History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c33.s3: Circular Pagodas or Chaityas.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c33.s3
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Circular Pagodas or Chaityas.
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One of the earliest examples existing is that at Bu-payâ, at Pagân, ascribed to the first years of the 3rd century, A.D., which although it has been repaired and renovated in later periods probably retains the original type of its design. 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. A similar bulbous form is found in the pagoda of Ngakwe Nadaung in the province of Myingyan, dating from the 10th century, and in a less pronounced form in the Petleik-payâ pagoda, where the torus becomes an important feature, we find here also the earliest example of the decorative bands carried about two-thirds up the bell, which has probably given rise to the idea that the upper part of the same represents the begging bowl of the mendicant monks.
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There are, besides, three or four early examples in which a different outline is given to the bell. The Baubaugyî pagoda in Prome consists of a solid mass in brickwork of a cylindrical form, about 80 ft. high, raised on a triple base and surmounted by a finial carrying the Htî¹ or umbrella, which is always in iron-gilt, a feature which crowns every pagoda, the total height being about 150 ft. It is ascribed to the 7th or 8th century, as also two other examples in Prome, the Payagyî and Payama pagodas. These, however, have convex outlines and resemble a bee-hive in shape. In all these cases the relative proportion between the height and the lower diameter is about 3 to 2, differing therefore greatly from the Indian tope. These are, however, exceptional examples, as from the 11th century, when the great development of Burmese architecture commenced, the Stûpa or tope always took the form of a bell, sometimes of great size with decorative bands round, and raised on a series of three to five stages or platforms decorated with boldly projecting mouldings with square panels between. These platforms are generally either square on plan² or have a series of projecting planes one in front of the other. In early examples
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¹ *Ante*, vol. i. p. 70 and note 2.
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² There is one exceptional example in the Dhammayazika pagoda near Pagân, which is pentagonal.
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444. Conjectural Plan of a Temple.
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the projections are greater than in later ones, but their appearance can best be judged from Plate XXXVII., representing the Shwe-Dagôn at Rangoon, where the four planes on each face have resulted in seven projecting angles at each corner of the platform. These projecting angles which occur so frequently, not only in the platforms, but sometimes in the superstructure, may have arisen from a desire to enrich and give more interest to the original square plan. Assuming A (Woodcut No. 444) to be the first structure, and B and C successive applications on each face, the result on the plan would be three angle projections; an entrance porch D added on each face would give five angle projections, and so on.¹ The platforms on which the structure was raised would necessarily follow the same plan, and its repetition in the superstructure would result in the *sikhara* of Hindû origin which has usually three angle projections. In the diagram here given the applied projecting plane on each face and its return are equal in dimension; this is not usually the case, and sometimes the former is only about half the latter. The nearest approach to the diagram is that shown in the temple of Vât Sisavai at Sukhodaya in Siam (Plate XLVII.), where these angle projections form prominent features in the design. In the Shwe-Hmaudau pagoda (Woodcut No. 445) the plan of the platform is octagonal, and here the projecting planes, three in number on each face, have given five angles.
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¹ These pagodas are generally described as polygonal on plan, a term which is misleading: multiplane would be more correct.
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445. Quarter-plan of Shwe-Hmaudau Pagoda at Pegu. (From Symes.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
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An instance of its introduction in the superstructure is shown in the Abhayadâna pagoda (Plate XXXVI.), where there are three projecting angles in the elaborate cornice, carrying the finial. In the Seinnyet pagoda a similar cornice is more complicated, having seven projecting angles and eight vertical fillets projecting one in front of the other.
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The principal variations made in the design of the *Zedi* are those of the relative proportion of the bell to the rest of the structure, the outline of the same and its superstructure, and the decoration employed. Thus in the Lokânanda pagoda in Pagân, built by Anaurahtâ in 1059, the bell is of immense size, being three-sevenths of the total height of the structure, including the triple base and finial, and that is generally the characteristic of the earlier examples, but, where occasionally employed to crown the *sikharas* of the square temple, as in the Abhayadâna temple, it is so small as to be scarcely recognisable. In the older pagodas of Pagân the several mouldings are all more or less convex in outline, but in later examples, and especially in those cases where the pagoda has from time to time been built over and enclosed, as in the Shwe-Hmaudau and Shwe-Dagôn, the converse outlines are alternated with concave silhouettes which, whilst it lessens the vigour and boldness of the design, gives it at times a certain elegance; so far has that been carried that it is sometimes possible to determine the date of the structure by its attenuation. This is shown in the Shwe-Dagôn (Plate XXXVII.), where in the last rebuilding in 1768 the lower part of the bell was widely spread out, and the finial or spire, originally conical with straight side, has been given a concave outline.
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The decorative treatment of the pagoda resolves itself into three divisions.
