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Tantkyitaung Zedi (တန့်ကြည့်တောင်စေတီ)
Burmese.
‘Tantkyi
Mountain Pagoda’.
Name of a Buddhist hilltop temple near
Bagan,
built by King
Anawrahta
(fig.)
in the
year 397 of the Burmese Era and renovated in successive periods. It is located
on Tantkyi Hill, a mountain (taung) on the west bank of the Irrawaddy River.
Tantkyitaung
Zedi
is one of four temples
entwined in the Shwe Daw Lay Su legend of King Anawratha, which asserts that the
King was given some tooth relics of the
Buddha
by King Vizaraba of
Sri
Lanka,
which were placed on the back of a sacred
White Elephant
(fig.),
which was then set free in order to determine four proper spots to build pagodas to
house these relics. This practice is akin to the establishment of
Wat Doi Suthep
in
Thailand's
Chiang Mai,
once a vassal to
Burma.
As legend has it, the White Elephant halted at four different places and the King later had stupas
(fig.) built at each of these locations,
which besides Tantkyitaung
Zedi include
Shwezigon Phaya
(fig.),
Lawkananda Zedi (fig.),
and
Tuyintaung Zedi (fig.). According to popular Burmese believe, if pilgrims to the relics
are able to visit all four of these holy places in a single morning, their
wishes will be fulfilled. Tantkyitaung Pagoda is 27 meters high, with a base of
18 meters, and is topped with a nine tiered
chattra,
i.e. a royal umbrella. Besides the pagoda, the platform offers a panoramic view
of the surrounding area and also includes a statue
of the White Elephant bearing the relics, some
gong bearers,
and a statue of a
nat. Below the platform of the pagoda,
in a basin filled with water, is the head of a
naga
protruding from the walling,
whereas its tail protrudes at the back
of Bagan's
Shwezigon Phaya
(fig.),
a temple kilometers away and across the
Irrawaddy River (fig.).
Pilgrims to
either these places cleanse
themselves by pouring cups of water over this naga's head or tail, which they
scoop from the basin, just as many times as ones age,
plus one time. A shrine in the corner of this area features a
statue of
Mya Nan Nwe,
a female spirit or
nat (fig.), of whom it
is
believed that she is an
incarnation
of the naga (fig.).
See MAP.
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