Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
The temple itself is one of the earliest two-storey structures in Bagan, looking a bit like the
Thatbyinnyu but smaller and more dumpily proportioned. A huge golden alms bowl stands
in the entrance hall, with three huge Buddhas squeezed into a trio of tiny shrines behind -
their cramped living quarters are said to symbolize the captivity and reduced circumstances
of Manuha himself. A large reclining Buddha occupies a fourth, slightly larger, shrine at the
back of the temple.
Nanpaya
Directly behind the Manuha Paya • Daily 8am-6pm • To reach it, exit the courtyard of the Manuha Paya via the
steps in the southwest corner (i.e. the rear left-hand side as you look at it from the entrance), turn left and it's
right in front of you; alternatively, follow the small track around the Manuha Paya wall on the left side of the
temple through the red and gold arch and you'll see it almost immediately on your left
Like the adjacent Manuha Paya, the
Nanpaya
(“Palace Temple”) is closely associated with
Manuha, the deposed king of Thaton. One legend states that Manuha lived here during his
yearsofexile;another,thatitwasbuiltonthesiteofManuha'sformerresidencebyhisgrand-
son during the reign of Narapatisithu, although the temple's distinctively low and heavy-set
early-period design style suggests that it's at least a century too old for this particular theory
to be true.
Whateveritsprovenance,theNanpayaisoneofBagan'smoreoffbeatstructures.It'sunusu-
al chiefly for being constructed largely of sandstone rather than the customary brick, while
the stumpy little shikhara-style curvilinear tower on top may have been the first of its kind
in Bagan, setting a trend for rooftop towers rather than stupas which would henceforth be the
city's defining style. Note too the finely carved floral frieze running around the base of the
windows, with tiny
hamsa
inserted within each swirl of leaves.
The
interior
is similarly interesting, with a unique open-plan arrangement featuring four
massive sandstone pillars. Etched onto the pillars are some of Bagan's finest carvings. Gape-
mouthed
kirtimukha
are shown on two sides of each pillar, while the other sides sport three-
headed images of the Brahma (often co-opted into Buddhist mythology) holding a pair of
lotus flowers. A now-vanished Buddha statue originally stood in the centre.
Apeyadana Paya
Bagan-Chauk Rd, just south of Myinkaba village • Daily 8am-6pm
Named after (and possibly commissioned by) King Kyansittha's first wife, the diminutive
Apeyadana Paya
(or Abeyadana) is a superb example of Bagan's early-period architecture,
its exterior decorated with fine brick-lattice windows and with a Sri Lankan-style rooftop
stupa above (very similar to the one at the Pahtothamya in Old Bagan, which was built at
roughlythesametime).InsidesitsanimageoftheBuddhaflankedbyhistwochiefdisciples,
SariputraandMogallana,whilemanybeautiful
murals
adorntheentrancehallandverydark
ambulatory (bring a torch). Queen Apeyadana, originally from Bengal in India, was possibly
