our ancestors. Although the work is not easy, as the murals represent invaluable significance to the rich culture of Thailand, it is important. Preserving these traditional Thai paintings will enable our children and future generations to appreciate the history of our culture. We also need to encourage and inspire a new breed of craftsmen so that they too would continue to create such works of art in the future.

The restoration work, supported by both public and private organizations, took over seven years to complete. Now masterpieces created by the craftsmen of the Rattankosin era can be displayed to the public for them to enjoy and such significant work of art will continue to remain and be cherished for as long as Thais take pride in their cultural heritage.

Source : kinnaree.net