Wat Bamrung Tham วัดบำรุงธรรม - Ancient Ayutthaya Temple - Thailand 2023

Wat Bamrung Tham (วัดบำรุงธรรม)

Wat Bamrung Tham or the Monastery of Keeping up the Dharma is an active monastery located off the city island in the northern area of Ayutthaya in Ban Mai Sub-district.

In situ is a new monastic complex and an old de-consecrated ordination hall in the Early Ayutthaya style (1351 - 1488 AD). The old ubosot has a single elevated porch with two entries in the east and a back door on the western side. There are three rectangular windows on the northern and southern sides. The roof is two-tiered, which is an architecture feature which took root in the Middle Ayutthaya period (1488 - 1629 AD). On the western side of the ubosot stands a two-rabbeted angled chedi. The old monastic structures are surrounded by a wall (Kamphaeng kaeo or crystal wall), separating the monastic world from the secular world.

The new ubosot was built in the Late Ayutthaya style (1629 - 1767 AD). It is a very slender hall with a three-tiered roof. The gable is beautifully decorated with an image of Vishnu riding Garuda. There are five rectangular windows on the longest sides. The hall has two porches with two entries and is also surrounded by a wall. Four columns on each porch support the roof. The structure stands in a northwest-southeast alignment.

Wat Bamrung Tham was definitely in the Ayutthayan era a small local temple serving the
community in its vicinity. The temple grounds expanded over time. Historical data about
the monastery and its construction are unknown. Apparently the temple was known
before as Wat Saphan Yao or the "Monastery of the Long Bridge".

บำรุง = to maintain, keep up, keep in good condition; ธรรม = Dharma (Buddhist
teachings).

The old hall is in bery bad shape but after talking to a few people at the temple they told me the local government is planning on restoring the hall. This will help preserve part of the history of the area.

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