Shwedagon Pagoda

Myanmar is known as “The Land of Pagoda” because any direction you may go, there is a pagoda or there is no place or mountain without the pagoda. Among the many stupas in Myanmar, it is the elegant Shwedagon pagoda that is the most famous and one of the nine wonders all over the world.

It is located on the top of the last mountain-spur stretched out from Bago Mountain Range and traditionally called “Singuttra hillock”. This hill has a height of 190 feet above sea-level and some 20 miles inward from the mouth of the river. At the very first vision, it is seen as the solid gold-mould and glittering under the sunshine whereas it is highly venerated for years and symbol of perfection to a typical Myanmar stupa and architectural-formation.

The historical background of Shwedagon dates back over 2500 years ago and deeply intercourse with the appearance of Gautama Buddha in this present world. Here, the origin of that grand pagoda is traced on legendary basis only and no concrete evidences are found.

In the full-moon day of Waso, 103 MAHA Era (6 century B.C), Gautama Buddha attained Enlightenment and Buddhahood after six-long years strenuous efforts and then he resided a week at seven holy places each. At that time, two merchant-brothers of Tapussa and Ballika from Paukkrawaddy of Okkalapa kingdom went on trade to India and they were accompanied by 500 bullock-carts of caravan. On the way, they were informed that the Omniscient Buddha had presented in India by a guardian-spirit of woodland who was once their relative in previous existence. On hearing that auspicious news, the two merchant-brothers were filled with ardent-desire to worship and turned their direction to Uruvela forest where Buddha had resided. They paid homage and offered honey-ball and other cakes called Kywet-Kyit, then they asked the Buddha for taking two-orefugees; (1) I go to Buddha for refugee (I take refuge in Buddha) (2) I go Dhamma for refugee (I take refuge in Dhamma) as there was no Buddhist Order or monk then. Finally, they requested pledged to the Buddha to have something for veneration. The Lord Buddha had his head shaved and handed the eight-strands of hair-relic to them. Thus, they happily started their return by marine. On the way, they faced many a difficult and danger. At last, they successfully came back to the jetty of Hapinn. King Okkalapa had already acknowledged about the hair-relic in advance and had himself sank in to the neck-deep of water surface for receiving the relic. It was accompanied with a grand pomp and thousand of military leaders. Thus, the jetty came to be known as Bothataung which meant Thousand Military Leaders.

Then the king and people of Okkalapa searched for Singuttra hill and dug on the summit. Coincidely, the three-relics of previous Buddhas were unearthed. After sometimes of veneration, the hair-relic of Gautama Buddha together with the three relics namely the staff of Kakusanna Buddha, the water-dipper of Konagamanna, and the lower gourment-robe of Kasappa Buddha, was enshrined inside the underground relic-chamber (Dar-Tu-Ga-Ba) measured in 44 cubic high (66 feet), wide and long. That was filled with so many precious-stones and enclosed by set of mechanical automations around.

The ceremony was held at tide-up on Wednesday, full-moon day of Tabaung (March) in 103 Maha Era. From the centre of the relic-chamber, the gold, silver, tin, copper, iron, marble and ironed-brick stupa were encased one after another up to a height of 44 cubics (66 feet) on completion. As of being enshrined with theree previous relics, the newly built pagoda was called Tiguba in Pali-Literature meant the place where the three relics were unearthed. Later it was changed Ti-gon-ba to Da-Gon.

Later, the pagoda was hidden in the bushes and grave of vines for some about 230 years, and there was no trace on records. Only when Ven-Ashin Sona and Uttra came to Suvamnabhumi Thaton in 259 B.C, the Shwedagon was recovered and came into public-veneration. That was clearly mentioned in Mahavamsa (The Great Chronicle) of Sri Lanka.

After that, the records and evidences were confusing to everybody. During the reign of King Banya U (1369-1385 A.D), the founder of Second Hanthawaddy Kingdom and dynasty, he rebuilt the Shwedagon up to a height of 84 feet. Onward, the successive Mon Kings practiced for the preservation and conservation to shwedagon pagoda. During the reigns of Queen Shinsawpu (1432-1452 A.D) and King Dhammaceti (1452-1472 A.D), the pagoda was enlarged up to 302 feet and gilded with pure-gold the weight equal to their respective body-weights. The reconstructions were recorded on 3 stone-slabs in details. These stone-inscriptions are the very first concrete evidences on Shwedagon’s history and could be seen under the sheltered-house at the North-East corner on the pagoda platform.

Finally, king Sin-phyu-Shin of Inn-Wa in 1774 A.D, raised the pagoda to its’ present height of 326 feet (99.6 meters). By then it was more or less fully transformed into the magnificent spectacle that is what we see in presence.

