Ananda Temple

Ananda Temple
အာနန္ဒာဘုရား
Ananda Temple
Religion
AffiliationTheravada Buddhism
Location
LocationBagan, Myanmar
CountryMyanmar
Ananda Temple is located in Myanmar
Ananda Temple
Location within Burma
Geographic coordinates21°10′14.90″N 94°52′04.28″E / 21.1708056°N 94.8678556°E / 21.1708056; 94.8678556
Architecture
FounderKyansittha
Groundbreakingc. 1090
Completed1105; 919 years ago (1105)
Specifications
Height (max)51 m (167 ft)[1]
Spire height?

The Ananda Temple (Burmese: အာနန္ဒာ ဘုရား, pronounced [ànàɰ̃dà pʰəjá]), located in Bagan, Myanmar is a Buddhist temple built in 1105 AD during the reign (1084–1112/13) of King Kyansittha(Hti-Hlaing Min) of the Pagan Dynasty. The temple layout is cruciform with several terraces leading to a small pagoda at the top covered by an umbrella known as hti, which is the name of the umbrella or top ornament found in almost all pagodas in Myanmar. The Buddhist temple houses four standing Buddha statues, each one facing the cardinal direction of East, North, West and South. The temple is said to be an architectural wonder in a fusion of Mon and adopted Indian style of architecture. The impressive temple has also been titled the "Westminster Abbey of Burma".[2][3][4][5] The temple has close similarity to the Pathothamya temple of the 10th–11th century, and is also known as “veritable museum of stones”.[6][7]

The temple was damaged in the earthquake of 1975. However, it has been fully restored and is well maintained by frequent painting and whitewashing of the walls. On the occasion of 900th anniversary of its construction celebrated in 1990, the temple spires were gilded. It is a highly revered temple of Bagan.[2][3]

  1. ^ Fiala 2002
  2. ^ a b "Ananda Temple". Ancient Bagan. Archived from the original on 2010-07-19. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  3. ^ a b "Ananda Temple". Myanmar Information 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2010-03-18.
  4. ^ Schober, Juliane (2002). Sacred biography in the Buddhist traditions of South and Southeast Asia. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 87–92. ISBN 81-208-1812-1. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  5. ^ Murari, Krishna (1985). Cultural heritage of Burma. Inter-India Publications. p. 23. ISBN 9788121000055. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  6. ^ Journal of Indian history, Volume 49. Dept. of Modern Indian History. 1971. p. 80. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  7. ^ Majumdar, R.C (1994). Ancient India. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. pp. 496–497. ISBN 81-208-0436-8. Retrieved 2010-03-19.