Myanmar 18 Bagan Inside Ananda Temple

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Mingalaba
Myanmar!
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Ananda Temple
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It is said that every Myanmar should visit Bagan
and without visiting Ananda you cannot be said to
have visited Bagan. The ground plan is in the
form of a cross with four devotional halls, each
on one side, facing four cardinal directions, and
the main structure in the center. In Bagan there
are only two Temples with such ground plan. The
other Temple of this type is Dhammayan Gyi which
was built by King Kyansittha's grandson, King
Narathu. It seemed that the grandson copied the
ground plan of his grandfather's Temple. But it
was found that for some unknown reasons the inner
circumambulatory corridor of Dhammayan Gyi was
blocked.
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The Ananda was built during the reign
(10841113) of King Kyanzittha of the Pagan
Dynasty. It is one of four surviving temples in
Bagan. The temple layout is in a cruciform with
several terraces leading to a small pagoda at the
top covered by an umbrella known as hti, which is
the name of the umbrella or top ornament found in
almost all pagodas in Myanmar. The Buddhist
temple houses four standing Buddhas, each one
facing the cardinal direction of East, North,
West and South. The temple is said to be an
architectural wonder in a fusion of Mon and
adopted Indian style of architecture. The
impressive temple is also known as veritable
museum of stones
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The Ananda Temple is surrounded by an enclosing
wall with four arched gateways containing seated
guardian deities (Duara Pala, the guardian deva)
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Jakata scenes in the corridor leading to the
entrance
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The four entrances are provided with teak wood
carved doors in the interior and these entrances
form a perfect cross or cruciform. The original
eight carved wooden door leaves, two at each of
the four entrances, are over 900 years old. But
King Bayint Naung (A. D. 155181) re-embellished
them by adding floral and toenaga motifs to them.
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Each niche, inside the four entrances of the
cubical structure, form the sanctum where
standing Buddhas, fully gilded and in different
mudras or forms are deified and worshipped.
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A deva in Buddhism is one of many different types
of non-human beings who share the characteristics
of being more powerful, longer-lived, and, in
general, living more contentedly than the average
human being.
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Two Standing Deva Statues on both sides of
devotional hall
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One architectural wonder of Ananda Temple is the
natural ventilation system by means of windows
built inside the thickness of the walls. There
are light wells in the very high ceiling through
which beams of light fall directly on the faces
of the four, gigantic statues of Buddha in
standing posture facing four cardinal points.
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On each side of the structure are eight light
wells through which light comes, passing through
the three tiers of wall for a distance of 108
feet and falls directly on the Buddha images
inside the niches. These light wells also serve
as ventilator since fresh air constantly enters
through them into the whole structure
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The four statues of standing Buddhas facing four
cardinal directions are wood works executed by
skillful carvers. They are well proportioned.
Those facing south and north are the original
statues. The one facing north has the hand in a
preaching gesture, which is a later renovation.
The glass-mosaic frontlet on its forehead was
installed in 1903
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The four Buddhas placed in the sanctum, called
the "Buddhas of the modern age", give an
indication of Buddha's "sense of the omnipresence
through space and time" Each is given a
specific name, Kakusandha (in (Pali) is the name
of the twenty-fifth Buddha, the first of the five
Buddhas of the present kalpa, and the fourth of
the seven ancient Buddhas) north facing
Standing Buddha Kakusandha North facing
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Standing Buddha Kakusandha North facing
each statue of 9.5 metres (31 ft)height (above
a 8 feet (2.4 m) high throne).
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Standing Buddha Kakusandha North facing
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Wall paintings inside the prayer halls of the
temple have been mostly white washed.
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Some of the paintings still discernable on the
south-west column of the northern devotional hall
have been restored by the Department of
Archaeology of Myanmar.
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It is said that there are 1000 niches, and three
vaulted corridors. 1000 niches include niches on
four sides of the Sikhara (pyramidal spire) those
niches on the walls of the vaulted corridors and
those niches on the inner walls of the four
devotional halls, totalling over one thousand.
These niches were installed probably to reduce
the echo.
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The two circumambulatory passages have vaulted
roof. In these inner passages, surrounding the
central cubicle, sculptural ornamentation in the
form of 80 large reliefs carved out of volcanic
rocks, representing Buddhas life from birth to
death, are depicted. The two main passages have
cross passages also, which provide the link
between the porch and the standing images of the
Buddha
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Regarding the three vaulted corridors, the inner
most one was meant for the monks to walk around
and worship the shrine, the middle vaulted
corridor for the princes, royal sons and nephews
and the outer vaulted corridor that passes
through the devotional halls was meant for the
commoners
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Floor
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 Among the monuments in Bagan which have glazed
works, Ananda Temple has the best
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The east and west facing Buddha images are made
in the later Konbaung or Mandalay style. The
east-facing image of Buddha (known as
'Kongamana') is shown holding, between the thumb
and middle finger, a small nutlike sphere a
herb.
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This herb is said to symbolically represent the
Buddha suggesting dhamma (Buddhist philosophy) as
a cure for misery and distress. In this mudra,
both arms hang at the sides with palms stretching
out. This mudra is not seen in traditional
Buddhist sculpture outside this temple.
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The original south facing Buddha (called the
Kassapa) has a unique architectural display, as,
when it is viewed from close quarters depicts a
sad look. However, the same image viewed from a
distance gives an expression of mirthfulness.
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Out of the four images, the images facing north
and south are said to be original, of the
Bagan-style depicting the dhammachakka mudra, a
hand position symbolizing the Buddha's first
sermon, while the other two images are new
replacements, after the originals were destroyed
by fires.
South facing Buddha (called the Kassapa)
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In Myanmar, gold-leaves are widely sold at the
famous pagodas to gild the Buddha image or stupa
with gold-leaf. This is the Myanmar tradition for
meritorious deeds.
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In West Gotama Buddha displays the abhaya mudra
with hands outstretched in the gesture of
fearlessness.
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Abhayamudra, that is, the gesture of reassurance
and safety, is a hand pose, which dispels fear
and accords divine protection and bliss to the
devotee.
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In Abhayamudra, the right hand is held upright,
and the palm is facing outwards. This is one of
the earliest Mudra found depicted on a number of
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jaina images.
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The western portico also depicts two Buddha
footprint symbols on pedestals.
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At the feet of this Buddha two life-size statues
made in lacquer, representing the crowned figure
of King Kyanzittha kneeling piously in prayer,
and Shin Arahan, the Mon monk who converted the
King into Theravada Buddhism (meaning "the
Teaching of the Elders") and as a primate also
crowned the king, are also displayed.
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An inscription below the small image of the King
states that the King perceived himself as a
"bodhisattva, a cakkavattin and incarnation of
Lord Vishnu".
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The Mon monk who converted the King into
Theravada Buddhism (meaning "the Teaching of the
Elders")
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Text Internet Pictures Sanda Foisoreanu
Internet All  copyrights  belong to their
 respective owners Presentation Sanda Foisoreanu
2013
Sound Saung Zaw Win Maung - The
boundless Auspicious Eulogy