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Dhammayangyi Temple

Dhammayangyi pagoda is a huge and pyramid-shaped pagoda and looks a little clumsy from the distance. Built by Narathu to atone for the murder of his father and brother, it is the biggest of the lot. With a layout similar to that of the Ananda Temple but lacking the delicate, harmonious touch of its prototype, perhaps reflects the black cloud that hung over central Burma during Narathu’s reign. The masonary, however, is without equal at Bagan – it is said that Narathu oversaw the construction himself, and he had masons executed if a needle could be pushed between the bricks they had laid.

The building, however, was never completed because Narathu himself was assassinated. Narathu had by law taken his father’s wives as his own. He was displeased by the Hindu rituals of one of them – the daughter of the Indian prince of Pateikkaya – and he had her executed. Her vengeful father sent eight officers, disguised as Brahmans, to Bagan, and when Narathu received them in his throne room, they drew swords and killed him. The officers then slew one another, as agreed beforehand, to avoid further bloodshed.