Manasara Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Manasara-Shilpashastra; III. Manasara on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Manasara: Translation; V. Architecture of Manasara: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s14: Burma

Mānasāra Series (I. A Dictionary of Hindu Architecture; II. Indian Architecture according to Mānasāra-Śilpaśāstra; III. Mānasāra on Architecture and Sculpture: Sanskrit Text; IV. Architecture of Mānasāra: Translation; V. Architecture of Mānasāra: Illustrations; VI. Hindu Architecture in India and Abroad; VII. An Encyclopaedia of Hindu Architecture) v6.c41.s14

Language: English

Burma

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Brahma-deśa, as the term would indicate, was situated in the Brahma-sthāna, or the centre of the then world. It is bounded on the west by India, on the north by China, on the east by Siam, and on the south by the Indian Ocean. In the historical period, Burma formed part of Siam and was inhabited by the same races of people. Burma was first of those countries which adopted the religion of Gautama Buddha at a very early period. It 'borrowed also many of the Indian forms of architecture,' probably from the Lower Bengal Provinces, which have become extinct in the land of their origin and present difficulty in explaining the differences.²

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² James Fergusson, *History of Indian and Eastern Architecture*, Vol. II, p. 339.

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The architectural history of Burma is stated to begin with the foundation of Pagān in the middle of the ninth century. Its glory lasted for about four centuries until it was destroyed in 1284 by the Chinese or Tartar army of Kublai Khan.³

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³ Yule, *Marco Polo*, Vol. II, pp. 84 *et seq.*

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The ancient buildings in Burma are known by a curious expression pagoda, coined by the early European visitors. The term 'Pagoda' (Payā in Burmese) 'seems to be applied by Europeans in Burma indifferently to two very different kinds of structure, namely, the bell-shaped *stūpas*, and the square temples.' The former was 'raised on a series of terraces or platforms and crowned with a conical finial. To these the term 'Tsedi,' or 'Zedi,' which corresponds with the Chaitya in Nepal, and Chedi of Siam, is sometimes given.' The latter was a type of 'temple which is square on plan with sometimes projecting porches or vestibules, and, in the thickness of the walls, narrow corridors, the walls of which are decorated with frescoes or sculpture, with niches at intervals containing images of Buddha. Their roofs are pyramidal, consisting of a series of storeys of moderate height set back one behind the other and crowned with the curvilinear *śikhara* of the Indo-Aryan,’ or northern style practised both by ‘Jains and Hindus in the north of India, from the mouth of the Indus to the Bay of Bengal.’¹

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¹ Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, p. 341.

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The earliest of the circular pagodas, or *chaityas*, is that at Bupayā, at Pagān, ascribed to the first years of the third century a.d. ‘The centre portion, or bell, is of bulbous form, raised on a triple base and crowned with two features, the lower one a bold torus moulding, the upper one a conical finial, with cavetto sinkings between the bell and the torus, and between the latter and the finial.’²

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² *Ibid.*, pp. 341–342.

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The Banbangy pagoda of the seventh or eighth century, Ngakwe Nadaung of the tenth century, Shwe Dagon at Rangoon, Shwe-Hmaudan pagoda at Pegu, and several others are examples of this type.³

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³ A crowd of smaller pagodas of all sizes, from 30 feet to 200 feet in height, surrounds the larger one. In fact there is scarcely a village in the country that does not possess one or two of these structures, and in all the more important towns they are numbered by hundreds. They are in fact innumerable (Fergusson, p. 348). For a description of the pagodas at Thaton and Prome, *see* Fergusson, pp. 357–359, 359–360.

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‘The principal variations made in the design of the Zedi (*chaitya*) are those of the relative proportion of the bell to the east of the structure, the outline of the same and its superstructure, and the decoration employed. Thus in the Lokānanda Pagoda in Pagān, built by Anauraḥtā in 1059, the bell is of immense size, being three-sevenths of the total height of the structure, including the triple base and finial.’⁴

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⁴ Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, p. 343.

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‘Some of the pagodas have in the centre of each face a flight of steps leading to the upper terraces, and on the level of the first platform an arch-way similar to the examples in Boro-Budur. In one or two cases also there are porches in front of each flight of steps, cruciform in plan, similar to those of the temples of Cambodia.’⁵

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⁵ *Ibid.*, p. 344.