Now, the elegant Shwedagon has a pagoda platform of 900 feet from North to South and 700 feet from East to West, enclosed by a massive wall around with four main-shrine halls and covered stairways in cardinal points. Though it has been suffered many a natural disaster; at least 14 times of serious earthquakes, it is still standing fast amid the spacious platform and high-plinth. The whole platform is inlaid with white and black marble-slab. On the platform, over a hundred of rest-houses, pavilions, prayer-hall are facing to the central pagoda and surrounding which are beautifully decorated and crowned by Pyatthats, pyramidal tiers of decorative-roofing. Their interiors contain Buddha-images and decorated with mural painting portraying the different episodes of Jataka-stories and Buddha’s Life-stories. Their doorways and spandrels are adorned with beautiful wood-caving in floral designs. Some of the biggest of them, as in the main-shrine halls, are gild-columns studded with colorful glass-mosaic. No better living testimony to be seen the architectural and constructional capabilities of Myanmar ancient pagoda builder as shwedagon attains the standard symmetry and axial balance. Thus, Shwedagon is itself a museum of Myanmar traditional ten arts and crafts as well as the centre for souvenirs such as toys, drums and musical instruments, ivory-wares, silver wares, mother-O pearl, books on culture and religion, papier-mâché mask and so many item, stalled along the covered stairways. Among the four-covered stairway, the southern one is the most common. There are lifts, except for the West whereas the escalator for the convenience of old-age and tired pilgrims.

Architecture of Shwedagon Pagoda

Glittering under the sunshine and assuming as if the solid gold-mound, this is, one of the nine wonders over the world, grand Shwedagon pagoda and no one passes through Yangon without a visit to that pagoda in order to walk around its’ platform, admiring the excellent architecture style and shrine as well as pavilions encircling the central stupa.

As of having all the essential features of Myanmar stupa, it has reputable for a perfect architecture and as the excellent model of Myanmar stupa whereas Shwezigon in Bagan is the prototype, the smoothing out to contour has gone much more further and there is a smooth continuous alignment from the base up to the crowning point.

From the architectural point of view, Shwedagon is solid and cist-type stupa, which has considerably developed in the shape from the great SANCHI stupa in Madhya Pradesh about 40 miles away from Bhopal province and an intermediate form of Thuparama stupa in Anruadhapura of Sri-Lanka, regarding the oldest stupas in the respective regions. The construction of a stupa was clearly mentioned in one of the 74 translation scripts by the learned Chinese monk Xuanzang (620-645 A.D)

“The Buddha took his three clothes, folding each one into a square and piled them on the ground starting the largest and finishing the smallest. Then, turning-over his alms-bowl, he placed it on top of them and setup the staff upon the whole. Thus, he said, is a stupa made”.

This mentioned us not only the three basic elements of a stupa but also the form which these should a square base (The folded robes), a hemispherical dome (The inverted alms-bowl), and a pole like spire (the staff).

Based on this account, the three basic elements of Shwedagon could by studied vertically from the base to its apex, the stupa appears impressive by virtue of different sections in harmony.

The stone-wall with gates in all four cardinal points of great-Sanchi stupa and the four shrine-halls of Thuparama pagoda are composed in that grand Shwedagon pagoda in a new-scene, the four main shrine-halls facing the entrance in cardinal points against the central base.

The circular three terraces of Sanchi stupa is transformed into octagonal in form with projections at corners in Shwedagon whereas the terraces of Shwezigon in Bagan are high squares. There is a peculiarity in the octagonal terraces of Shwedagon pagoda; while the four sides of cardinal points are straight edges, the rest four sides have serrated edges. In the rite so going around the venerable object is kept on the right and the circumambulation is made in clockwise position, representing the motion of the sun in reality. Then, the four cardinal points are denoted with the four main events of Buddha’s life; The East = Nativity, The South = Enlightenment, The West = Turning of the Wheel of Law (Dhammasacca), The North = Entering Parinibbana.

Above the terraces, there rises an octagonal form of structure, shit-myaunt in Myanmar Language means eight-turning at the corners. The boldness of abrupt-change from the light-terraces to the high hemispherical dome in Sanchi stupa and from the high square terraces upward to the massive-dome in Shwezigon are changed in Shwedagon where the octagonal terraces with projections at corners through clear octagonal structure recedes to the dome-shape in alignment harmoniously. Thus high-square base and octagonal-terraces, a feature of beautiful transition which occurs in such Mon Pagoda as Shwemawdaw at Bago, may be regarded as the peculiarly of Mon architecture and lower Myanmar style.

