© Libyan Soup
Dhammayangyi, Shwesandaw & Dhammayazika, Pagan, Burma.
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This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
Dhammayangyi (L) & Shwesandaw (C) Dhammayazika (R) seen from the very rarely accessible roof top of Sinmyarshin.
Pagan (Bagan), Burma (Myanmar).
JC13 082-83
Dhammayangyi (Bagan Monument Number 771)
The most massive structure in Bagan. It has a similar architectural plan to Ananda Temple. It was built by King Narathu (1167-70), who was also known as Kalagya Min.
Shwesandaw (Bagan Monument number 1568)
King Anawrahta built Shwesandaw Pagoda after his conquest of Thaton in 1057. This graceful pagoda was constructed at the centre of his newly empowered kingdom. The pagoda was also known as Ganesh or Mahapeine after the elephant-headed Hindu god whose images once stood at the corners of the five successive terraces.
The pagoda's bell rises from two octagonal bases which top the five square terraces. This was the first monument in Bagan to feature stairways leading from the square bottom terraces to the round base of the pagoda itself. This pagoda supposedly enshrines a Buddha hair relic brought back from Thaton.
Dhammayazika Pagoda is Bagan Monument Number 947
Built in 1198
Sinmyarshin (Bagan Monument Number 1478)
Built in the late 12th Century, Sinmyarshin Temple is a two-storey building consisting of an entrance hall and the main hall on the lower level. The main hall has two Buddha images, each facing east and west.
On the upper level are four sitting Buddha images facing North, East, South and West. There are beautiful stuccos carvings of lotus which can be rarely seen in the Bagan. On the inner walls of the hall are mural paintings.
Snakes?
I never really wanted to think about the dangers or the fact that Burma has the highest death rate from snakebites in the world.
On our second trip to Burma, in Pagan (Bagan), my wife encountered a large (2m / 6'6") browny green snake in the grounds of Sinmyarshin (Bagan Monument Number 1478).
Inadvertently she got rather close to it, but thankfully the snake was not interested in her and slithered off. She got a blurry shot of it as it disappeared over the perimeter wall. (See below)
After that we both became a little more edgy about snakes.
I thought the location of our snake sighting was appropriate for an evil serpent, because General Than Shwe was the donor who had paid for the restoration of Sinmyarshin following the earthquake damage of 1975 and that he continues to pay homage at Sinmyarshin whenever he visits Bagan.
Later on we met the keymaster of Sinmyarshin and he said there were many snakes. He then offered to open up the locked stair gate and we were soon rewarded with another wonderful panorama from the roof and soothed our nerves atop this rarely accessible temple.
Relating the story to locals they weren't surprised by the snake, but they were surprised that we had been granted access to the roof of Sinmyarshin, even for a little tea money.
Dhammayangyi, Shwesandaw & Dhammayazika, Pagan, Burma.
© All Rights Reserved
This image is not available for use on websites, blogs or other media without the explicit written permission of the photographer.
Dhammayangyi (L) & Shwesandaw (C) Dhammayazika (R) seen from the very rarely accessible roof top of Sinmyarshin.
Pagan (Bagan), Burma (Myanmar).
JC13 082-83
Dhammayangyi (Bagan Monument Number 771)
The most massive structure in Bagan. It has a similar architectural plan to Ananda Temple. It was built by King Narathu (1167-70), who was also known as Kalagya Min.
Shwesandaw (Bagan Monument number 1568)
King Anawrahta built Shwesandaw Pagoda after his conquest of Thaton in 1057. This graceful pagoda was constructed at the centre of his newly empowered kingdom. The pagoda was also known as Ganesh or Mahapeine after the elephant-headed Hindu god whose images once stood at the corners of the five successive terraces.
The pagoda's bell rises from two octagonal bases which top the five square terraces. This was the first monument in Bagan to feature stairways leading from the square bottom terraces to the round base of the pagoda itself. This pagoda supposedly enshrines a Buddha hair relic brought back from Thaton.
Dhammayazika Pagoda is Bagan Monument Number 947
Built in 1198
Sinmyarshin (Bagan Monument Number 1478)
Built in the late 12th Century, Sinmyarshin Temple is a two-storey building consisting of an entrance hall and the main hall on the lower level. The main hall has two Buddha images, each facing east and west.
On the upper level are four sitting Buddha images facing North, East, South and West. There are beautiful stuccos carvings of lotus which can be rarely seen in the Bagan. On the inner walls of the hall are mural paintings.
Snakes?
I never really wanted to think about the dangers or the fact that Burma has the highest death rate from snakebites in the world.
On our second trip to Burma, in Pagan (Bagan), my wife encountered a large (2m / 6'6") browny green snake in the grounds of Sinmyarshin (Bagan Monument Number 1478).
Inadvertently she got rather close to it, but thankfully the snake was not interested in her and slithered off. She got a blurry shot of it as it disappeared over the perimeter wall. (See below)
After that we both became a little more edgy about snakes.
I thought the location of our snake sighting was appropriate for an evil serpent, because General Than Shwe was the donor who had paid for the restoration of Sinmyarshin following the earthquake damage of 1975 and that he continues to pay homage at Sinmyarshin whenever he visits Bagan.
Later on we met the keymaster of Sinmyarshin and he said there were many snakes. He then offered to open up the locked stair gate and we were soon rewarded with another wonderful panorama from the roof and soothed our nerves atop this rarely accessible temple.
Relating the story to locals they weren't surprised by the snake, but they were surprised that we had been granted access to the roof of Sinmyarshin, even for a little tea money.