Shwedagon paya pagoda

No visit to the Union of Myanmar is complete without a visit to the 2, years old Shwedagon Pagoda, shwedagon paya pagoda, which enshrines strands of Buddha's hair and other holy relics. From a humble beginning of 8. Shwedagon Pagoda is covered with hundreds of gold plates and shwedagon paya pagoda top of the stupa is encrusted with diamonds; the largest of which is a 72 carat diamond. It is clearly one of the in4001 of the religious world.

History : The history of the Shwedagon Pagoda begins with the story of two Burmese merchant brothers, Tapussa and Bhallika. On a trading expedition to India, they visited the Buddha as he sat under the bodhi tree on the 49th day after attaining Enlightenment. The brothers offered him honey cakes, and when the Buddha had eaten them, they asked for a gift from him. Buddha passed his hands over his head and produced eight hairs, which he gave to Tapussa and Bhallika. The brother journeyed back to Burma, with the sacred hairs. They gave two to the King of Atjjhatta and and two to the serpent king Jayasena.

Shwedagon paya pagoda

Last modified The sun was setting behind a thick layer of clouds, and when the driver let me off at the west gate it had already become dark. This is 2 of twelve articles describing my visit to Myanmar. In addition there are 7 videos and a large picture album. I walked up the steps to where foreigners usually are let in, paid the ticket, placed my sandals in a shelf, passed two clean-shaven monks in traditional robes, and entered an elevator. I would later realise that this elevator was for the convenience of tourists and other VIPs. Others, more precisely local worshippers, had very different entrances and several flights of stairs to walk. The elevator brought me and a couple of other strangers two storeys up. I crossed a roof-covered bridge, barely noticing the darkness around me, having my eyes and ears fixed on the scene a few metres ahead. Old and young voices were chanting something in a very rythmic manner, choir-like. The sound was coming from the right, but I could at once not see them for when I had crossed the bridge and turned around a corner my eyes and all senses became fixed on the sight in front of me. The stupa rising 98 metres over my bare feet was incredible. It was all gold. Pure gold.

The movement of pilgrims and visitors on the circumambulatory walkways around the central stupa and in front of and inside numerous shrines defines a meaningful and fluid architectural space that separates the stupa from its surrounding spatial envelope. The next thing I realised leaving the entrance was the significance the Burmese Buddhists place on creating elongated entrances. Not all are covered with solid gold, shwedagon paya pagoda.

Driving past the abandoned colonial houses that once housed British administrators, you notice that you can see the road through a foot wide hole in the rusted out bottom of the 20 year old Toyota Corolla you have hired as a taxi. Getting out of the car, there is only one thing that commands the skyline. A massive golden zedi stupa that is without doubt one of the most spectacular things created by humans. Hailing you to the southern of four directional entrances are a pair of enormous chinthe mythical lion creatures. You walk past them anticlockwise and ascend the covered steps on the eastern side as shopkeepers sleepily prepare their wares for the day.

The Shwedagon is the most sacred Buddhist pagoda in Myanmar, as it is believed to contain relics of the four previous Buddhas of the present kalpa. Built on the metre ft high Singuttara Hill , the m ft tall pagoda stands m ft above sea level, [note 1] and dominates the Yangon skyline. Legend holds that the Shwedagon Pagoda was constructed more than 2, years ago — while the Buddha was still alive — which would make it the oldest Buddhist stupa in the world. In so doing, they became the first lay disciples to take refuge in the teachings of the Buddha. Contemporary inscriptional evidence, the Shwedagon Pagoda Inscriptions from the reign of King Dhammazedi of Hanthawaddy r. In particular, Queen Shin Saw Pu r. By the beginning of the 16th century, Shwedagon Pagoda had become the most famous Buddhist pilgrimage site in Burma. A series of earthquakes during the following centuries caused damage. The worst damage was caused by a earthquake that brought down the top of the stupa, but King Hsinbyushin in raised it to its current height of 99 m ft without counting the height of the hti crown umbrella. A new hti was donated by King Mindon in , nearly two decades after the annexation of Lower Burma by the British.

Shwedagon paya pagoda

The bedazzling golden Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred site in all of Myanmar and a must-see for any visitor planning a trip to this emerging Southeast Asian destination. Many Irrawaddy River Cruises offer an excursion at the Shwedagon Pagoda, however, it is also quite easy to visit on your own. Learn more in our Shwedagon Pagoda Guide below. Also known as Shwe Dagon Pagoda or Shwedagon Paya , this monumental Buddhist shrine is one of the most ancient and high-profile pagodas in the world. The site is most renowned for the sheer opulence of its extravagant exterior. The pagoda is covered in hundreds of gold plates, boasting 27 metric tons of gold leaf in total, as well as thousands of encrusted gleaming jewels.

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Thakin Kodaw Hmaing Mausoleum 0. He gave them eight of his hairs to take back to Myanmar, a land ruled by King Okkalapa. A series of earthquakes during the following centuries caused some damage to the pagoda, the worst of which was a earthquake that brought down the top of the stupa, but King Hsinbyushin later raised it to its current height of 99 meters. The sound was coming from the right, but I could at once not see them for when I had crossed the bridge and turned around a corner my eyes and all senses became fixed on the sight in front of me. Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet. The stupa's plinth is made of bricks covered with genuine gold plates and the main stupa itself is entirely covered in gold, adorned with a crowning umbrella encrusted with diamonds and other jewels. Luckily, the ticket is for a 24 hour period, so you can come back again on the same ticket that evening and watch as the whole place is transformed into a lit up glowing pedestal of power. There are donation boxes located in various places around the pagoda to receive voluntary offerings which may be given to the pagoda for general purposes. The British, thinking it would be in vain, agreed, upon which divers went in to tie hundreds of bamboo poles underneath the bell and floated it to the surface. A moderate earthquake in October left the shaft of the hti out of alignment; extensive repairs were needed to rectify the problem. Take me there. Close Privacy Overview This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. There are also fortune tellers and money-exchange booths. All of this is arrange around the main zedi, or central stupa. They gave two to the King of Atjjhatta and and two to the serpent king Jayasena.

Perhaps the grandest of the entrances with its marble floors and regal columns, the western gate creates the feeling of entering a dreamy palace. This entry also has escalators.

The Shwedagon Pagoda Festival, which is the largest pagoda festival in the country, begins during the new moon of the month of Tabaung in the traditional Burmese calendar and continues until the full moon. Submitted by: Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture. Around the stupa's base, eight planetary posts conform to the days of the week; locals pray at the station that represents the day they were born. Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. The huge bell is the second biggest in Myanmar and weighs an impressive 42 tons. Mala beads and statues are placed outside of the small shop fronts that line both sides of the zaungdan stairway. With a traditional history dating to the time of the historical Gautama Buddha ca 6th century BCE and a recorded history since the 14th century CE, the Shwedagon on Singuttara Hill has sustained and evolved a unique expression of the timeless Buddhist teachings inspired and energized by the cosmological significant of the hill as a sacred place. If you are unsure as to the correct dress code, just err on the side of conservative dress and no-one will be offended. The Golden Shwedagon Zedi Continuing round on the edge of the platform, you begin your circling of the Naungdawgyi Paya elder brother pagoda. Anyway, I slipped back in the shadows, made sure I did not walk continuously around the stupa but made stops on the way to shoot video and take photographs. All the traditional features of a synagogue are present in this superbly maintained building: the bimah platform holding the reading table for the…. Performance Performance. The Shwedagon is the highest pagoda and the largest golden monument in the world. The two door guardians are the Iron Bodaw and the Incantation Bodaw.