Page 392 - The Rough Guide to Myanmar (Burma)

390 CONTEXTS Burmese architecture
include the Botataung Pagoda in Yangon, the Uppatasanti Pagoda in Naypyitaw and
the Lawkananda Pagoda in Sittwe). Surrounding the stupa there’s usually a terrace
ringed with subsidiary shrines containing assorted Buddha images, along with the
occasional nat (see p.386). Pagodas are often built in raised positions, with stairways
(often covered and lined with shops in larger pagodas) leading up from the streets
below – grander temples typically have four entrances, one at each of the cardinal
points. Larger temples often have a monastery (kyaung) attached.
Stupas
The soaring gilded stupas that dot Myanmar’s towns and countryside are the country’s
most emblematic and memorable sight – vast masses of shimmering gold, dazzling by
day, mysteriously glowing in the half-light of dusk, magnificently illuminated after
dark. The classic Burmese-style stupa is perhaps the most beautiful in Asia: tall and
slender, with a distinctive shape that seems to blend monumental size and presence
with an elegantly simple outline, softened with organic, almost feminine, curves.
The country’s first stupas, at Thayekhittaya (Sri Ksetra; see p.193), are little more than
massive but rather crude cylindrical towers. These gradually developed at Bagan into

THE ARCHITECTURE OF BAGAN
much of the history of Burmese temple architecture can be seen at Bagan. the buildings of
Bagan divide into two periods: early and late. temples of the early period (roughly
850–1120), such as the Pahthothamya Paya, are heavily influenced by early Pyu and mon
architectural styles – typically low and heavy one-storey structures topped by a small and
rather cursory stupa. interiors are kept deliberately dark in order to create a sense of mystery:
most early shrines have just a single door and small windows with tiny latticework openings.
inside, there’s usually a central shrine plus antechamber, with perhaps an ambulatory around
the central shrine. stupas, like the Bupaya and that at the Lawkananda Pagoda, are modelled
on earlier Pyu examples at, for example, thayekhittaya (sri Ksetra): cyclindrical or slightly
bulbous in outline, with little of the shapely finesse of later examples.
the city’s late period architecture (roughly 1120–1300) shows the emergence of the unique
Bagan style. temples become taller, with the addition of a second shrine (often the main
shrine) on the upper storey. Windows become much larger and interiors much lighter; many
later temples also have four entrances (“four-faced” temples, as they’re sometimes called)
rather than the previous single entrance, also admitting more light. the rooftop stupa grows in
size, ultimately developing into the soaring stupa-spires which top many temples, usually
combining a rather indian-looking tower with curved sides (known as a shikhara) with a stupa
on top. tiers of gradually smaller terraces connect the three parts of the structure – the two
shrines and the stupa-spire – their corners decorated with miniature stupas or indian-style
kalasa (nectar pots), while many also have educational carvings showing scenes from the
Buddhist Jataka tales. the earlier central shrine is now filled in to support the weight of the
superstructure above, and an ambulatory (occasionally a double ambulatory) built around this
solid central core, with a Buddha standing at each of its four sides.
Builders also achieved a remarkable mastery in the art of brick vaulting, at least a century
in advance of anything else achieved in asia at that time (the expertise proved by the fact that
most temples survived the massive earthquake that hit Bagan in 1975). these skills were lost
after the fall of Bagan, as demonstrated by the failed mingun Pagoda project initiated by King
Bodawpaya near mandalay in 1790.
Late-period stupas, like the mingalazedi and those at the shwesandaw and shwezigon
pagodas, are also dramatically different from earlier models, typically much taller and more
slender in outline, with a bell-shaped body set on an octagonal base and surmounted by a tall
spire, with the whole structure set upon a huge square plinth. this design set the prototype for
most subsequent stupas built across the country. there are also a couple of rare examples of
stupas set upon pentagonal bases (the Dhammayazika is the best example) in order to
accommodate a fifth shrine to the future Buddha maitreya – a design feature unique in the
Buddhist world.

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