157THE TEMPLES
TEMPLES OF BAGAN
TEMPLES OF BAGANNORTH PLAINThought to have been built between 1090
and 1105 by King Kyanzittha, this perfectly
proportioned temple heralds the stylistic
end of the early Bagan period and the be-
ginning of the middle period. In 1990, on its
900th anniversary, the temple spires were
gilded. The remainder of the temple exterior
is whitewashed from time to time.
The central square measures 58yd along
each side. Upper fl oors are closed to visitors.
The entranceways make the structure a per-
fect Greek cross; each entrance is crowned
with a stupa fi nial. The base and the terraces
are decorated with 554 glazed tiles showing
Jataka scenes, thought to be derived from
Mon texts. Look back as you enter to see the
huge carved teak doors that separate interi-
or halls from cross passages on all four sides.
Facing outward from the centre of the
cube are four 31ft standing buddha statues.
Only the Bagan-style images facing north and
south are original; both display the dham-
machakka mudra (a hand position symbol-
ising the Buddha teaching his fi rst sermon).
The other two images are replacements for
fi gures destroyed by fi re in the 1600s. All four
have bodies of solid teak, though guides may
claim the southern image is made of a bronze
alloy. Guides like to point out that if you stand
by the donation box in front of the original
southern buddha, his face looks sad, while
from a distance he tends to look mirthful.
The western and eastern standing buddha
images are done in the later Konbaung, or
Mandalay, style. If looked at from the right
angle, the two lions at the eastern side re-
semble an ogre. A small, nut-like sphere
held between the thumb and middle fi nger
of the east-facing image is said to resemble
a herbal pill, and may represent the buddhaHISTORY OR LEGEND?A lack of primary sources means the ‘histories’ attached to Burma’s early kingdoms are
often a matter of opinion and creative interpretation. ‘The best way to treat any legend-
ary story is as a legend’, says Sydney University’s Dr Bob Hudson, an archaeological
expert on Myanmar. He points out that some contemporary scholars have quite diff erent
interpretations of the story of Bagan.
‘Michael Aung-Thwin, in his book Mists of Rammana (University of Hawaii Press),
proposes that there was no conquest of Thaton, and that a Mon element in the popula-
tion of Bagan got there because they had been pushed westward out of Thailand by the
expansionist kings of Angkor. The appearance of Indian art styles at Bagan also did not
need to come via Thaton. Following the conquest of Buddhist and Hindu principalities in
eastern India by the image-shunning Muslims, the logical destination for an Indian artist
who specialised in painting or carving human fi gures was the economically booming and
devoutly Buddhist Bagan. The Indian art style became modifi ed by local tastes and tech-
niques, creating a distinctive Myanmar style.
‘And the idea originally proposed by the 20th-century historian G H Luce, that the
early, dark temples represent the brooding nature of the captive Mon, while the later
high, airy temples show the outgoing nature of the Burmans, has an explanation that
relies on architecture, not on imagined ethnic traits: the engineers of Bagan simply got
better over time at using the arch, which they had adopted from India, and thus could
build more spacious interiors.
‘Doubt has also been cast on the tale of a Buddhist king of Bagan irreligiously tearing
down temples to build fortifi cations against the advancing Mongols. This is more likely a
‘cautionary tale’ about the kinds of things that kings should never, never do. And while there
was certainly a Mongol invasion of the northern borders of the kingdom in the late 13th
century, there is no real evidence that they attacked the capital. There is indeed a painting of
a Mongol archer on a pagoda wall at Bagan, but he is cheerfully shooting at a duck, while his
senior offi cer lounges under a tree. The provincial lords in the north, who actually did fi ght
off the Mongols, were so successful that, as the economy of Bagan deteriorated under the
burden of temple construction, a new series of capitals slowly grew up around Mandalay
and Ava. Bagan was not so much destroyed as relegated to the second division.
‘Some of these interpretations remain contentious. You might fi nd the discussions on
some of the Burma/Mon history websites highly entertaining, especially if you thought
academics are all full of reasoned arguments and civilised discourse!’