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The history of the Shwe Dagon pagoda at Rangoon would explain the growth of most of the Burmese pagodas. ‘Originally it is said to have been only 27 feet high and to have attained its present height and dimension by repeated casings many feet in thickness. About the middle of the fifteenth century the height of the pagoda was raised to 129 feet, terraces were built round the hill, and the top—a platform—was paved with flagstones. In 1768 it reached its present height of 321 feet, not including the new Hti, which was presented by king Mindon Min. 'The platform now measures 900 feet by 685 feet and rises about 165 feet above the base of the hill.’

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It is stated ‘to have been commenced about 2,300 years ago, or about the era of Buddha himself.’ Its antiquity is further indicated by the belief that it contained in its Dhātu-Garbha (relic-chamber) not only eight hairs from the head of the last (Gautama) Buddha, but also relics of his three predecessors. ‘After numerous miraculous indications, on this spot were discovered the staff of Kakusandha, believed to have lived some 3,000 years B.C., the water-dipper of Konāgamana, and the bathing garment of Kassapa, which, with the eight hairs above mentioned, are enshrined within this great pagoda.’¹

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¹ *Asiatic Researches*, Vol. XIV, p. 270, referred to by Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, p. 347.

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The Mingun-payā is the other huge pagoda commenced by Bodauhpayā, who spent twenty-five years over it and died in 1819, leaving it incomplete. It represents the square form borrowed from early Indian Buddhism. ‘It stands on a basement of five successive terraces, of little height, the lower terrace forming a square of 450 feet. From the upper terrace starts the vast cubical pile of the pagoda, 230 feet square in plan, and rises, in a solid mass, to the height of about 100 feet, with slightly sloping walls. Above this it contracts in successive terraces, three of which had been completed, raising the mass to a height of 165 feet at the time the work was abandoned.’² ‘If completed, it would have risen to the height of 500 feet. It is even now a solid mass containing between 6,000,000 and 7,000,000 cubic feet of brick work. Had it been carried out, it would have been the tallest building in the world.’³

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² *Mission to the Court of Ava*, p. 169.

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³ Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, p. 351.

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The Lemyet-hnā, built in the eighth and ninth centuries, is the earliest example of the square temples. ‘It is about 24 feet square and is built in brick, with a solid pier 8 feet square in the centre, surrounded by a corridor 4 feet wide. On each face of the pier are bas-reliefs carved in stone which are lighted from four entrance doorways, one on each side of the temple.’¹

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¹ Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, p. 352.

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‘The two most interesting temples of this class are those at Nan Payā and Nagāyon, just south of Pagān. The first is considered to have been built by king Anaurahtā about 1050 and the second by Kyantsilthā in 1064.’

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‘It is, however, remarkable, considering the close connexion between India and Burma, so far as architectural style is concerned, to find the arch and vault employed systematically throughout the latter country in buildings many of which are said to have been built by Indian workmen, and further to note that those features appear only when they became an actual necessity, as in doorways requiring wide openings, or the covering cover of corridors and small internal chambers with a permanent incombustible material to carry these roofs. Those roofs were, as a rule, in the square temples, not flat terraces, but assumed an ogee section following the rise of the vault.’² This is shown in the temples of Ānanda, the Kyanktaugyi, and Abhayadāna, south of Pagān.³

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² *Ibid.*, p. 353.

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³ *Ibid.*, Plate XLI, XXXVIII, XXXVI.

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The Ānanda is the most remarkable of some 800 to 1,000 temples of Pagān ruins which ‘extend about 8 miles in length along the river, with an average breadth of about 2 miles.’ It is stated to have been built by Kyantsitthā (1057-1085). ‘It is a square of nearly 200 feet on each side, with projecting porticos on each face, so that it measures 280 feet across each way. It is several storeys in height, the two lower ones are square with square turrets at each end, the three above have seated lions at each angle. The plan of these storeys, as also the base of the *śikhara*, follows that of the latter, being set back at the angles. The *śikhara* is crowned with the conical finial and Hti. The setting back of each storey, one behind the other, gives the whole a pyramidal form, which in this case rises to the height of 183 feet.’

