lonely-planet-myanmar-burma-11-edition

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TEMPLES OF BAGAN

THE TEMPLES

Tayok Pye Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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A couple of hundred yards north of Leimy-

ethna by dirt road, this spired temple gets

attention for the views from its upper reach-

es (though its top level is now closed).

Payathonzu BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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Across the main road from Tayok, this com-

plex of three interconnected shrines (the

name means Three Stupas) is worth see-

ing for its 13th-century murals close up. It

was abandoned shortly before its construc-

tion was complete. Each square cubicle is

topped by a fat sikhara; a similar structure

appears only at Salay (p 128 ). The design is

remarkably like Khmer Buddhist ruins in

Thailand.

You enter the middle shrine. To the right

(south) are scratched-up, whitewashed

walls. The other two shrines (particularly

the northernmost one) are home to lovely,

vaguely Chinese- or Tibetan-looking mural

paintings that contain Bodhisattva fi gures.

Whether these indicate possible Mahayana

or Tantric infl uence is a hotly debated issue

among art historians. Some drawings are

rather crudely touched up.

The three-shrine design hints at links

with the Hindu Trimurti (triad) of Vishnu,

Shiva and Brahma, a triumvirate also asso-

ciated with Tantric Buddhism. You might

also say it represents the Triple Gems of

Buddhism (buddha, dhamma and sangha),

except that such a design is uncommon in

Asian Buddhist architecture, although it

does appear in the Hindu shrines of India

and Nepal.

Thambula Pahto BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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This square temple, surrounded by crum-

bling walls just north of Payathonzu, is deco-

rated with faded Jataka frescoes and was

built in 1255 by Thambula, the wife of King

Uzana. It’s often locked, but go to the (shaded

at midday) doors and peek through the gate

to see into wall and ceiling murals. A mural

of a boat race can be seen from the southern

entrance; good ceiling murals are seen from

the north side.

Nandamannya Pahto BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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Dating from the mid-13th century, this

small, single-chambered temple has very

fi ne frescoes and a ruined seated buddha

image. It’s about 220yd north of Thambula;

a sign leads down a short dirt road. (It’s the

one to the right.)

Nandamannya earns its reputation from

its mural of the ‘Temptation of Mara’, in

which nubile young females (vainly) attempt

to distract the Buddha from the meditation

session that led to his enlightenment. The

undressed nature of the females shocked

French epigraphist Charles Duroiselle, who

wrote in 1916 that they were ‘so vulgarly

erotic and revolting that they can neither be

reproduced or described’. Times change: the

topless women can be seen, without blush-

ing, on the back left wall.

The murals’ similarity with those at

Payathonzu has led some art historians

to suggest they were painted by the same

hand.

Just behind the temple is the Kyat Kan

Kyaung, a working underground monastery

dating from the 11th century. Mats on the

tunnel fl oors are used for meditation.

Nyaung U Area

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The main site in this area is the superb

Shwezigon Paya.

Shwezigon Paya BUDDHIST TEMPLE

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At the west end of Nyaung U, this big, beauti-

ful zedi is the town’s main religious site, and

is most famous for its link with the 37 nat.

Lit up impressively at dusk the gilded

zedi sits on three rising terraces. Enamelled

plaques in panels around the base of the

zedi illustrate scenes from the Jataka. At the

cardinal points, facing the terrace stairways,

are four shrines, each of which houses a

13ft-high bronze standing buddha. Gupta-

inspired and cast in 1102, these are Bagan’s

largest surviving bronze buddhas.

A 4in circular indentation in a stone slab,

before the upwards-heading eastern steps,

was fi lled with water to allow former Myan-

mar monarchs to look at the refl ection of the

hti without tipping their heads backwards

(which might have caused them to lose their

crowns).

The most important site here is the small

yellow compound called 37 Nat (in English)

on the southeast side of the site. Inside are

fi gures of all the 37 pre- Buddhist nat that

were offi cially endorsed by Bamar monarchy

in a compromising gesture towards a pub-