The dome of Shwedagon pagoda is not hemispherical like that of great Sanchi stupa, but flares at the base, assuming the form of a bell. The convexity of Chinese temple and the concavity of India are at the base and the upper end of bell-shape in Shwedagon respectively, sharing the effect of good-looking. This is encircled a chest-band in the form of turban twisted fold, its middle, forming two different-parts in one structure; the above part of the girdle or chest-band is called The Beik = The shape of upturned alms-bowl whereas the lower below of the girdle is called Khaung-Laung of Bell-rim which is connected to the base by a series of five concentric rings or circular-bold, kyi-wun in Myanmar pronunciation. In the upper part of bowl is ornamented with a decorative hanging-flower, taking the shape of two pairs of volutes and pendant shaped like a banyan leaf.

The simple spire and an umbrella of 3 tiers at Sanchi stupa is here largely changed in many an extra part in the spire of Shwedagon in its structure and theme. The conical spire is divided into four parts. The lowest part at the base of cone takes the place of square harmika at Sanchi stupa and Thuparama, in the form of seven irregularly spaced concentric-rings called Baung-yit in Myanmar = protuberant coils. The second part is reminiscent of the double-layers lotus, an upturned lotus on an inverted lotus, served as the pedestal for sacred Buddha images. Lotus often represented symbol of purification and omniscience. The double-lotus on the spire is encircled in the centre by a ring of spherical boss or glass-globes and each lotus bares two layers of petals; The kya-yin = lotus in a gracious-structure and The kya-nu = lotus in the form of tendency-manner. This structure of lotus is always associated with idea of supporting foundation of the universe as well as suggestion of the Buddha in the samyutta Nikaya; the lotus is born in the mud, full grown in the water, rise to pass over so the Buddha surpassed the world and is not affected by the bound of the world.

The third part is bearing in the shape of elongated teardrop, called banana bud and the last and uppermost of the spire, the crowning section of the pagoda is in the form of seven-tiered spire and called Umbrella-section, a proper orientation of the king’s diadem or crown, is classified into three various elements; the umbrella, the weather vane and the diamond orb. The umbrella is made up of seven concentric tiers in a conical-structure, portraying the seven mountain ranges, which encircled the world Mr. Meru as the centre of universe in Buddha’s cosmology. The weather vane is in a triangle-shape and for the perching-sand of holy-bird such as Hansa, bat which always indicates the wind-direction in encircling of the central pivot. The diamond-orb recounts the symbolic meaning of adamantine and indestructible knowledge with which the Enlightenment is achieved and ignorance is absolutely rooted out.

Overall, the three basic-elements, the base, dome and spire, the architecture formation and theme of grand Shwedagon is differed from the great Sanchi stupa, the oldest Buddhist stupa and one of 84000 stupas built by King Asoka in 3 century B.C. certainly, the emphasis at great SANHI stupa is on the distinctive hemispherical dome, called Anda-egg, but in the Shwedagon, the emphasis shifts to the spire which is merely adjunct to the dome in Sanchi and the smallest part but the richest-section crowning the entire-stupa so the original meaning of protection and royalty of it is lost and is meant the symbol of power and supremacy at the topmost. The conical spire becomes dominant in Shwedagon and the transformation of harmika from a square to a circular form, the flaring at the base of dome makes the whole-stupa assumes a conical-shape, not in cyclindrical-form. The remindful relic mould is transformed as Mt. Meru, the world mountain and centre point of the world axis. The Shwedagon is elegant and tapering into the sky while Shwezigon in Bagan is the symbol of massive and bold in structure.

King Singu Bell

In India and Ceylon, almost all the temples have been decorated with different bells for their meritorious deeds and in western countries the bell sound could be heard from all the Christian church. They strike the bell for their services as well as for the funeral services. But in Myanmar, the bell sound means sharing the merit to every one and sweet sound of bell will give real peace and ecstasy. In presence, the largest bell in the world is located at the red-square of Moscow in Russia with 121 tons weight. The second largest bell of the world and the biggest bell in Myanmar is Mingun bell, situated in Mingun about 11 km from Mandalay, on the Western-bank of Ayerwaddy River.

King Sin-Pyu-Shin, father of king Tharawaddy tried to donate the best of his life-span but he failed as he assigned to his minister of bronze, Pyinnya Deva and took a return to his residential point. It was in the reign of king Singu, his son, the casting of bell was fully succeeded and then ceremonially dedicated the bell to the North West corner of Shwedagon pagoda in 1778.The bell was entitled “Maha” Maha means better and Gandha means audio-wave that the bell can release “a sweet audio wave”. The bell can be portioned 3 parts (1) Body of Bell (2) Inscription (3) Lower edge of the bell. The measurement of the bell is 3.5 metre in height 0.3 meter thick and 24 ton in weight.
On the top of the bell placed the figures of leographes on both sides of the hook and celestrial beings as well as makaras (Sea-monster). A twelve-lines bell inscription is still visible and shows the wish and purpose of the donor. After the first Anglo Myanmar war in 1824, the British captured lower Myanmar and the Singu Bell was taken away to England as a trophy but it sank into Yangon River. On approval of Queen Victoria some years later, Myanmar public could manage to salvage the bell by mean of tie a bamboo-raft during the low tide and put it back at Shwedagon.

