Jewel__A_Celebration_of_Earth_s_Treasures

SHWEDAGON PAGODA 257

T

he Shwedagon Pagoda in

Yangon, Myanmar’s capital city,

is a stupa (Buddhist reliquary) that

was built to house eight of the

Buddha’s hairs, as well as other relics. It is

one of the most sacred Buddhist pagodas

and, with its gold plating and precious

stones, is also one of the most opulent.

The pagoda rises 99m (326ft) from a

hill above the city. The lower part is covered

with 8,688 gold plates and the upper part

with 13,153. The top of the stupa, too high

to see clearly from the ground, is set with

5,448 diamonds, a mixture of 2,317 rubies,

sapphires, and other precious stones, and

1,065 golden bells. It is tipped with a huge

76-carat diamond.

The stupa dazzles in the sunshine

and emits a golden glow when illuminated

at night. It is traditionally said to be 2,600

years old, making it the world’s oldest

stupa, although evidence suggests it is

more recent, possibly from around 6th–10th

centuries CE. According

to legend, two brothers,

merchants from Balkhin

(in present-day Afghanistan) met the Lord

Gautama Buddha and were presented with

eight of his hairs, which they later brought

to Burma. With the help of local ruler King

Okkalapa, they travelled to Singuttara

Hill where three relics of other Buddhas

preceding Gautama were also enshrined.

The relics were placed in a chamber filled

knee-deep with jewels, covered with a

stone slab, and entombed when the stupa

was built around them. Since then the

pagoda has been rebuilt, ransacked, and

restored, but throughout it has remained

a crucial site of veneration.

Key dates

6th century CE–2012

500

1500

1600

1700

1900

6th–10th century CE

The pagoda is built by the

Mon people, an ethnic

group from Burma

1485 King Dhammazedi

donates a bell weighing

275 tonnes (300 tons)

1400s Queen Binnya Thau

raises the pagoda to 40m

(131ft), assigning land and

slaves to maintain it

1946 General Aung San

addresses a crowd at

the stupa demanding

independence from the British 2000

2010

1800

Shwe Dagon dominates the

city physically, aesthetically

and spiritually

Win Pe

Author and artist

Shwedagon pagoda

Pagoda with the Great Bell of Dhammazedi in the foreground,

once thought to be the largest bell in the world. The bell has

since been lost in the Yangon River, Myanmar

Top of the stupa set with

diamonds, rubies, sapphires,

and other precious stones

△ Statue of Buddha at the Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar

1300s King Binnya U

rebuilds the derelict pagoda

to 18m (59ft) in height

1608 Portuguese

adventurer Filipe de Brito e

Nicote steals the bell, but it

sinks into the Bago River

1768 An earthquake brings

down the top of the stupa.

King Hsinbyushin later

raises it to 99m (326ft)

1988 General Aung’s

daughter, Aung San Suu

Kyi, addresses 500,000

people at the stupa,

demanding democracy

2012 Devotees celebrate

the annual Shwedagon

Pagoda Festival for the

first time since 1988

Gold plating

General Aung San,

politician and revolutionary

1852 British reoccupy the

pagoda during the Second

Anglo-Burmese War

1824 Pillage and vandalism

occurs during the First Anglo-

Burmese War when the

British occupy the Pagoda

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