The famous golden temples are always great tourist destinations which help Myanmar attract thousands of visitors to this country. Owning unique design, ancient architecture, temples here also contain the mystery that little do people know. In this article, we will unravel some mysteries of temples in Myanmar. Let’s explore temples with: Indochina tours Myanmar
- Shwedagon Temple has eight strands of hair of Buddha
Located in Yangon, Shwedagon is the most sacred golden temple in Myanmar. Both its body and top are inlaid with gold. According to legend, two brothers from Balkh city (today it is Afghanistan) met Buddha and were given eight strands of hair. Later, two of them moved to Burma (now Myanmar). With the help of ruler in the area, they found the Singuttara Hill – where they built this temples. The tower on the top of the main dome in Shwedagon has a crown studded with more than 7,000 diamonds and gems. The largest one is a 74-carat diamond.
- The architects of Ananda temple were killed
Ananda is a famous temple in Bagan. It was built on the opinions of eight monks from Nandamula Temple in Himalaya Mountain. At that time, the king ordered the monks to build the temple in the middle of Bagan Plain. However, according to the ancient narrative, after completing the construction, the king killed the monks to ensure its uniqueness and the temple wouldn’t be repeated anywhere.
Bagan was the ancient capital of Pagan Kingdom. This was the first kingdom unify all the regions of Myanmar. In the 250-year-long dynasty, Pagan kings and people built more than 10,000 religious relics on an area of 104 square kilometers. However, among them, only about 2,200 temples, pagodas still exist until today. Tour to Myanmar
- Shwezigon Temple’s location was decided by a white elephant
Shwezigon is also a sacred ancient shrine in Bagan. It is believed that the location of the temple was identified by a white elephant bearing Buddha’s trace. This elephant was allowed to move freely in the area and anywhere it stopped, it would be the place for building the temple. Shwezigon is located in the center of a large area, surrounded by other temples and pagodas. It has magnificent architectural structure like the famous Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon.
- Dhammayangyi Temple was built by a ruthless king
Dhammayangyi – brick temple in the ancient Bagan Architecture Population is well-known for its gigantic pyramid which dominating every other building. And this pyramid model has unique shape that is completely different from traditional Buddhism temples of Myanmar.
Today, Burmese still have no explanation why King Narathu chose this type of architecture. Legend has it that King Narathu killed his father and brother to occupy the throne. But when reigning, perhaps he feared of creating bad karma, he built a temple for Buddha. In particular, in front of each temple door, there are two Buddha statues which is the same as the embodiment of his father and brother. However, according to some ancient books, these are just the statues of two Buddhas.
- Pindaya Cave has about 9,000 Buddha statues
Pindaya Limestone Caves system is located in Shan State, Myanmar. This cave is famous for its numerous statues of Buddha with particular artistic styles that have existed for centuries. Pindaya Caves, where precious objects of pagodas from the 18th century have been preserved, are important pilgrimage sites for Myanmar Buddhists and attractive tourist destination for international visitors.
There are 3 caves but only Southern cave can be visited. This cave is 150m long containing a total of over 8,000 Buddha statues and relics. Especially among these are 70 unique Buddha statues with Bhisakkaguru style which is popular in the 1790s. Each image has a distinctive shape and style, each of style represents a period of time in history.
Are these 5 mysteries attractive enough to make you want to arrive at Myanmar? If you are planning to discover an interesting country, you can travel to Myanmar to enjoy amazing experience here.
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