Wat Bovoranives Vihara, the temple where King Rama V and His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej stayed during their monkhoods, tops a list of sacred sites to be renovated in honour of the 60th anniversary of His Majesty's accession to the throne.

Caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Surakiart Sathirathai said yesterday that the government planned to restore a total of 151 sacred sites across the country that are more than 60 years old and have histories related to the Chakri royal dynasty.

The list includes sites sacred to five faiths practised in Thailand - Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Brahman-Hinduism and Sikhism - as proof that His Majesty patronises all religions.

The project will cost more than Bt1 billion and be completed in two years.

Among the important temples on the list are several royal Buddhist monasteries, according to Fine Arts Department director-general Arak Sanghitkul. These include Wat Pho, or Wat Phra Chetuphon, which was almost entirely rebuilt by King Rama I when the capital was moved to Bangkok, and Wat Arun, or Temple of the Dawn, started by King Rama II and completed by King Rama III. The main Buddha image in Wat Arun is believed to have been designed by King Rama II.

There are also other royal temples of Kings Rama III, IV, V and VI.

"King Bhumibol has no royal temples so far. However, there are two temples connected to him - Wat Bovoranives, where he stayed during his monkhood, and Wat Rama IX," Surakiart said.

Most of Wat Bovoranives will be restored, while at Wat Rama IX a mural will be created about His Majesty's theory of sufficiency economy.

Wat Bovoranives is a royal Buddhist monastery built in the reign of King Rama III, located on the northeast side of Bangkok's Rattanakosin Island, just inside the ancient wall bordering Banglampoo canal, on Pra Sumeru Road. The monastery's name translates as "Temple of the Excellent Abode".

Among the temple's structures to be restored is its oldest, the Pra Tamnak Panya. Built in the Grand Palace during King Rama II's reign, it was relocated to Wat Bovoranives on the orders of King Rama III. Pra Tamnak Chan is another structure built by royal command - by King Chulalongkorn in memory of his daughter, Princess Chantra-saratvarn Kromakhun Pijit-jesachan.

Arak said the front hall of Wat Phra That Phanom, the most sacred and ancient religious monument in the Northeast, is among the religious sites to be restored in the provinces.

Wat Phra That Phanom is a Khmer-style temple built more than 1,000 years ago containing relics of the Buddha. It collapsed during a heavy storm in 1975. The pagoda was rebuilt but the front hall has been left as it is.

A new nine-gem breast chain will be created for the famous Phra Buddha Chinnarat in Phitsanulok, Arak said. The original breast chain was made in the early Rattanakosin period and stolen during a war.

Other sites on the list include Christian churches, Islamic mosques, including the Krue Se Mosque in Pattani, and many sacred shrines such as the Chao Mae Thap Tim shrine in Uthai Thani.  

Chatrarat Kaewmorakot

The Nation