Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
cock and a hare (symbolizing the sun and moon respectively), while immediately behind
that image stands a small square
Commemorative column
inscribed in Burmese, English,
French and Russian and honouring the student leaders of the
1920 revolt
.
Continuing around the terrace, the exceptionally florid
Rakhaing Tazaung
(or Arakan
Pavilion) was commissioned by a pair of wealthy Rakhine merchant brothers and houses a
huge reclining Buddha almost 10m long, plus miniature sculptures showing the founding of
the Kyaitktiyo temple.
Between the western and northern staircases
A
Kassapa Buddha
image stands in a shrine opposite the top of the western stairs. Just past
the western staircase, a shiny-bright shrine with dazzling glass mosaic pillars houses a rep-
lica of the
Buddha's Tooth
(a copy of the original, held in Kandy's Temple of the Tooth in
Sri Lanka). Diagonally opposite, on the base of the stupa, is a small golden statue of
King
Okkalapa
, the ruler who is said to have helped establish the original Shwedagon Pagoda
back in 588 BC, while behind the Buddha's Tooth pavilion a
museum
houses items gifted to
the pagoda over the years.
Continuing around the terrace, a pavilion on the northwest side of the stupa holds the su-
perbly decorated bronze
Bell of King Singu
(also known as the Maha Ganda Bell), com-
missioned by King Singu in 1778, weighing almost 25 tonnes and standing over 3m tall. An
attempt bytheBritishtostealthebellbackfiredwhentheboatcarryingitsankintheAyeyar-
wady; it was subsequently rescued and restored by the Burmese.
The large area of open terrace directly in front of the bell pavilion is known variously as
the “
Auspicious Ground
” or “
Wish-fulfilling Place
” and is said to be particularly favour-
able for the granting of boons - hence the locals who can usually be found praying here. Be-
hindhereisthehugeseated
ChanthargyiBuddha
,thetemple'slargest,andthesmall gilded
Shinsawbu Buddha
(to the left of the Chanthargyi Buddha), donated by
Queen Shinsawbu
herself. A small
photo gallery
next to the Chanthargyi Buddha has some interesting shots
of the pagoda including close-ups of details (including the extravagant
hti
) impossible to see
with the naked eye.
Further around is the eye-catching
Sacred Hair Relic Washing Well
(signed
“Hsandawtwin” [Hair Relic Well]), an odd-looking green and blue shrine with glass mosaic
inlay, built in 1879 over the site of the spring in which the Buddha's eight hairs are said to
have been washed before being enshrined in the pagoda.
Between the northern and eastern staircases
Theterraceonthenorthernsideofthestupaismuchlargerthanonothers,coveredinadense
anddisorientingmazeofshrines.Facingthenorthernstairs,theshrineatthebaseofthestupa
housesanimageofthehistoricalBuddha,
Gautama
.Diagonallyoppositeistheunusual
Ma-
habodhiPagoda
, a garish parody of the great Mahabodhi Stupa at Bodhgaya in North India,