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(A) The boldly projecting mouldings of the sides of the platforms or terraces, the introduction of square terra-cotta panels with figure bas-reliefs between the upper and lower mouldings, and in later examples the addition of an elaborate cresting.
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(B) The carving of lotus leaves at the base of the bell and in the upper part of the finial, the rich ornament applied to the bell consisting of pendants on its upper surface, a deep moulded ring round with bead festoons held in the mouths of gorgons and other surface ornament above the ring. The pagodas of Seinnyet and Petleik have in addition niches with figures of Buddhas on the four sides facing the cardinal points, with enriched pediments over-crowned with miniature storeys and sikharas.
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And (C) additional decorative features such as ranges of small pagodas on the lower terraces as in the Shwe-Dagôn and the Shwe-Hmaudau, or at each angle of the several terraces, in many cases taking the form of elaborate finials which in the Seinnyet pagoda are of fine design.
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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 archway 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.
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In the Sapada and Tamani pagodas, above the bell is a square moulded plinth which by some authorities is thought to be symbolic of the chamber in the basement containing the Buddhist relics, and is in fact known as the “dhâtu-garbha” or relic-chamber. The feature is, however, of ancient origin, as it is shown on the dâgabas in Kârlê and Ajantâ (*ante*, vol. i., Woodcuts Nos. 70 and 71). It forms an essential feature in all the Sinhalese Dâgabas, and as Sapada, the builder of the pagoda bearing his name, was a Buddhist monk from Ceylon, he probably introduced it into Burma.
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Two other pagodas of exceptional form in and near Sagaing exist, the Tupayôn or Stûpârâma and the Kaung Hmaudau: the former was built in the 15th century by Narapati, King of Ava. Its plan is circular, and it consists of three storeys set back one behind the other with low pitched roof over the two lower storeys and a flat weathered top. On the vertical sides of the three storeys are projecting features like dormer windows, with a niche sunk in each; there are forty-eight of these on the lower, forty-two on the middle, and thirty-six on the upper storey. The Kaung Hmaudau pagoda, not far from Mingûn, on the same side of the river, bears a close resemblance to the Indian topes; the mass of the dome, according to Colonel Yule,¹ is about 100 ft. diameter. It is taller than a semicircle—which would indicate a
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¹ 'Mission to Ava,' p. 65.
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446. Kaung Hmaudau Dâgaba, near Sagaing. (From Yule.)
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modern date—and stands on three concentric bases, each wider than the other. Round the whole is an enclosure, consisting of 812 stone posts, each standing 4 ft. 6 in. out of the ground, with receptacles in their heads for lights, each head being hollowed out to hold the same, and divided into four quadrants by four stone gateways (Woodcut No. 446). An inscription, on a white marble slab, records the erection of this pagoda between the years 1636 and 1650. This fixes its date, and is curious as showing how little real change had occurred during the eighteen centuries which elapsed between the erection of the tope at Sânchi (*ante*, vol. i., Woodcuts Nos. 12-14) and the 17th century.
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Perhaps the most important pagoda in the Burmese Empire is the great Shwe-Hmaudau¹ at Pegu, of which a plan and elevation are given in Symes' account of his embassy to Ava. As will be seen from the plan (Woodcut No. 445), it deviates from the usual type, which is exclusively used in the edifices of this class hitherto described, having an octagonal base together with those elaborated multiplane forms which are affected by all the Hindû builders of modern date. It returns, however, to the circular form before terminating, and is crowned, like all Burmese buildings of this class, by an iron Htî richly gilt. Another peculiarity is strongly indicative of its modern date, namely that around its base is a double range of miniature pagodas—a mode of ornamentation that subsequently became typical in Hindû architecture — their temples and spires being covered, and, indeed, composed of innumerable models of themselves, clustered together so as to make up a whole. As before remarked, something of the same sort occurs in Roman art, where every window and opening is surmounted by a pediment or miniature temple end, and in Gothic art, where a great spire is surrounded by pinnacles or spirelets; but in these styles it is never carried to the same excess as in Hindû art.
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¹ Literally "Golden great god."
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The building stands on two terraces, the lower one about 10 ft. high, and 1391 ft. square; the upper one, 20 ft. in height, and 684 ft. square; from the centre rises the pagoda, the diameter of whose base is 395 ft. The small pagodas surrounding the base are 27 ft. high, and 40 ft. in circumference: they are in two tiers, the lower one of 75 and the upper 53, in all 128; while the great pagoda itself rises to the height of 324 ft. above its terrace, or 354 ft. above the country, thus reaching a height about equal to that of St. Paul's Cathedral: while the side of the upper terrace is only 83 ft. less than that of the great Pyramid.
