Wat Arun

By Marie Moon

The river is choppy: muddy dishwater covered with a rainbow film of oil is churned by the roaring engines of longtail boats, plodding rice barges and ferries, similar to the one I am on today. It is still early and the inhabitants of the city pile into the narrow benches wearing sleepy eyes and business suits. While the city slowly awakens, the ferry propels me toward one of the oldest and most recognizable icons in Bangkok, the signature of the 10 baht coin, Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn.

The history of the construction of this landmark spans the reigns of five kings, from the Thonburi period until well into the Chakri Dynasty of the Rattanakosin or Bangkok period. The temple's endearing name, the Temple of Dawn, is both historic and symbolic. During the mid 17th century, an army General named Phaya Taksin and his followers fled Ayutthaya which was besieged by hostile Burmese armies. Stealthily gliding down the Chao Phraya River in the twilight before dawn the group landed on a quiet riverbed beside a modest temple known as Wat Makok Nok. The landing marked a new start for General Taksin and his people; the dawn of the Thonburi period of Thai history and big things for this small but very significant site.

In 1769, General Taksin declared himself King of Thailand and one of his first mandates was that Wat Makok Nok be renamed to Wat Chaeng, the temple of dawn. Throughout his reign, Wat Chaeng was the most important temple in the capital. The Wat became the Royal palace and temple of King Taksin and was thus the only place sacred enough to enshrine the Emerald Buddha and Phra Bang, a Buddha image of equal importance, when they were brought from Vientiane during the late 17th century.

When Taksin died, his second in command, another army General, was crowned Phutthayotfa Chulalok, King Rama I in 1782. Settling into his role as a new monarch, King Rama I moved his kingdom across the river to the island of Rattanakosin, off the east bank of the great river, where the royal capital has remained ever since. Eventually the Emerald Buddha was brought to the finer housing of the main temple of the Grand Palace; however Wat Chaeng endured as a strong symbol of Thai freedom and thus an important and revered religious site.

It was King Rama II who first entertained the idea of rebuilding Wat Chaeng into a national icon. He conceived a design for a Khmer style tower or prang, which would be elongated into a shape that would be distinctively Thai. It would be a marvellous feat of architecture and art, of the Buddhist religion and most importantly it would be a monument to the freedom of the Thai people. King Rama II devoted himself to the task of overseeing the project and he proved to be quite an inventive engineer. It was soon discovered that the soft riverbanks were not stable enough to hold the weight of the colossal tower, so King Rama II devised an ingenious solution. Hundreds of discarded Chinese water jars were upturned and driven into the soft clay and sand, thus reinforcing the foundation. The jars are still support the tower today and stand as evidence of this King's ingenuity.

Unfortunately in 1824, King Rama II passed away before any significant construction could be accomplished. It was not long before work recommenced, as in the same year Prince Chesdabodin was enthroned as King Rama III and he vowed to continue his father's work.

King Rama III was a great advocate of restoration and of protecting the rich religious history of his country. During his reign numerous sites were either constructed or restored, including Wat Po, the Phra Samut chedi and our beloved Wat Chaeng. He ordered that the prang be even taller than his father's design, from approximately 67m to 82m. He also added the four smaller towers that circle the main prang at each of the four cardinal directions. To decorate the structure, thousands of pieces of discarded Chinese ceramics were laboriously cut and sculpted into a colourful mosaic covering the entire plaster covered surface.

When King Rama IV ascended the throne in May 1851, he too declared to complete his brother's work. After almost thirty years under construction, the unfinished monument was already beginning to look a little run down, thus King Rama IV embarked on a total beautification process for Wat Chaeng adding a group of Thai angles, from the epic story Ramakien, to guard the prang. Phra Narai flies atop Krut, the half man - half bird character and Phra Intra is riding Erawan, the seven-headed elephant. The smaller prangs are presided over by the lovely heroine Phra Prai and her horse. These four smaller prangs also exhibit scenes from Buddha's life representing his birth, wisdom, his teachings and his enlightenment. King Rama IV also renamed the temple to Wat Arunrajawararam Rajaworamahavihara. In keeping with the symbolism of the temple, Wat Arun was named after Aruna, the Indian god of dawn.

Since its completion, Wat Arun has remained an important religious site and a strong icon of independence. The Chakri dynasty of Kings is tied to Wat Arun and thus during almost every reign, each King has made some contribution to the site. King Rama V removed two Thai pavillions from behind the prang, this ensures that with each setting sun the immaculate peeks and curves of Wat Arun provide spectacular photo opportunities. He also built a fence along the riverside that was embedded with his royal emblem.

The most recent change that the temple has seen occurred in 2002 to celebrate His Majesty the King's birthday. A spectacular light and sound show was performed, highlighting the long and colourful history of this landmark. The shows have become a regular nightly feature for river cruises and are a real hit with visitors. The effects of back-lighting and emotive music bring forth feelings of admiration and respect for the revered site.

Today Wat Arun receives top billing on most tourists' agendas; however for Thai Buddhists the temple still plays a vital role in religious ritual. Each year, as the rainy season begins, the period of Buddhist lent known as pansaa is commenced. Pansaa is a period of three months, during which young Buddhist boys come of age, by spending the pansaa in the temples, learning Buddhist scripture and gaining knowledge from learned monks.

At ork pansa, a when they emerge, a kratin ceremony is performed. During the Thai kratin ceremony, bright orange robes are donated to the monks as a merit-making gesture. Having enshrined the Emerald Buddha, spending pansaa at Wat Arun is a prestigious achievement and the kratin ceremony is presided over by none less than the King of Thailand himself. The event even sees the use of the magnificent Royal Barges that carry the King from Tha Ratchaworadit, near the National Barge Museum, to Wat Arun for the formalities before sending him back to the Grand Palace.

The approach to Wat Arun by river is impressive; rounding a bend, the temple suddenly sprawls out ahead. The skillfully designed ceramic mosaic gives the prangs a depth of texture that is best captured by the light of sunrise and sunset. A statue of King Taksin sits rigidly on a manicured green lawn in respect of the man who turned a modest local temple into the country's most recognizable landmark.

Wat Arun is open daily from 8:30am to 5:30pm and admission for visitors is only 20 baht. The temple is most easily accessed by river ferry from the Bangkok side at N8 Tha Tien, from here a smaller boat ferries people across to the temple for only one baht per person.