Shwethalyaung Pagoda

Shwethalyaung Pagoda
Shwe Thar Lyaung Pagoda
Religion
AffiliationTheravada Buddhism
Location
LocationKyaukse, Mandalay Region
CountryMyanmar
Shwethalyaung Pagoda is located in Myanmar
Shwethalyaung Pagoda
Shown within Myanmar
Geographic coordinates21°36′7.28″N 96°8′43.01″E / 21.6020222°N 96.1452806°E / 21.6020222; 96.1452806
Architecture
FounderAnawrahta
Groundbreaking11th century

Shwethalyaung Pagoda (Burmese: ရွှေသာလျောင်းဘုရား) is a Buddhist temple in Kyaukse, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It is located on top of the Shwethalyaung Hill. The pagoda was built by King Anawrahta of Bagan and enshrined the replica of the Buddha's teeth.[1]

History

King Anawratha of Pagan obtained several Buddhist relics on a trip to China. Upon his return to Pagan, he decided to build a pagoda to house the precious relics. He strapped the replica of the Buddha's teeth to the back of his white elephant Sinma Yintha and told the elephant to choose a suitable spot for the new pagoda. When the elephant stopped in the two hills, named Shwethalyaung and Pyat Kha Yway, the monarch ordered the construction of pagodas on each summit and enshrined the relic at Shwethalyaung Pagoda. To honor the royal elephants, a festival named Kyaukse elephant dance festival is held every year at the foot of Shwethalyaung Hill.[2][3][4][1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Kyaukse Celebrates Elephant Dance Festival, Despite Bomb Concerns". The Irrawaddy. 19 October 2013.
  2. ^ "A new generation of dancers keeps the Kyaukse elephant dance festival alive". The Myanmar Times. 20 October 2016.
  3. ^ "ကျောက်ဆည်မြို့မှ အလှတရား (သို့မဟုတ်) ဖူးမြော်ကြစို့အတူတူ မဟာမြတ်လေးဆူ". Myanmar DigitalNews (in Burmese). 29 September 2020.
  4. ^ "Where elephants dance". The Myanmar Times. 21 October 2014.


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