This palace has an area of 218,400 sq. meters and is surrounded by walls built in 1783. The length of the four walls totals 1900 meters. Within these walls are situated government offices and the Chapel Royal of the Emerald Buddha besides the royal residences. When Siam restored law and order after the fall of Ayudhaya the monarch lived in Dhonburi on the other side of the river. Rama I, immediately on ascending the throne, moved the centre of administration to this side of the Caopraya, and after erecting public monuments such as fortifications and monasteries, built a palace to serve not only as his residence but also his offices- the various ministries, only one of which remains in the palace walls. This palace came to be known as the Grand Palace, in which the earliest edifices contemporary with the foundation of Bangkok were the two groups of residences named the Dusit-Mahaprasad and the Maha-montien.
THE CHAPEL ROYAL OF THE EMERALD BUDDHA
Just north of the Royal Residence of the Mahamontien from which there is a connecting gate lies the ground of the Chapel Royal of the Emerald Buddha. It consists of all the architectural features of a monastery with out however a residential quarter, for monks do not live here. The Assembly hall, of uposatha, serves as the monarch’s private chapel. Hence the partition on either side of the main altar intended as a retiring room, which is never to be found anywhere else but the only other chapel royal, that of King of Dhonburi, which serves now as the Assembly Hall of the monastery of Arun within the former grounds of the palace of that King. The “ Emerald Buddha”, is really one-piece jade. It is an object of national veneration and crowds come in to pay respect to the memory of the Buddha and His Teachings on certain days of the weeks when it is open to the public. It sits high up on an altar of gold designed to represent the traditional aerial chariot ( Busabok, Sk. Pushpaka) attributed to Hindu gods on the murals of this country.
The effigy was first discovered in Chiengrai in 1464, brought down to Lampang where it remained till King Tilok of Lannatai brought it to Chiengmai, where it was fitly enshrined. Later on, there occurred a vacancy in the Lannatai line of succession and King Jayajettha of Luang Prabang, whose mother was a Chiengmai Princess, was invited to fill it. He however returned to his nativeland in Luang Prabang after a comparatively short rule here, taking the palladium with him back to his capital. Then King Jayajettha moved his capital to a newly built town of Wiengcand taking the Emerald Buddha again with him. It remained there for a long time till the King of Dhonburi sent a punitive expedition under Caopraya Cakri to Wiengcand which brought back with it the famous effigy of which the King of Dhonburi was very proud. When King Rama I built the city of Bangkok with the chapel royal and the grand palace, the Emerald Buddha was installed with pomp and ceremony in the chapel.
In front of the high altar Rama III set up two newly cast standing images of the Lord in dedication to his predecessors on the throne, which were named Pra Putthayodfa and Pra Putthaloesla. Now, at that time it was deemed impolite to refer to elders by their personal names. Rama I was usually spoken of as the initial reign, Rama II as the middle reign and Rama III the present reign. Obviously such a nomenclature could not last. The founder of the dynasty soon became His Majesty of the statue of Pra Putthayodfa and his successor His Majesty of the statue of Pra Putthaloesla, and later still they were shortend into merely Pra Putthayodfa and Pra Putthaloesla respectively. King Rama VI decreed the expediency of referring to his predecessors simply as Rama with due ordinal numbers because all of his predecessors bore the name Rama among other names in the full official title.
There is one other effigy held in high veneration within the area the Sambuddhabarni Buddha- cast by King Mongkut, Rama IV, and placed on a seat in front of the high altar.
The murals within this building are:
(1) above the window frames the traditional life-story of the Buddha commencing with the south west corner on the right of the high altar where is depicted his birth, childhood, youth and renunciation in search of Truth; On the wall fronting the high altar the temptation and enlightenment, the figure underneath the Buddha’s seat being that of Mother Earth; continuing thence along the north wall the mission and death with is immediate consequence till we reach the north-west corner of the wall. At the back is painted the middle-aged conception of the universe.
(2) Between the windows are depicted some of the so-called birth-stories.
(3) Behind the window panels are nursery rhymes.
(4) Some of the panels of the doors contain exquisite inlaid work in mother-of-pearl.
They all depict episodes from the Ramakien.
