The roof is finished in barge motiffs of naga, three headed nagas. The viharn was the ho kham (throne hall) of the palace of King Chao Mahawong. Initially the building was a palace which was transformed in monastery afterwards. Above the entrance door of the viharn it can be seen a wonderful peacock above a coiled dog. The dog was the zodiacal animal of the king Mahawong.
Beautiful Lanna style sculptures can be seen in the wall which encircles the temple. A beautiful whitewashed chedi with golden peaks completes the temple structure.
Wat Phantao se deosebeste de celelalte temple vizitate prin faptul ca este construit in intregime din lemn de tek. De fapt, este unul dintre putinele temple din lemn, pastrate. Templul nu este prea vechi (1846) dar este un bun exemplu de arhitectura Lanna. Numele sau inseamna “manastirea celor 1000 de cuptoare”, indicand ca aici se turnau statui ale lui Buddha si pentru celelate temple din zona. Intrarea in templu este pazita de singha.
Spre deosebire de alte temple Lanna, unde acoperisul ajunge aproape pana jos, acesta este mult mai inalt. Terminatiile in forma de naga de pe acoperis se termina cu naga cu trei capete, iar pe coama acoperisului se vad innotand niste rate.
Inainte de a deveni manastire, templul a fost curte regala, viharnul fiind chiar ho kham din palatul regelui, adica sala tronului. Deasupra intrarii in viharn un paun splendid mestesugit sta deasupra unui caine incovrigat. Cainele era animalul zodiacal al regelui Chao Mahawong, pentru care s-a construit palatul devenit templu. El se regaseste si in filigranul de deasupra geamurilor.
In interiorul templului, o statuie aurita a lui Budha, in fata caruia se depun ofrande. Peretii sunt decorati cu paneluri cu sticla colorata. Pentru ca templul nu are ubosot, calugarii folosesc viharnul.
Sculpturi Lanna complicate sunt inserate in zidul care imprejmuieste templul.
Si aici, un loc aparte il are chedi-ul alb, cu varfuri aurite, aflat in renovare.
Ho tray, biblioteca de manuscrise, este construit din acelasi material rosu ca si sculpturile din zid. In curte, o mica statuie a lui Buddha se odihneste sub un copac plin de lampioane colorate. Sirul de clopote traditionale, se adaposteste sub umbrelute. Intr-un colt al curtii, langa viharn, vegheaza altarul pentru spiritele locului.
Foarte aproape de acest loc se afla si Centrul pentru arhitectura Lanna. Pentru ca era inchis, a trebuit sa ma multumesc cu o fotografie facuta prin poarta.
joo
It’s so beautiful! I love the woodwork with all these details, and the statue of Buddha is great!
Doug Hickok
The temple is such a beautiful place Traveling Hawk. It must have been fascinating to see it in person. I love seeing all the wonderful details through your eyes :^)
VP
Fascinating woodwork, I am always impressed by these temples and I am sorry I never visited one.
Traveling Hawk
I also liked the wood temple, Joo! There are also houses made of this wood – it looks very good, even if it is old enough.
Traveling Hawk
Thank you, Doug. It was a great trip, indeed.
Traveling Hawk
This trip impressed me also, VP, with the work of people before us, being it wood or stone.
Randy
I love the Buddha statues.
Traveling Hawk
They have been nice everywhere, Randy, coming in different size, positions, etc.
Helma
Hoi Traveling Hawk,
another great report, but what a strange name for a temple “monastery furnaces of 1000”! You have very beautiful the many details of this temple and outbuildings. Truly wonderful series.
Greetings, Helma
Traveling Hawk
Thank you, Helma!
Francisca
Both this and the previous temple are wonderful, Traveling Hawk. Great to see them through your lens (with a bonus of seeing you!)… I am falling behind on my blogging… but I want to thank you for the link to your Croatia photos, too… they are lovely. I am eager to return both to Thailand and Croatia!
Traveling Hawk
Thank you, Francisca, for being so active on my blog!
Rizalenio
I find the zodiacal animal dog very interesting. This place looks magical.
Traveling Hawk
Yes, it was something interesting to find out, Rizalenio.
magda
Wonderful photos!!!
I like so much the architecture, the carved wood, all the wonderful details that make their culture differs!
Thank you for so interesting tour and informations!
Many kisses
Kumiko
They’re really amazing photos.
I’m interested in statues of Buddha.
In Japan,there are similar statues of Buddha.
Maybe we have same origins of religion.
Life Ramblings
such a beautiful temple with incredible details. the Lanna sculpture looks awesome.
Traveling Hawk
I visited a lot of temples, ruins and palaces, Magda, so you will see more…
Traveling Hawk
Kumiko, there will be more photos of Buddha’s images. As far as I know, Buddhism appeared in Northern India and it traveled then in Asia, influencing many countries religion. I know your two major religions are Buddhism and Shintoism.
Traveling Hawk
I hope you will appreciate the posts which follow, revealing other temples too, Life Ramblings.
黄清华 Wong Ching Wah
The wood scupltured temple is rare in Malaysia !
Traveling Hawk
There are not so many in Northern Thailand either, Wong. This one is the most well kept.