Wat Ratchapradit

About

Wat Ratchapradit Sathit Mahasimaram Ratcha Wora Maha Viharn rises on Rachini Road in Bangkok's Phra Nakhon District, just a step from the Grand Palace. The wat was elevated to first-class royal status in 1915.

The land had been designated a coffee plantation under King Nangklao. After his death, King Mongkut chose to raise a temple here instead: Ayutthaya had been graced with three great wats — Wat Mahathat, Wat Ratchaburana, and Wat Rachapradit — yet only two of those names had been re-established in Bangkok. Wat Rachapradit was to complete the triad.

When the ground proved too soft for ordinary foundations, the king devised a memorable solution: a public Thai dance performance was hosted on the site, with admission set at one empty garlic jar per audience member. The jars were used by the royal workmen as the foundation of the principal hall. Construction began in 1864 and was completed seven months later. The king appointed Sa Pussadeva of Wat Bowonniwet as the first abbot, and the temple became the first home of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya.

The principal structure, the Phra Viharn Luang, serves as both vihara and ordination hall. Raised on a platform clad in grey marble, its pediment bears a golden royal crown on a blue glass field — the emblem of King Mongkut. Inside, murals from the reign of Chulalongkorn depict the royal festivals of the twelve months, and beneath the main Buddha image rest the ashes of King Mongkut.

History

The temple was raised between 1864 and the months that followed, on a site that King Mongkut had specifically chosen to complete a trio of historic temple names — Wat Mahathat, Wat Ratchaburana, and Wat Rachapradit — that had once graced the kingdom of Ayutthaya. Its construction began on land previously designated a royal coffee plantation under his predecessor.

Sa Pussadeva, brought from Wat Bowonniwet Vihara, was installed as the temple's first abbot, and from him the wat became the founding home of the Dhammayuttika Nikaya. He was later raised to the position of Supreme Patriarch by King Chulalongkorn in 1893. The wat received its first-class royal status in 1915.