Religion Arts

Kularakkhita

5601201102

Ven. Sumanasara, Ph.D.

Mrauk U Temples and Pagodas

NORTHERN RAKHINE (ARAKAN) STATE OF BURMA

Brief History Mrauk U was an ancient capital city

of Arakan Kingdom, it is situated in northern Rakhine (Arakan) State, Myanmar, there are many forms of temples and pagodas with amazing architectures. These were built by many kings from the 15th to the 18th centuries.

You can arrive from Yangon there are daily flights to Sittwe and there are small private boats as well as larger public boats plying through the Kaladan river to Mrauk U. It is only 45 miles from Sittwe and the seacoast.

Shite-thaungTemple

The Shite-thaung Temple is the most famous temple in Mrauk U. The name means ‘Temple of 80,000 Buddha Images’. The temple was built in 1535 to 1536 by King Min Ba to commemorate his conquest of Bengal.

To prevent this, the local archaeological department hastily poured concrete over the stupas. This prevented the statues inside from being destroyed, but it also destroyed the outer appearance of the temple, which was the focal pagoda to most of the northern Arakanese.

The outer wall is is interspersed with 28 niches, each with life-size images of the seated Buddha placed back to back, one facing the outer platform and one the inner passage.

Inside of the Shite Thaung Temple

Htuk Kan Thein

HtukKanThein is designed as a dual purpose ‘fortress-temple’. Although it is a ‘thein’ (Ordination Hall), it

is one of the most militaristic buildings in Mrauk U, built on raised ground, with a single entrance and small windows. The temple enshrining the statues of Buddha was built in 1571 by King Min Phalaung.

Closed view of Htuk Kan Tein

Inside of the Htuk Kan Tein

The one entrance opens into a two-tiered winding vaulted passage, leading to a central shrine where the seated

Buddha image is lit through an aperture in its eastern wall. The passages are flanked by 179 Buddha images in

niches, which together with the central image brought the total to the auspicious number of 180. On either side

of the niches are a male and a female worshipper holding lotuses, said to be depictions of the nobility whose

donations the king demanded to build the shrine.

Koe Thaung TempleKoe-thaung, “the shrine of 90,000 Buddha images”, is the largest in Mrauk’U. It was built by King Dikkha, the son of King Min Da who built Shite-thaung. He ruled between 1553 and 1556.

Inside of Koe Thaung Temple

Stoned wall of Koe Thaung Temple

Broken Buddha image

Mrauk U is a rich art city where lots of forms of temples and Buddha images were built by many kings since 15th to 18 centuries.

https://maptia.com/jmhullot/stories/mrauk-u-former-capital-of-the-kingdom-of-arakan

http://www.go-myanmar.com/mrauk-u-Mrauk-oo

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Mrauk_U