Page 131 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

Mrauk u and around The DelTa anD wesTern MyanMar 129
Andaw Thein
• Immediately north of Shittaung Paya • Daily 7am–5.30pm • Entry covered by main temple ticket • Exit the rear
side of Shittaung’s antechamber leading to the main prayer hall
The Andaw Thein was originally built as an ordination hall (thein) in 1521 by King
Thazata, and subsequently expanded into a temple by King Raza II to house a tooth
relic (andaw) of the Buddha brought back from a visit to Sri Lanka in around 1600.
Fourteen stupas (each hollow, and with a small seated Buddha inside) are arranged
around three sides of the octagonal main shrine, built in the usual bunker style and
topped with further stupas. Two concentric corridors penetrate the inside, lined with 2
niched Buddha statues.
Attached to the shrine is a rectangular prayer hall still boasting a fine stone doorway
on its eastern side, although the original roof has gone, now replaced with a
corrugated-iron shelter.
Ratanapon Paya
• Open access 24hr • Entry covered by main temple ticket
Immediately past Andaw Thein is the Ratanapon (aka “Yadanpon”) Paya.
Built in 1612 by King Min Khamaung (or possibly his wife), this is one of
Mrauk U’s later and less militaristic-looking monuments, centred on an unusually
tall (if rather bottom-heavy) stupa. A necklace of seventeen mini-stupas encloses
the main stupa, set on an octagonal terrace decorated with a few lion sculptures,
now badly eroded. The temple’s name translates as “Pile of Jewels”, referring, it’s
said, to the precious stones enshrined in the central stupa, although none has ever
been found despite the best efforts of bounty hunters – and a direct hit from a
Japanese bomb in World War II also failed to reveal any buried treasure (the damage
has since been restored).
Mahabodhi Shwegu
• Daily 7am–5.30pm • Entry covered by main temple ticket • Go north along the road from the Ratanapon towards
the Laung Bwann Brauk, and just before you reach the latter you’ll see a covered well on your right – follow the steep path up the hill
behind this to reach the temple
Dating from the latter half of the fifteenth century, the tiny Mahabodhi Shwegu is
one of Mrauk U’s more unusual monuments, with a quaint little octagonal domed
shrine connected to a narrow antechamber. Its main interest, however, is the
intricate, albeit very eroded, carvings decorating the antechamber walls and the
throne of the central Buddha image. These include representations of the Buddhist
heaven and hell along with some erotic images – although you’ll have to look very
closely to make anything out.
Laung Bwann Brauk
• Daily 24hr • Entry covered by main temple ticket
Laung Bwann Brauk temple is characterized by its fractionally tilted outline (more
obvious from some angles than others), as the stupa has crumpled slightly under its
own weight. The base of the octagonal stupa is ringed with elaborately carved niches,
some still containing Buddha images (or what’s left of them), while the front of the
terrace is decorated with unusual flower-shaped glazed tiles, although many are now
sadly crumbling into dust.
Just north of here on the other side of the road stands the diminutive Shwe Kra Thein
Phra: a pretty little stupa raised high on a finely carved six-tier base.
Pitakataik
• Daily 7am–5.30pm • Entry covered by main temple ticket
Mrauk U’s smallest and prettiest monument, the quaint Pitakataik is the only one of
the city’s original 48 libraries to have survived – although it looks far too small to

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