Myanmar 78 Yangon Shwedagon Pagoda4

1
Myanmar
Yangon
78
Shwedagon Pagoda
4
2
No visit to the Union of Myanmar is complete
without a visit to the 2,500 years old Shwedagon
Pagoda, which enshrines strands of Buddha's hair
and other holy relics. Located west of the Royal
Lake on 114 -acre Singuttara Hill in Yangon,
Shwedagon Pagoda is the most sacred and
impressive Buddhist site for the people of the
Union of Myanmar. From a humble beginning of 8.2
meters, the Shwedagon Pagoda today stands close
to 110 meters. Shwedagon Pagoda is covered with
hundreds of gold plates and the top of the stupa
is encrusted with 4531 diamonds the largest of
which is a 72 carat diamond.
3
The main stupa of Shwedagon A beautiful winking
wonder that blazed in the sun is how Rudyard
Kipling once described it.
4
At last we reached the great terrace. All about,
shrines and pagodas were jumbled pell-mell with
the confusion with which trees grow in the
jungle. They had been built without design or
symmetry, but in the darkness, their gold and
marble faintly gleaming, they had a fantastic
richness. And then, emerging from among them like
a great ship surrounded by lighters, rose dim,
severe and splendid, the Shwe Dagon. - W.
Somerset Maugham, The Gentleman in the Parlour
(1930)
5
Naungdawgyi (Elder Brother) Pagoda . According to
legend, the pagoda was built on a site where
Eight Sacred Hair of Gautama Buddha was first
placed on their arrival
6
Mahabodhi-style temple
7
(No Transcript)
8
This is the replica of the Mahabodhi Temple in
Bodhgaya, which is the place where Gautama Buddha
attained enlightenment. Mahabodhi Temple at
Shwe-dagon takes only the general architectural
structure of the original temple in India, and
the details were varied greatly. The temple was
built Dagon Khin Khin Lay, who was a famous
Myanmar writer in early 20th century. She started
her literary career in 1917 when, at the age of
13, she wrote a price winning short story.
9
(No Transcript)
10
the Strand Market Two Pice Hall
11
To the east of the Maha Bodhi Temple is the
Strand Market Two Pice Hall. It was named Two
Pice Hall because, like the western stairway
entrance hall, it was built in 1914 with the
daily donation of two pices (1/32 of a rupee) by
the shopkeepers from the old Strand Market in
Rangoon.
12
The bell of king Tharrawaddy
13
Near the Naungdawgyi Pagoda is the King
Tharwaddy's Bell. Officially known as
Mahatisaddaghanta Bell, this bell was the
donation of King Tharwaddy of Ava (1838 - 1846)
after his visit to Rangoon in 1841-1842. The bell
was cast on 19 February 184 and bears the Pali
name Mahatisaddaghanta, "Great Bell of Three
Sounds". It is the second largest bell in Myanmar
(the first being the Mingun Bell near Mandalay).
It weighs 42 tons and 14 feet 3 inches in height,
7 feet 2 inches in width at the mouth and 15
inches in thickness. The bell has an inscription
of 100 lines in Burmese and Pali. This
inscription is the longest bell inscription in
Myanmar.
14
Then King Banya U (AD 1353-1385) and his
descendents reconstructed and enlarged Shwedagon
Pagoda and raised it still higher. Queen Shin Saw
Pu, the grand daughter of Banya U, had the pagoda
enlarged and raised. She was the first Queen who
donated and gilded the pagoda with gold equal to
her weight.
15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
Eastern stairway
18
(No Transcript)
19
(No Transcript)
20
(No Transcript)
21
(No Transcript)
22
(No Transcript)
23
(No Transcript)
24
(No Transcript)
25
(No Transcript)
26
(No Transcript)
27
(No Transcript)
28
(No Transcript)
29
(No Transcript)
30
(No Transcript)
31
(No Transcript)
32
hall of Great Prosperity
33
(No Transcript)
34
(No Transcript)
35
(No Transcript)
36
(No Transcript)
37
(No Transcript)
38
(No Transcript)
39
(No Transcript)
40
(No Transcript)
41
(No Transcript)
42
Since 1852, Shwedagon was under British military
control, but Burmese were still allowed to visit
the pagoda. In 1871, King Mindon of Mandalay sent
a new diamond studded hti (umbrella) to be
installed at the top of Shwedagon. The delighted
Burmese celebrated with a festive procession,
with more than 100,000 people coming to greet and
pay homage the new hti
43
(No Transcript)
44
(No Transcript)
45
A very common roofing style in Burmese
architecture is called pyatthat, which is a
multi-tiered and spired roof
46
(No Transcript)
47
(No Transcript)
48
Temple architecture is typically of brick and
stucco, and pagodas are often covered with layers
of gold leaf while monasteries tend to be built
of wood (although monasteries in cities are more
likely to be built of modern materials).
49
(No Transcript)
50
The temple has entrances on all four sides but
the eastern entrance is the main one
51
(No Transcript)
52
(No Transcript)
53
There are three levels of terraces in Shwedagon
Pagoda. The platform most foreign visitors
usually visit is the main terrace, or the middle
level.
54
This is the most visited level in Shwedagon
pagoda. Most religious buildings such as shrines,
stupas, Buddha images, pavilions, buildings and
bells are built in this level. Visitors and
worshipers pay homage to Lord Buddha and offer
flower, water, incense and candle light to the
pagoda at this level.
55
The terrace was built during the 15thcentury by
Mon kings after leveling the top of the
Singuttara Hill
56
The terrace is 275 meters from north to south and
215meters from east to west. The area of this
terrace is 5.6 hectares (14 acres). The whole
terrace is inlaid with marble slabs.
57
(No Transcript)
58
(No Transcript)
59
(No Transcript)
60
(No Transcript)
61
(No Transcript)
62
(No Transcript)
63
Burmese and Thai Monk leave Shwedagon Pagoda
64
(No Transcript)
65
Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Internet All  copyrights  belong to their
 respective owners Presentation Sanda
Foisoreanu
2013
Sound Hlaing Win Maung - From the
bottom of my heart