[2] Known also as the Temple of the Reclining Buddha, its official name is Wat Phra Chetuphon Wimon Mangkhalaram Rajwaramahawihan[1] (Thai: วัดพระเชตุพนวิมลมังคลารามราชวรมหาวิหาร; pronounced [wát pʰráʔ tɕʰê:t.tù.pʰon wíʔ.mon.maŋ.kʰlaː.raːm râːt.tɕʰá.wɔː.ráʔ.má.hǎː.wíʔ.hǎːn]).

[6][12] The southern section of Wat Pho used to be occupied by part of a French Star fort that was demolished by King Phetracha after the 1688 Siege of Bangkok.

[6] In 1782, King Rama I moved the capital from Thonburi across the river to Bangkok and built the Grand Palace adjacent to Wat Pho.

[14] These include the remnants of an enormous Buddha image from Ayuthaya's Wat Phra Si Sanphet destroyed by the Burmese in 1767, and these were incorporated into a chedi in the complex.

In 1832, King Rama III began renovating and enlarging the temple complex, a process that took 16 years and seven months to complete.

The ground of the temple complex was expanded to 56 rai (9.0 ha; 22 acres), and most of the structures now present in Wat Pho were either built or rebuilt during this period, including the Chapel of the Reclining Buddha.

He also turned the temple complex into a public center of learning by decorating the walls of the buildings with diagrams and inscriptions on various subjects.

[9] The inscriptions were written by about 50 people from the court of Rama III and learned monks led by Supreme Patriarch Prince Paramanuchitchinorot (1790-1853), the abbot of Wat Pho, a Buddhist scholar, historian and poet.

[1] Apart from the construction of a fourth great chedi and minor modifications by Rama IV, there had been no significant changes to Wat Pho since.

The perimeter wall of the main temple complex has sixteen gates, two of which serve as entrances for the public (one on Chetuphon Road, the other near the northwest corner).

To this end a pictorial encyclopedia was engraved on granite slabs covering eight subject areas: history, medicine, health, custom, literature, proverbs, lexicography, and the Buddhist religion.

[22][27] These plaques, inscribed with texts and illustrations on medicine, figures with pressure points for Thai traditional massage, and other subjects, are placed around the temple,[28] for example, within the Sala Rai or satellite open pavilions.

[21][27] There are also drawings of constellations on the wall of the library, inscriptions on local administration, as well as paintings of folk tales and animal husbandry.

[1][32] The exterior balustrade surrounding the main hall has around 150 depictions in stone of the epic, Ramakien, the ultimate message of which is transcendence from secular to spiritual dimensions.

The ubosot is enclosed by a low wall called kamphaeng kaew,[33] which is punctuated by gateways guarded by mythological lions, as well as eight structures that house bai sema, stone markers that delineate the sacred space of the bot.

In its antechamber is Buddha Maravichai (referencing victory over Mara), sitting under a bodhi tree, originally from Sawankhalok of the late-Sukhothai period.

[8] The first, in green mosaic tiles, was constructed by Rama I to house the remnants of a great bronze standing Buddha from Ayutthaya called Phra Phuttha Sanphet.

They are each divided into 108 arranged panels, displaying the auspicious symbols by which Buddha can be identified, such as flowers, dancers, white elephants, tigers, and altar accessories.

Visitors may drop coins in these bowls as it is believed to bring good fortune, and it also helps the monks to maintain the wat.

[21] An annual celebration for the reclining Buddha is held around the time of the Siamese Songkran or New Year in April, which also helps raise funds for the upkeep of Wat Pho.

[53] The temple is considered the first public university of Thailand, teaching students in the fields of religion, science, and literature through murals and sculptures.

[57] Among these are 60 inscribed plaques, 30 each for the front and back of human body, showing pressure points used in traditional Thai massage.