Marble Temple (Wat Benchamabophit)

Wat Benchamabophit Dusitvanaram (ไทย. วัดเบญจมบพิตรดุสิตวนารามราชวรวิหาร) is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Dusit district of Bangkok, Thailand. Also known as the marble temple, it is one of Bangkok's most beautiful temples and a major tourist attraction. It typifies Bangkok's ornate style of high gables, stepped-out roofs and elaborate finials.

Construction

Construction of the temple began in 1899 at the request of King Chulalongkorn after building his palace nearby. The temple's name literally means the Temple of the fifth King located nearby Dusit Palace. It was designed by Prince Naris, a half-brother of the king, and is built of Italian marble. It has display of carrarra marble pillars, a marble courtyard and two large singhas (lions) guarding the entrance to the bot. The interiors are decorated with crossbeams of lacquer and gold, and in shallow niches in the walls of paintings of important stupas all over the country. The cloister around the assembly hall houses 52 images of Buddha.

The Temple

Inside the ordination hall (ubosot) is a Sukhothai-style Buddha statue named Phra Buddhajinaraja, cast in 1920 after the original located in Wat Mahathat in Phitsanulok. The main Buddha image is a copy of Phra Buddha Chinarat that resides in Phitsanulok in northern Thailand. The ashes of King Chulalongkorn are buried beneath the statue. In the gallery surrounding the ordination hall are 52 buddha statues each showing different mudras (signs), collected by Prince Damrong Rajanubhab for his king. The temple was featured in the famous The Amazing Race 9 as the 10th and final elimination pit-stop. The image of the temple's façade is visible on the reverse side of the Five-Baht coin of the Thai currency. The site contains the Benchamabophit National Museum.

Worship and Festivals

Merit makers come to the monks of the temple for getting alms every morning. Between 6-7:30 in the morning, the monks line up on Nakhon Phantom with their bowls to receive donations of curry, rice, lotus buds, incense,toiletries and other essentials. . The evening candlelight procession around the bot during the Buddhist festivals of Magha Puja (in February) and Visakha Puja (in May) are common for this temple.

Protection

In 2005, the temple was submitted to UNESCO for consideration as a future World Heritage Site.

Crime

This temple is used as part of a Gem scam in Bangkok. The scam involves tourists buying fake gem stones. This temple is part of the free tour offered to potential victims.

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External links

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4sq Thailand
8 August 2011
Wat Benchamabophit, a fine modern Thai temple constructed from white Carrara marble with ornate crossbeams decorated with lacquer and gold.
Christian K.
4 November 2014
If you are taken by a TukTuk don't get ripped of! 20Baht per person is what you should spend the most for a 2-3hour trip through the area!
Simple Discoveries
20 August 2016
Nice temple off the main beaten track with a little park nearby. You can walk the outer grounds for free but entrance inside the temple's courtyard costs 20 baht for foreigners.
: P
20 February 2018
พ.ศ. 2441 ร.5 โปรดเกล้าฯซื้อที่ดินสร้างที่ประทับส่วนพระองค์ "สวนดุสิต" ที่ดินนี้มีวัดดุสิตสภาพทรุดโทรมใช้ที่ดินสร้างพลับพลาและวัดร้างอีกแห่งใช้ที่ดินตัดเป็นถนน พระองค์จึงทรงสร้างวัดเบญฯทดแทนตามประเพณี
: P
30 April 2018
พระวิหารสมเด็จ (ส.ผ.) ตึกจตุรมุข 2 ชั้น มุขด้านใต้เชื่อมกับมุขกุฏิสมเด็จ มุขด้านตะวันออกและตะวันตกขยายยาวเป็นชั้นเดียว หน้าบันและซุ้มประตูหน้าต่างปั้นลายก้านขดตราพระนามาภิไธยย่อ "ส.ผ." (เสาวภาผ่องศรี)
: P
30 April 2018
ศาลาสี่สมเด็จ (หอกลอง) จตุรมุขพื้นศิลาหลังคาช่อฟ้าใบระกา สร้างจากพระราชทรัพย์ ร.5 ร่วมกับสมเด็จพระเจ้าน้องนางเธอและสมเด็จพระเจ้าน้องยาเธอร่วมพระราชชนนีอีก 3 พระองค์ ที่พักผ่อนสำหรับพระสงฆ์และสามเณร
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69 Thanon Si Ayutthaya, Dusit, Dusit, Bangkok 10300, Thailand Get directions
Sun 6:00 AM–6:00 PM
Mon 7:00 AM–7:00 PM
Tue 7:00 AM–1:00 PM
Wed 7:00 AM–2:00 PM
Thu 7:00 AM–1:00 PM
Fri 6:00 AM–8:00 PM

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