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‘Internally the building is extremely solid, being intersected only by two narrow parallel corridors, but in rear of each projecting transept is a niche artificially lighted from above, in which stands a statue of Buddha more than 30 feet in height.’⁴

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⁴ *Ibid.*, pp. 360-361, Plate XLI.

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This is the arrangement in the Chaumukh temple at Pālitānā and at Rānpur,¹ both Jain temples of the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, while the Ānanda temple belongs to the eleventh century (A.D. 1066). This apparent anomaly is explained by the fact that the general basic principle was borrowed from India and the forms were unlike.

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¹ See Plate XXII, Fergusson, Vol. II, p. 47.

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Of the other temples² at Pagān, the Mahābodhi was built by Nandaungmya Min in A.D. 1198 in imitation of the Bodh-Gaya temple.

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² The other famous temples at Pagān are Dhammayangyi (built by Narethu in A.D. 1160) and Thatpyinuyu (built by Alaungsithu, A.D. 1144).

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There is, however, remarkable dissimilarity between the generality of temples at Pagān and their Indian originals. 'They are not *stūpas* in any sense of the term, nor are they *vihāras*.' The sevenstoreyed *prāsāda* at Polonnaruva, however, appears to be exact original of Pagān temples, the resemblance being so striking.'³

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³ Compare *Sat Mahal Prasada* (Fergusson, Vol. I, p. 246) and *Pitakat-Taik*, Plate XL (Fergusson, Vol. II, 356-357).

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There are two other classes of religious structures, known as the Thein and the Pitakat-Taik. The former is the ordination hall for priests, which would seem to correspond with the Bot of Siam, except that they are not as a rule found in the temple enclosure, as in the latter country. The Upali-Thein in Pagān, dating from the thirteenth century, is 'rectangular on plan and is divided into nave and side aisles by arcades and arches. The centre aisle or nave is loftier than the side aisles, and in section the structure is similar to that of a *Chaitya* temple (or of a Christian church, except that there are no clerestory windows). The summit of the roof is decorated with terra-cotta ridge tiles, and in the centre is an attenuated *dāgaba*. On the top of the nave and aisle walls is a cresting or pierced parapet similar to that which crowns the terrace walls of the pagodas. The interior is said to be decorated with fine and brilliant frescoes.'⁴

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⁴ Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, p. 356.

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There are other examples also. The Pitakat-Taik is the sacred library at Pagān, which was built by Anaurahtā in 1057 to house the Buddhist scriptures that he brought away from Thaton. 'It was probably built by the masons whom he brought over from Thaton,⁵ and was presumably a copy of the original library there. The plan of the structure is square, with, apparently, judging from the roof, four parallel corridors round the central chamber or hall.’ The ground storey appears to be of moderate height. The roof consists of four storeys, set back one behind the other, with ogee roofs between, resting direct on the vaults of the corridors.¹

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⁵ The ancient Suvarṇa-Bhūmi, Golden Chersonese of classical geographers, situated on the Sittang River, about 40 miles north of Martaban, destroyed in A.D. 1050 by Anaurahtā, King of Pegu (*Phœnix*, Vol. II, pp. 204 *et seq.*, *J. A. S. B.*, Vol. XLII, pp. 23 *et seq.*, Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, pp. 357–358). But Sumatra is better known as Suvarṇa Bhūmi.

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¹ Fergusson, *loc. cit.*, Vol. II, pp. 356–357. *See* Plate XL, and compare with the library buildings mentioned in connexion with the Nalanda University.

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The monasteries are another class of buildings of which the ideas were borrowed from India. But the Burmese ‘monasteries are, in almost all instances, less magnificent than the pagodas to which they are attached, and are, with scarcely an exception, built of wood—a practice destructive of their architectural character, and also depriving them wholly of that monumental appearance of stability which is so essential to true architectural expression.’²

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The residential buildings from those of the poorest to the palaces of the kings, were also constructed from time immemorial of the perishable material. ‘The custom has now passed into a law, that no one shall have the power of erecting buildings of stone or brick, except it be the king himself, or unless the edifices be of a purely religious character.’²

Burma

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