History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c33.s7: Pagân.
History of Indian and Eastern Architecture v2.c33.s7
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Pagân.
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Practically the architectural History of Burma begins with the foundation of Pagân in the middle of the 9th century, and as it was destroyed by the Chinese, or rather the Tartar army of Kublai Khân, in 1284,¹ its glory lasted little more than four centuries. During that period, however, it was adorned by a very extensive series of monuments, most of which still remain in a state of very tolerable preservation.
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¹ Yule's 'Marco Polo,' vol. ii. pp. 84, *et seqq.*
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It will thus be observed that the rise and fall of Pagân are, as nearly as may be, coincident with that of Polonnaruwa, in Ceylon; but the Burmese city seems to have excelled the Ceylonese capital both in the extent of its buildings and in their magnificence. Their differences, too, both in form and detail, are very remarkable, but, if properly investigated, would throw light on many religious and ethnographical problems that are now very obscure.
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The ruins of Pagân extend about 8 miles in length along the river, with an average breadth of about 2 miles, and within that space Colonel Yule estimates there may still be traced the remains of 800 or 1000 temples. Several of these are of great magnificence, and are kept in a state of repair; but the bulk of them are in ruins, and the forms of the greater part hardly distinguishable.
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Of these, one of the most remarkable is the Ânanda, built by Kyantsitthâ (1057-1085). As will be seen from the following plan (Woodcut No. 451), it is a square of nearly 200 ft. on each side, with projecting porticos on each face, so that it measures 280 ft. across each way. Like all the great pagodas of the city, 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, as shown in Plate XLI. The plan of these storeys, as also the base of the sikhara, follows that of the latter, being set back at the angles for reasons which have already been suggested. The sikhara is crowned with the conical finial and Htî. 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 ft.
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THE ÂNANDA TEMPLE, PAGÂN.
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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 ft. in height. This is the arrangement we find in the Chaumukh temple at Pâlitânâ and at Rânpur (Woodcut No. 288), both Jaina temples of the 15th and 17th centuries, and which it is consequently rather surprising to find here as early as the 11th century (A.D. 1066); but the form and the whole of the arrangement
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451. Plan of Ânanda Temple. (From Yule.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
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of these temples are so unlike what we find elsewhere that we must be prepared for any amount of anomalies.
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The plan of the Dhammayangyî built at Pagân by Narathû in 1160 A.D. is almost identical with the Ânanda, but slightly larger, measuring 292 ft. across each way. With the exception of a deep recess facing the entrance in which the statue of Buddha is placed, the inner corridor has been bricked up. The other three statues are brought forward into the vestibules of the other three transepts. Great similarities exist also in the design, there being two ranges of windows on the ground storey, one above the other, as in the Ânanda. The roof consists of five storeys set back one behind the other, but being all of the same height are very monotonous in effect, and are very inferior to the Ânanda roof, where the three upper storeys of less height give scale to the two lower ones; only a portion of the *sikhara* remains.
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Next in importance to the Ânanda is the Thatpyinnyu, "the Omniscient," erected about the year 1144 by Alaungsîthû,¹ the grandson of Anaurahtâ. It is very similar to the Ânanda in dimensions and plan, except that it has only one great vestibule instead of four, and only one corridor on the ground storey, the centre portion being solid brickwork. The height of the temple is 201 ft., the highest in Pagân. The additional height in this temple, as also in that of the Gaudaupalin and Tsûlâmani (the Sembyo Koo of Yule) temples, both built by Narapatisîthû in 1186 and 1196 respectively, arises from an important change in the design. The third storey is raised to a height almost equal to that of the ground storey, and in the Thatpyinnyu temple, as shown in the section (Woodcut No. 453), contains a central cell and a corridor round. To this upper storey there are porches on each side, and on the entrance front a vestibule as well. The access by flights of steps to this is shown in the section taken from Yule, and horizontal terraces exist in place of the ogee roofs of the Ânanda and Dhammayangyî temples. A similar access by external flights of steps opposite the porch existed on one of the sides of the Tsûlâmani, but not in the illustration (Plate XLII.), where the ramps have more the appearance of flying buttresses. This view suggests in its effect a resemblance to the portal of a French cathedral, and it gives some idea of the rich decoration employed. The three planes, or orders, as they are technically called, of the pointed arch recall the European subordination of arches, but the complicated assemblage of arched forms above in the gable end, all built in brick covered with stucco, show how this material lends itself to [Figure: UPPER PORCH OF TSÛLÂMANI TEMPLE, PAGÂN. *Reproduced from a photograph taken for the Archæological Survey of Burma.*]
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¹ Alaungsîthû, or Alûngtsîthû, reigned from 1085 till 1160. He restored Letyâmengnân to the throne of Arakan and caused the temple of Bodh-Gayâ to be restored in 1105.—*Ante*, vol. i. p. 78.
