Shwedagon Pagoda
Shwedagon Pagoda, a giant bell-shaped brick stupa, is Yangon’s (Rangoon) most imposing building, perhaps one of the most magnificent in Myanmar (Burma). The Buddhist monument is almost entirely covered in gold and stands on Thein Gotthara Hill, the highest point in Yangon, 51 meters above the city.
General Information
There are four entrances to the pagoda, but only monks and men can go inside. According to legend, flying and spinning swords protect the stupa from invading foreigners. Rumor has it that underground tunnels lead from here to Bagan and Thailand.
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According to the same legend, the pagoda was built by King Okkalana alone and holds many treasures, of which the most significant are the eight hairs of the Buddha.
.Nearly eight tons of pure gold went into the decoration of Shwedagon, with the upper tiers inlaid with precious stones. The last time the plating was renewed was during the reign of King Mindon in 1871, so it’s not surprising that its luster has faded somewhat over the years.
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Shwedagon Pagoda is 99 meters high and has a perimeter of 433 meters. It is surrounded by 64 other small pagodas and prayer houses, towering tausangs (pavilions), where images of Buddha are kept, to which the faithful bring gifts, as well as other statues of the complex. The corners are guarded by sphinxes, on either side of which are three leogrifs (this mythical beast is half lion, half griffin).
The wall below the first terrace immortalizes the creators of the pagoda, King Okkalana and his mother.
.Shwedagon Pagoda has been repeatedly claimed by foreign invaders. For example, in 1608, the troops of Portuguese adventurer Filipe de Brito e Nikote plundered it and stole the three-hundred-ton Dhammazedi bell encrusted with jewels. The bell sank ten meters deep in the muddy bottom of the Irrawaddy River and has been considered lost ever since. In 1825, the British tried to take out of Burma another bell placed in Shwedagon – Singumin, weighing 23 tons. However, the boat on which they tried to bring it to Calcutta could not withstand the weight of the bell, and that too sank. As a result, the British promised to leave Singumin to the Burmese if they could raise the bell from the bottom. The locals shoved bamboo logs under the bell and managed to float it up on their own.
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