Behind the shutters

Bangkok is not short of spectacular temples. But every so often, one that usually keeps its doors closed gives visitors a reason to look again.

Hidden within the grounds of the former Front Palace, Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat — better known as Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na — is currently open to the public until 20 September. For visitors and residents alike, this offers an all-too-rare opportunity to step inside one of Bangkok’s lesser-seen royal temples and explore an extraordinary painted world of Buddhas, Hindu gods, celestial beings and stories drawn from centuries of religious and artistic exchange.

Once inside, don’t rush.

At first, the decoration can feel overwhelming. Celestial beings and unknown deities hover high above. Rows of Buddhas occupy another level. Narrative scenes unfold across the lower walls. Hindu gods appear on window shutters. At the centre of it all sits a monumental Buddha, both hands raised in the distinctive Pang Ham Samut, or “Calming the Ocean” posture.

Spend a little longer here, and the apparent jumble begins to make sense.

Bangkok's other Wat Phra Kaew

The temple's nickname offers the first clue to its importance.

Wang Na means Front Palace, once the residence of the kingdom’s second-ranking ruler. Just as the Grand Palace had Wat Phra Si Rattana Satsadaram — the famous Wat Phra Kaew — the Front Palace had its own royal sanctuary. Like its better-known counterpart, Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat has no resident monks.

The site was once occupied by Wat Luang Chi, a temple dating from the reign of Rama I. After falling into disrepair, it was demolished during Rama II’s reign and the grounds were turned into a garden where, rather charmingly, rabbits were kept.

The temple visitors see today was commissioned by Prince Maha Sakdiphonlasep, ruler of the Front Palace during Rama III’s reign. He died before it was finished, and work later continued under King Pinklao and King Mongkut during Rama IV’s reign.

The result is an imposing cruciform ordination hall standing on a three-tiered platform. But the real reason to come is waiting inside.

How to read a temple

The best way to approach the murals is not to try to understand every scene. Instead, find a spot near the centre of the hall and start by looking up.

The interior unfolds in layers.

Celestial deities occupy the upper walls. The 28 Buddhas of the Past appear above the doors and windows. Lower down is the legend of Phra Buddha Sihing, the revered Buddha image that was once intended for the temple. The doors and window shutters introduce yet another realm: divine manifestations and guardian deities.

Suddenly, you realise you’re Robert Langdon or a professor trying to read religious iconology and symbology as you roam around the ordination hall. The decoration becomes a map of a sacred universe, and this is where Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na gets particularly interesting.

Hindu gods in a Buddhist sanctuary

Turn your attention to the shutters and you'll find figures that seem to belong to another religious world.

The Fine Arts Department identifies Hindu deities in various manifestations, Ganesha, the Ten Incarnations of Narayana and supernatural beings drawn from Indian traditions, including the Mahabharata and Puranic literature.

Don't expect a straightforward guide to Hindu mythology, however.

These Bangkok painters weren't simply reproducing Indian religious art. The stories had travelled and changed along the way’, filtered through Thai literature, beliefs and court culture. The Thai tradition of Narai Sip Pang, or the Ten Incarnations of Narayana, developed its own interpretations, so trying to match every figure with the standard Indian Dashavatara can quickly lead you astray.

A better approach is to play detective.

Look for multiple arms, unusual weapons and animal companions. Garuda can point towards Vishnu, Nandi the bull towards Shiva and a mouse towards Ganesha. Sometimes it's what the figure is doing — defeating a demon or performing an episode from mythology — that gives the identity away.

You don’t need to identify them all. Half the fun is trying.

Sun and Moon

If you want an easier challenge, head towards the western wall.

On the inner window shutters beside the principal Buddha image are two figures whose identities are firmly documented: Surya, the Sun God, and Chandra, the Moon God. Their position on either side of the Buddha places the two celestial bodies within the ordered universe surrounding him.

Ganesha should also be relatively easy to spot — the elephant head is something of a giveaway.

But don’t stop there. Count his arms. Look at what he carries. See whether you can find his mouse vehicle. Then look at his clothes and appearance.

This is where the paintings reveal something more interesting than simply who's who. These are Indian gods that have been reimagined through the visual language of the Siamese court.

When the gods guard the windows

One of the most intriguing details is easy to miss: these figures weren’t painted on the shutters simply because someone thought they looked good there.

The divine manifestations, known as thewapang, function as guardians of the sanctuary. With the shutters closed, they occupy the threshold between the sacred interior and the outside world.

The windows also have two personalities.

Outside, they’re covered with gilded woodcarving, mirror inlay, vegetal patterns and ceramic decoration. Step inside and they become surfaces for gods and cosmology.

Open the shutters and the divine figures effectively disappear against the walls.

Close them and the gods return.

It’s a small piece of theatricality in a building full of grand religious imagery — and perhaps the detail you’ll remember the longest.

Before you leave

Give the architecture some attention too. The cruciform ordination hall rises from a three-tiered platform beneath a roof of coloured tiles. Its cho fa roof finials take the distinctive pak pla, or “fish-mouth”, form, rather than the pak nok, or “bird-mouth”, style associated with the Grand Palace.

Then take one final circuit of the interior.

Bangkok’s temples can sometimes encourage a checklist approach: Buddha image, mural, gilded doorway, photograph, next stop. Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na rewards the opposite. The longer you look, the more connections emerge between Buddhism and Hindu mythology, India and Siam, literature and painting, architecture and cosmology.

And because the temple isn’t routinely accessible, there’s an added pleasure in simply being here.

For a few more weeks, this usually hidden corner of Bangkok's royal past is open. Take your time with it.

If you go

Wat Bowon Sathan Sutthawat (Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na) is a short walk from the National Museum, via Na Phra That and Rachini alleys. The temple is open daily until 20 September 2026 from 9am to 4pm. Admission is free, and no advance registration or reservation is required. For the widest choice of times, visit on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday or Sunday, when tours run at 9.30am, 11am, 1pm and 3pm.

Don’t treat this as a quick temple stop. Allow at least an hour, and spend part of it simply studying the shutters. Knowing the identity of every deity isn’t necessary — looking for the clues is part of the experience.