page_title: Sukhothai Historical Park
section_title: Wat Mahathat
hierarchical_section_title: Sukhothai Historical Park / Sights / Wat Mahathat
caption_attribution_description: วัดมหาธาตุ อุทยานประวัติศาสตร์สุโขทัย Wat Mahathat .Sukhothai ,Thailand.2006
context_page_description: Sukhothai Historical Park covers the ruins of Sukhothai, literally 'dawn of happiness', capital of the Sukhothai Kingdom in the 13th and 14th centuries, in north central Thailand. It is near the city of Sukhothai, capital of Sukhothai Province.
  The city's walls form a rectangle about 2 km east-west by 1.6 km north-south. There are 193 ruins on 70 km² of land. There is a gate in the centre of each wall. Inside are the remains of the royal palace and twenty-six temples, the largest being Wat Mahathat. The park is maintained by the Fine Arts Department of Thailand with help from UNESCO, which has declared it a World Heritage Site. Each year, the park welcomes thousands of visitors.
context_section_description: Wat Mahathat or Mahathat Temple (Thai: วัดมหาธาตุ) is the most important and impressive temple in Sukhothai Historical Park. The temple's name translates to 'temple of the great relic'. The temple was founded by Sri Indraditya, between 1292 and 1347 as the main temple of the city as well as the Sukhothai Kingdom. The design is based on a mandala, representing the universe, with a principal stupa, built in 1345 to enshrine relics of the Buddha, surrounded by smaller stupas in eight directions. The main stupa has the shape of a lotus bud, which characterizes Sukhothai architectural arts. Its base is adorned with 168 stuccoed sculptings of Buddhist disciples walking with their hands clasped together in salutation. The eight smaller stupas, of which the four at the corners are in Mon Haripunchai - Lanna style and the four in between show Khmer influence. At both sides of the main stupa has two nine-metre-tall (30 ft) standing Buddha images called Phra Attharot (Thai: พระอัฏฐารส). The temple also includes an assembly hall (vihara), mandapa, ordination hall, and 200 subordinate stupas.
caption: Wat Mahathat
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