U Khandi

In this Burmese name, U is an honorific, not a given name.
U Khandi
Titlehermit, weizza
Personal life
Born
Po Maung

1868
Ywathaya village, Yamethin District, Kingdom of Myanmar
Died14 January 1949(1949-01-14) (aged 80–81)
NationalityBurmese
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
SchoolTheravada

U Khandi (1868 – 14 January 1949) was a Burmese hermit known for his works on Buddhist pagodas and other religious buildings in Myanmar. U Khandi maintained the Mandalay Hill and organised many religious activities for 40 years.

Early life

U Khandi was born Maung Po Maung in Ywathaya Village, Yamethin District in 1868.

Hermit life

U Khandi became hermit in 1900 and meditated at the Mandalay Thakho hill and Shwe-myin-tin hill. His goodwill organisation completed construction and renovation of several building pagodas and religious buildings at hilltops, such as those on the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda and at Taung Kalat.[1]

His work was not only recognised by the Burmese people but also the colonial British government, which gave him and his followers’ special privileges such as free travel certificates and work permits. U Khandi suffered minor paralysis for three years and died on 14 January 1949. Two years later funeral celebrations were held and he was cremated.

Contributions and Life Work

Stone Inscriptions

U Khandi performed vast renovation projects throughout Myanmar during his lifetime, with a focus on remote hills and forest areas. One of his projects was to copy the Tripitakas donated by King Mindon onto marble slabs. In M.E. 1275 [C.E. 1913], in the compound of Sandamuni Pagoda, U Khandi inscribed Sutta, Vinaya and Abhidhamma from the Tipitaka. He included complete explanations on 1,772 stone slabs, as well as inscribing a historical record on an iron sheet and a stone slab.

These stone slabs are:

  1. Vinaya Pitaka – 395 slabs
  2. Sutta Pitaka – 1,207 slabs
  3. Abhidhamma Pitaka – 170 slabs[2]

On 3 March 2011, the Kyaikhtisaung Sayadaw had 135 of the stone inscriptions brought to the Kyaikhtisaung Compound from Mandalay Hill.[3]

Buddha Relics

The Peshawar Relics ( three fragments of bone of the Gautama Buddha) were kept in his dazaung from 1923 until after the Second World War when they were moved to a building at the foot of the hill and no longer on display.[4]

Sandamuni Pagoda

The Dhamma Cetis of Sandamuni Pagoda were built several decades after the central zedi in 1913 by U Khandi. [5]

References

  1. ^ "Time Travel Turtle - High on a hill and guarded by monkeys". Time Travel Turtle. 2013-02-07. Retrieved 2019-09-15.
  2. ^ "Sandamuni Pagoda, Mandalay". Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. ^ Analla, Ds. (December 26, 2015). Ashin Paññādipa and His Exertions. Myanmar: Naing Htet Aung Print. pp. 47–49.
  4. ^ Ludu Daw Amar (1994). Kyama do nge nge ga - "When We Were Young" in Burmese. Mandalay: Kyipwa Yay Press. pp. 44–45.
  5. ^ "Sandamuni Pagoda: Largest iron Buddha image & 1774 slabs inscribed with Buddhist teachings". Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  • Burmese Encyclopedia Vol 2, p-320 printed in 1955