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452. Plan of Thatpyinnyu. (From Yule.) Scale 100 ft. to 1 in.
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decoration of the most debased character. The decoration of the pilasters of the ground storey and the frieze which reigns throughout the same are repetitions of the ornament of the Nan Payâ and Kyaukku temples already described. The general
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453. Section of Thatpyinnyu Temple. (From Yule.) Scale 50 ft. to 1 in.
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appearance of these temples will be understood from the annexed view (Woodcut No. 454) of the Gaudapalin and their general arrangement from the section of the Thatpyinnyu¹ temple (Woodcut No. 453). A design with slight modifications is shown in Plate XLIII., representing the Thitsawada temple in Pwazaw (1080). Here the plan is of smaller dimensions, but great height is obtained by grouping the features closer together; without looking too close at the detail, it is singular how close a resemblance these two views bear to a Spanish or Italian church of the early Renaissance period. There is one other temple which should be mentioned here, viz., the Mahâbaudi, built by Nandaungmya Min in 1198 A.D. in imitation of the
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¹ In Pali Thatpyinnyu is Sabbannû.
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454. View of the Temple of Gaudaupalin. (From Yule.)
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Bodh-Gayâ temple in Bengal (*ante*, vol. i. Woodcut No. 19). The temple is square, having a lofty ground storey, with two or three ranges of windows or niches; in the centre, but set back to leave a terrace round, is a lofty pyramidal tower in seven storeys, bearing a close resemblance to those of the Bodh-Gayâ, but with small dormer windows in the centre of each side; the tower is crowned with the usual finial and Htî. It is the only example of its kind in Burma, and does not seem to have any influence on subsequent examples.
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The first thing that strikes the enquirer on examining these temples is their remarkable dissimilarity with anything on the continent of India. They are not stûpas in any sense of the term, nor are they vihâras. The one building we have hitherto met with which they in any way resemble is the seven-storeyed Prâsâda at Polonnaruwa (Woodcut No. 137), which, no doubt, belongs to the same class. It was thought that the square THITSÂWADA TEMPLE, PAGÂN.
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pagodas at Thatôn, when properly examined, may contain the explanation we are searching for. They evidently were not alone, and many other examples may still be found when looked for. On the whole, however, I am inclined to believe, improbable as it may at first sight appear, that their real synonyms are to be found in Babylonia, not in India. The Birs Nimrûd was, like them, a seven-storeyed temple, with external stairs, leading to a crowning cell or sanctuary. Of course, during the seventeen centuries which elapsed between the erection of the two buildings, considerable changes have taken place. The lowest stairs in Burma have become internal ; in Babylonia they were apparently external. At the head of the third flight at the Birs, Sir Henry Rawlinson found the remains of three recesses. At Pagân these had been pushed into the centre of the third storey. The external flights were continued on the upper three storeys at both places ; but in Babylonia they lead to what seems to have been the real sanctuary, in Burma to a simulated one only, but of a form which, in India, always contained a cell and an image of the deity to whom the temple was dedicated.
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It may be asked, How is it possible that a Babylonian form should reach Burma without leaving traces of its passage through India? It is hardly a sufficient answer to say it must have come *viâ* Tibet and Central Asia ; because, in the present state of our knowledge, we do not know of such a route being used. It is a more probable explanation to say that such monuments may have existed in the great Gangetic cities, but, like these Burmese examples, in brick and plaster ; and have perished, as they would be sure to do in that climate, and where hostile races succeeded the Buddhists. But, however it may be eventually accounted for, it hardly appears to me doubtful that these Burmese seven-storeyed temples are the lineal descendants of the Babylonian examples, and that we shall some day be able to supply the gaps which exist in their genealogy.
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Meanwhile one thing must be borne in mind. The earliest capital of the Burmese was Tagaung in the north, and their real affinities are with the north. They got their religion by the western route from Bengal, but it was engrafted on a stem of which we know very little, and all whose affinities have yet got to be traced to their source.