THE UPPER TERRACE
On this are four main monuments: the Reliquary in the shape of a golden cedi, the Repository of the Canon of Buddhism with its mother-of-pearl case now provisionally removed elsewhere, the model of Ankor Wat presented to King Mongkut; and the Royal Pantheon where statues of past sovereigns of the ruling dynasty are enshrined
Scattered round these monuments on the terrace are fanciful animals in mythology, evolved out of the imagination of artists, valued for their aesthetic inspiration. The models of elephants record those of the “ white” variety in respective reigns in the past
SUBSIDIARY BUILDINGS
To the north of the terrace on level ground we find three interesting buildings, namely the Library the west façade of which is said to be the finest in Bangkok; the gabled vihara decorated with tiles and porcelain; and the mausoleum of the Royal Family where are kept the crematory relics of a number of members of the Royal Family. Behind the Assembly Hall on the west side are two small chapels housing effigies of the Buddha, in the northerly one of which are murals accredited to the famous painter In Khong of the fourth reign period. The murals have been so toned down with age that they look all the more aesthetic.
THE GALLERIES
The whole ground is enclosed by the galleries, the murals of which depict the story of the Ramakien of the first reign version. If we start at the east gate we come to the initial stages of the war waged by Rama of Ayodhya to rescue his wife who had been abducted by Ravana, King of Lonka. Here are depicted episodes of the building the causeway from the mainland, of the campaign of Maiyarab the Magicain who took the sleeping Rama away to the netherworld, the campaigns of Kumbhakarna and Indrajit, the brother and son respectively of Ravana and other campaigns waged by Ravana himself, his other relatives and allies. The battle in which Ravana, loses his life is to be found just beyond the gate leading into the royal palace.
THE MAHAMONTIEN
This consisted of three main buildings, namely:
(1) the Audience Hall of Amarindra, where ceremonies of the Court usually take place in front of the throne surmounted by its canopy of nine tiers of white cloth and backed by a boat shaped altar fronting the door leading into the inner chambers.
(2) Paisal Hall where the coronation of a monarch takes place with its coronation chair and the octagonal seat where the monarch receives the people's invitation to rule, and in the centre between the seats an altar containing the symbolised figure of Saim, by the name of “ Pra Syamadevadhiraj”’ or shortly “ Pra Syam” traditionally invoked for the good weal of the state.
(3) Descending from here we come to the antechamber to the Cakrabardibiman building which was the residence of Kings Rama I, Rama II and Rama III. It has subsequently become customary for the sovereign to pass at least one night there after the coronation to signify his taking up official residence. On either side of the door into residence chamber of Cakrabardibiman are depicted seals of state the Lion of the Minister of the Interior, the Elephantine Lion of the Minister of Defence, the Deity of the Crystal Lotus of the Minister of Foreign Affairs etc. entering the living apartments of Cakrabardibiman by mounting a series of steps we come to a hall, at the left of which on the east side is the royal bedchamber. On the west of the hall is a reception chamber where are now kept the regalia and other paraphernalia of kingship.
CAKRI GROUP
The Cakri group was built and resided in by King Culalongkorn, Rama V ( 1868-1910 ). Only the reception portion is now used, consisting of two wings for reception purposes decorated with galleries of portraiture. In between is the central throne-hall now used for various purposes and invariably for the reception of foreign envoys on the occasions of the presentation of their credentials. It is aptly decorated with four canvasses of diplomatic receptions. One on the right as one enters depicts the reception by Queen Victoria of King Mongkut’s ambassador in London, further on Louis XIV’s reception of the mission sent by King Narai of Ayudhya in the Gallerie des Glaces in the palace of Versailles, a third, on the other side of the room, King Mongkut’s reception of the French Envoy, and the fourth the reception at Fontainebleau by the Emperor Napoleon III of another Siamese Mission. The crystal decorations of the hall are mostly presents from foreign monarch to King Culalongkorn. By the side of the inner grand staircase is the dining hall attached to the building.
THE DUSIT GROUP
Here we have an audience hall with a throne of mother-of-pearl surmounted by the usual nine-tiered white canopy, the mark of a duly crowned king. At the back of this audience hall is yet a living quarter. All are built in pure Siamese architecture of perfect proportions. In front of this group is the Disrobing Pavilion-Abhornbhimok which was reproduced and sent to adorn the Thailand exhibits at the exhibition of Brussels in 1958.
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