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Tradition ascribes its commencement to two merchants, who raised it to the height of 12 cubits, at an age slightly subsequent to that of Buddha himself. Successive kings of Pegu added to it from time to time, till at last it assumed its present form, most probably about three or four centuries ago.
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The next in importance, so far as we know, is the more generally known Shwe-Dagôn pagoda at Rangoon (Plate XXXVII.), a building very similar in dimensions to the last named, and by no means unlike it, except that the outline of the base is cut up to even a greater extent, and the spire more attenuated—both signs of a comparatively modern date.
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Its history in fact follows that of many of the pagodas of Burma: originally it is said to have been only 27 ft. high and to have attained its present height and dimension by repeated casings many feet in thickness. About the middle of the 15th century the height of the pagoda was raised to 129 ft., terraces were built round the hill, and the top—a platform—was paved with flagstones. In 1768 it reached its present height of 321 ft., not including the new Htî, which was presented by King Mindôn Min ; the platform now measures 900 ft. by 685 ft. and rises about 165 ft. above the base of the hill. On the top of the ground storey of the pagoda, the plan of which is multiplane with seven angular projections, are several miniature pagodas as at Pegu.
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There is, however, no essential difference between the two buildings, and this is principally interesting as leading us one step further in the series from the solid hemispherical mound to the attenuated spire, which, both in Burma and Siam, is the modern form usually assumed by these edifices, till they lose all but a traditional resemblance to the buildings from which they orginally sprang.
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The general appearance of these can be judged from the illustration (Plate XXXVII.) on the right and left of which are smaller pagodas which, with numerous other structures, are built round the platform. These are seen in the following woodcut (No. 447), where is also shown one of the leogriffs which may be considered as the last lineal descendant of those great human-headed winged lions that once adorned the portals at the palaces at Nineveh and which there served a definite constructional purpose, whereas here they are simply isolated features.
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The Shwe-Dagôn pagoda, like all the more important ones, is fabled to have been commenced about 2300 years ago, or about the era of Buddha himself ; its sanctity, however, is owing to its containing relics, not only of Gaudama, the last Buddha, but also of his three predecessors—Buddha having vouchsafed eight hairs of his head to its two founders, on the understanding that they were to be enshrined with the relics of the three former Buddhas, where and when found.¹ After numerous miraculous indications, on this spot were discovered the staff of Kakusandha, believed to have lived some 3000 years B.C., the water-dipper of Konâgamana, and the bathing garment of Kassapa, which, with the eight hairs above mentioned, are enshrined within this great pagoda.² Originally, however, notwithstanding the value of its deposit, the building was small, and it is not more than a century and a half since it assumed its present form.
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¹ *Ante*, vol. i. p. 63.
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² ‘Asiatic Researches,’ vol. xiv. p. 270. In their Payâs, Chaityas or Stûpas the Burmese place Kaukasan or Kakusandha on the east, Gaunagon or Konâgamana on the south, Kathaba on the west, and Gotama on the north.—Conf. *ante*, vol. i. pp. 230*n*, 277*n*; ‘Buddhist Art in India,’ p. 195.
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A crowd of smaller pagodas of all sizes, from 30 ft. to 200 ft. 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; indeed, they may almost be said to be innumerable. They are almost all quite modern, and so much alike as
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447. View of Pagoda in Rangoon. (From a Photograph.)
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not to merit any distinct or separate mention. They indicate, however, a great degree of progressive wealth and power in the nation, from the earliest times to the present day, and an increasing prevalence of the Buddhistic system. This is a direct contrast to the history of Ceylon, whose glory was greatest in the earliest centuries of the Christian Era and was losing its purity at the time when the architectural history of Burma first dawns upon us. Thus the buildings of one country supplement those of the other, and present together a series of examples of the same class, ranging over more than 2000 years, if we reckon from the oldest dâgabas in Ceylon to the most modern in Burma.
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Another example of importance, the Shwe-zigon pagoda near Pagân, might here be included, especially as, although the original pagoda founded in 1094 was, according to Mr. Nisbet, built over and increased in 1164, it at all events is less attenuated than either the Shwe-Tshandau or the Shwe-Dagôn. It retains also in its three lower storeys, with terraces and processional paths round, the primitive form of the early dâgabas.
