DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.27192#0401
FURTHER INDIA.
Book VIII.
356
sidered to have been the prototypes of the Ananda, but, as has
already been pointed out, the temples of Lemyet-hna, B£be-pay&
and Patothamya, of still earlier date, have all the same plan,
with internal corridors, from which it follows that there already
existed, long before the conquest of Thaton in 1057, a type
of temple which was adopted by King Anaurahta as his model
for the Ananda. It is, however, from this period that the
great development took place in Burmese architecture result-
ing in the magnificent series of examples not only of the
square temples but of the pagodas, a development which lasted
till the invasion of Pagan by Kublai Khan in 1284, the last
building of importance erected during this period being the
pagoda of Mangalacheti, built by Taruk-pyemin about 1274 A.D.1
Before passing on to a description of the principal temples
at Pagan and the Burmese monasteries, there are two other
classes of religious structures, the Thein and the Pitakat-Taik,
which might here be included.
The Thein or ordination hall for priests 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,
and there are very few examples. The Upali-Thein in Pagan,
dating from the 13th century, is rectangular on plan and is
divided into nave and side aisles by arcades the arches of
which are said to be well built. 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 dagaba. 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.
There is a second Thein at Pegu dating from 1476.
The Pitakat-Taik or sacred library at Pagan was built by
Anaurahta in 1057 to house the Buddhist scriptures which he
brought away from Thaton. It was probably built by the
masons whom he brought over from Thaton, and was pre-
sumably 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 cell.
The illustration (Plate XL.) shows that externally the ground
1 For an account of this temple and
its interesting enamelled tiles, see ‘ Ver-
offentlichungen aus dem Konigl. Museum
fvir Volkerkunde,’ Bd. V. (Berlin 1897) ;
de Beylie calls it Sun Min Dgy, and
remarks, “il a eveille les convoitises
d’archeologues peu scrupuleux qui en
ont arrache de nombreux bas reliefs en
faience.”—‘ L’Architecture Hindoue en
Extreme Orient,’ pp. 259-261.
Book VIII.
356
sidered to have been the prototypes of the Ananda, but, as has
already been pointed out, the temples of Lemyet-hna, B£be-pay&
and Patothamya, of still earlier date, have all the same plan,
with internal corridors, from which it follows that there already
existed, long before the conquest of Thaton in 1057, a type
of temple which was adopted by King Anaurahta as his model
for the Ananda. It is, however, from this period that the
great development took place in Burmese architecture result-
ing in the magnificent series of examples not only of the
square temples but of the pagodas, a development which lasted
till the invasion of Pagan by Kublai Khan in 1284, the last
building of importance erected during this period being the
pagoda of Mangalacheti, built by Taruk-pyemin about 1274 A.D.1
Before passing on to a description of the principal temples
at Pagan and the Burmese monasteries, there are two other
classes of religious structures, the Thein and the Pitakat-Taik,
which might here be included.
The Thein or ordination hall for priests 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,
and there are very few examples. The Upali-Thein in Pagan,
dating from the 13th century, is rectangular on plan and is
divided into nave and side aisles by arcades the arches of
which are said to be well built. 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 dagaba. 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.
There is a second Thein at Pegu dating from 1476.
The Pitakat-Taik or sacred library at Pagan was built by
Anaurahta in 1057 to house the Buddhist scriptures which he
brought away from Thaton. It was probably built by the
masons whom he brought over from Thaton, and was pre-
sumably 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 cell.
The illustration (Plate XL.) shows that externally the ground
1 For an account of this temple and
its interesting enamelled tiles, see ‘ Ver-
offentlichungen aus dem Konigl. Museum
fvir Volkerkunde,’ Bd. V. (Berlin 1897) ;
de Beylie calls it Sun Min Dgy, and
remarks, “il a eveille les convoitises
d’archeologues peu scrupuleux qui en
ont arrache de nombreux bas reliefs en
faience.”—‘ L’Architecture Hindoue en
Extreme Orient,’ pp. 259-261.