- Address: Nyaung-U, Myanmar (Burma)
- Foundation date: 1105 y.
The Ananda Temple in Bagan is one of the most visited attractions in Myanmar . Also considered the best preserved, because He was constantly under the patronage of local authorities. Even after a strong earthquake in 1975, it was completely restored by the efforts of the sangha, as the most sacred place in Myanmar . The temple is named after the beloved disciple of Shakyamuni Ananda Buddha and symbolizes the great wisdom of Buddha.
What to see?
The Ananda Temple in Bagan (Pagan) is built in the form of a cross with four religious halls that are directed to the ends of the world and the main brick monastery in the center. The length from one wall to the other is 88 meters, the height of religious halls is 51 meters. On the square perimeter walls are built, each 182 m in length, above the walls stands 17 pagodas, each up to 50 meters in height. In the main part of the temple, in the center are four Buddha statues 10 meters high each, they are made of teak and covered with gold leaf. Note that the closer you approach the Buddhas, the more they become kinder.
In general, over four halls of the temple are located more than a hundred Buddhist statues. In the western part of the temple in the sanctuary there is a statue of King Kiyansita - the founder of the temple and two footprints of Buddha's feet on the pedestal. According to legend, King Kiyansita ordered a temple project from eight monks who lived in the caves of Nandamula in the Himalayas, when the project was completed, Kiyansita ordered to kill the monks and bury them on the territory of the temple so that the world would never see anything more beautiful than this building. But historians have not found confirmation of this legend, most likely it was invented after the construction of the temple to attract tourists.
On the territory of the temple is the only surviving after the earthquake brick monastery Ananda-Oka-Kuong (Ananda-Ok-Kyaung). Architectural miracle of the time, is the system of ventilation and lighting of the temple. The internal niches in the walls are made in order to reduce the echo in such a huge space. The inner corridor of the temple of Ananda was built for the monks, the middle one was the passage for the princess, princes and nephews of the king, the outer was built for commoners. The windows are arranged in such a way that in every part of the temple, where large statues of Buddha stand, the light falls on the face of the statue. Every year for a full moon in the month of Piato, thousands of pilgrims gather in the temple to celebrate the three-day temple festival.
Thanks to the fact that in the Ananda temple before the reconstruction there were no staircases that led to the upper part of the church, religious paintings were preserved on the walls. On the walls that are below, the entire painting is erased due to thousands of touches of pilgrims. On the ceramic plates that surround the pedestal of the temple, is depicted a regiment of warriors of the god Mary, who march on various animals to the Buddha. Elephants, tigers, horses, lions, sea monsters, deer, huge birds and a camel are depicted here. If you go around the temple from the south to the north, you can see the story that this regiment was defeated.
How to get there?
The second largest (after Damayinji ) temple in Pagan can be reached by public transport : by bus from Mandalay , which leaves every two hours, at 8-00, 10-00, 12.00 and 14-00. From Yangon, there is a direct evening bus at 18-00 and 20-00. Also there is a morning bus from Lake Inle at 7-00.
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