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At a place called Mingûn, about half-way between the former capital of Amarapura and the present one at Mandalay, are two pagodas, which are not without considerable interest for our present purposes; if for no other reason, at least for this—that both were erected about a hundred and twenty years ago, and show that neither the forms nor aspirations of the art were wholly extinguished even in our day. The first, the Sinbyumè pagoda, is circular in form, and was erected in the year 1790, in the reign of King Bodauhpayâ (1781-1819). As will be seen from the woodcut (No. 448), it is practically a dâgaba, with five concentric procession-paths. Each of these is ornamented by a curious serpent-like balustrade, interspersed with niches containing, or intended to contain, statues of Buddha, and is accessible by four flights of steps facing the four cardinal points. The whole is surrounded by a low circular wall 750 ft. in diameter, said to represent the serpent Ananta. Within this is a basement, measuring about 400 ft. across, and this, with the procession-paths and dâgaba on the summit, make up seven storeys, intended, it is said, to symbolise the mythical Mount Meru.¹
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¹ The above particulars are abstracted from a paper by Col. Sladen in the ‘Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,’ vol. iv. (N.S.) p. 406, with remarks by Col. Yule and others. It is curious that there is a discrepancy between the native and the European authorities as to the number of storeys—not mechanical, of course, but symbolical; whether, in fact, the basement should be counted as a storey, or not. The above I believe to be the correct enumeration. We shall presently meet with the same difficulty in describing Boro-Budur in Java.
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The building was severely damaged by the earthquake of 1838, but was restored by King Mindôn Min in 1874; above the central tower shown in the woodcut (No. 448) a low storey has been built with projecting dormers and niches in them as in the Tupayon pagoda and, crowning the same, an octagonal base in two tiers supporting the bell, the finial with rings round and the Htî; a series of five consecutive entrance porches also rising one behind the other have been carried up to the height of the central tower.
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448. Sinbyumè Circular Pagoda at Mingûn. (From a Photograph.)
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It will be recollected that, when speaking of the great dâgabas of Anurâdhapura in Ceylon, it was pointed out (*ante*, vol. i. p. 230) that they had three procession-paths round their bases, ascended in like manner by flights of steps opposite the four cardinal points of the compass. It is interesting to observe here, after a lapse of 2000 years, and at a distance of nearly 1500 miles, the changes have been so small. It is true the number of procession-paths has increased from three to five, and the terraces become relatively much more important than in the older examples ; but, barring this and some changes in detail, the monuments are practically the same, notwithstanding all the curious varieties that have sprung up in the interval.
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The other building known as the Mingûn-payâ was commenced by Bodauhpayâ, who spent twenty years over it, and died in 1819, leaving it incomplete. It would seem to have been an attempt to revive the old square forms of Pagân, in the same manner as the other was intended to recall memories of the older forms of early Indian Buddhism. "It stands on a basement of five successive terraces, of little height, the lower terrace forming a square of 450 ft. From the upper terrace starts the vast cubical pile of the pagoda, 230 ft. square in plan, and rising, in a solid mass, to the height of about 100 ft., 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 ft., at the time the work was abandoned."\1 From a model standing near, it is inferred that, if completed, it would have risen to the height of 500 ft. ; it is even now a solid mass containing between 6,000,000 and 7,000,000 cubic ft. of brickwork. Had it been carried out, it would have been the tallest building in the world. It was, however, shattered by an earthquake in 1838 ; but, even in its ruined state, is as large and imposing a mass of brickwork as is to be found anywhere.\2 Since the pyramids of Egypt, nothing so great has been attempted, and it belongs to the 19th century !
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\1 'Mission to the Court of Ava,' p. 169.
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\2 A view of this ruin will be found in Yule's 'Mission to Ava,' plate 23.
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Belonging to the same century and in its way a remarkable building is the Kyauktaugyî temple at Amarapura, built in 1847 A.D. by King Pagân Min on the model of the Ânanda at Pagân. The illustration (Plate XXXVIII.) shows that the temple is raised a few feet from the ground so as to allow of a broad flight of steps in front of the principal front, and that instead of the two ranges of windows on the ground storey, as in the Ânanda, are lofty doorways which give great importance to the entrances. The five terraces and the sikhara with finial which, with the Htî, crowns the structure are in their proportions and in the simplicity of the mouldings almost equal to those of the Ânanda. It is quite certain that here in England any attempt to copy a cathedral of the same period as the Ânanda in the 11th century, such, for instance, as St Alban’s or Durham, would be a miserable failure compared with the 19th century example of the Kyauktaugyî temple in Amarapura.
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Two other buildings might here be mentioned, firstly, the so-called Arakan pagoda, south of Mandalay, which was built by Bodauhpayâ in 1785 to contain the brass statue of Gaudama carried off by him from Arakan. It is really a square temple on the plan of the Ânanda, with four great vestibules projecting on each side, the roof being a seven-storeyed *pyâtthat* in brick.
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And secondly the Kuthodaw or “thousand and one pagodas.” This consists of an immense *zedi* of the usual type, which was built by King Mindôn Min, with three parallel rows round of small pagodas or shrines, all erected between 1857 and 1864 to shelter the 729 marble slabs on which are engraved in Pâli the Buddhist scriptures. The four entrance gates are evidently inspired by those of Cambodia, consisting of an entrance vestibule with side wings, the vestibule or hall being surmounted by a tower in two storeys set back one behind the other.