King Tharawaddy’s Bell

The biggest bell on the Shwedagon pagoda platform is king Tharawaddy bell. The pratice of bell donation started during Pyu period in 1 century A.D, but some scholars asserted this custom was introduced to Myanmar in the reign of king Anawrahta of Bagan dynasty in 11 century A.D.

This bell was cast in 1824 the year in which the first Anglo-Myanmar was broken out and practical donation to Shwedagon pagoda was occurred in 1814 A.D. This bell was officially titled ‘Maha Ti Sadda Ghanda’ means three distinctive sound or great sound bell. The weight of the bell is 42 tons or 2594 vises and 24.2 inches in circumference, Diametre at the mouth is 7’8”, with a height of 8 feed and 1’5” thick.

It is hang on a large iron beam supported by two big columns about 1 foot thick, housed in a pavilion to the north east corner of shwedagon platform. The handle is ornamented with mythical creatures of two celestial beings, two fire breathing dragons, two manusihas and four Pyinsarupa. Manusiha in Pali language means Manure to Human being and Siha for leograph thus the figure is come out by the combination of man in the former part and lion body in the hinder part to be a complete figure.

So also, Pyinsarupa is not Myanmar but Pali Pyinsa means 5 and Rupa means physical appearance that the mythical creature of 5 animals combination in harmonious beauty. They are (1) The tusk and trunk of elephant (2) The head of lion (3) The antler and the legs of deer (4) The wings of the Hansa bird (5) The body and tail of gudgeon fish. On the other hand, Pyinsarupa the striking feature of Myanmar decorative art denotes to winged, land and water creatures, it also represents the meaning of being active and alive. Pyinsarupa is the most significant figure in that pavilion. The ceiling and some portions are decorated in floral pattern by glass mosaic. At the top of the bell is gilded motif and three rings on the body of the body of the bell seemed to be gilded which express fullness, strength and glory. The bell inscription in Pali and Myanmar is about a hundred lines. These Lines are serially numbered and divided into four by bordering row of floral design 23 lines in section 4. From the very beginning up to 28 lines are written in Pali language and the rest of verses are done in Myanmar letters.

The bell inscription usually mention about the donor, cause of donation, list of donation, time and circumstance, purpose of donor. Though having many a purpose, the main intention is to enter the unconditioned state of nirvana, cessation of suffering.

The Sacred Bo Tree

All the Buddha have attained Enlightenment underneath the respective shady tree and that tree only could be regarded the sacred Bodhi or Bo tree under which the Buddhisatta won over Mara and become a Buddha. The word “Bodhi” in Pali language means “Omniscience, Enlightenment or Supreme Wisdom”.

The Bo Tree is believed to possess significant power and could divert the direct of violent storm, whirlwind and storm wind. According to the Jataka story, Gautama Buddha, on request of his cousin Ananda, allowed to venerate the Bo Tree on His behalf. Thus, Bo Tree is regarded to be the Pariboga cedi or a sacred object of worship in Buddhism.

The Bodhi Tree and banyan tree are, in fact, differed one another in their detail appearances as the leaf of Bodhi as larger that banyan and shape is similar to that of human-heart then the top of Bodhi leaf is longer and taper than banyan. Botanically, Bo Tree is named “Ficus Religiosa”. Banyan or Nyaung Buddhahe known in Burmese is grown in the tropical countries like Myanmar, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The Maha Bodhi tree can be viewed in the precinct or close to pagoda all over Myanmar. There are grown out of seed or sapling from Buddha-Gaya in India and Sri Lanka. The earliest historical evidence of transplanting Bo Tree in Myanmar was found in the reign of king Narapatisithu (1173-1210 A.D) in Bagan dynasty. One of the venerable monk, Ashin Maha Kassapa went to Sri Lanka and brought back seed of Bodhi tree which was planted in the precinct of monastery donated by Ohlon Wungyi, located to the South East of Innwa Royal Palace.

The planting of Bodhi tree in Myanmar continued to modern period. There are three Bodhi trees on the pagoda platform of Shwedagon. At the top the landing from the lift-building to the South, there is a Bo Tree to the right which is fortified by an octagonal brick-form at the base and a Buddha image in cross-leg position underneath it. That is to the South East corner of the main stupa and planted there by the Head monk Medat Sayadaw on his return from Buddha-Gaya in 1215 B.E, about 150 years ago. The other one is situated to the northwest corner and grown on 4th January 1948, the Independence Day of Myanmar.

The water-pouring ceremony to the foot of Bo Tree is held annually in The full-moon day of Kason in which Gautama Boddha was born, attained enlightenment and entered to Parinirvanna.

Thus, Bo Tree, the symbolize veneration object of Buddha is important and noble to a Buddhist.