Art about the explaining of Buddhist art from Mrauk U temples and Pagoda of Arakan Kingdom (Rakhine) in Myanmar.

1. Religion Arts
Kularakkhita
5601201102
Ven. Sumanasara, Ph.D.

2. Mrauk U Temples and
Pagodas
NORTHERN RAKHINE (ARAKAN) STATE OF BURMA

3. Brief History
 Mrauk U was an ancient capital city
of Arakan Kingdom, it is situated in
northern Rakhine (Arakan) State,
Myanmar, there are many forms of
temples and pagodas with amazing
architectures. These were built by
many kings from the 15th to the
18th centuries.
 You can arrive from Yangon there
are daily flights to Sittwe and there
are small private boats as well as
larger public boats plying through
the Kaladan river to Mrauk U. It is
only 45 miles from Sittwe and the
seacoast.

4. Shite-thaung
Temple The Shite-thaung Temple is the most
famous temple in Mrauk U. The name
means ‘Temple of 80,000 Buddha Images’.
The temple was built in 1535 to 1536 by
King Min Ba to commemorate his
conquest of Bengal.
 To prevent this, the local archaeological
department hastily poured concrete over
the stupas. This prevented the statues
inside from being destroyed, but it also
destroyed the outer appearance of the
temple, which was the focal pagoda to
most of the northern Arakanese.

5. The outer wall is is interspersed with 28 niches, each with life-size images of the seated Buddha placed back to
back, one facing the outer platform and one the inner passage.

6. Inside of the Shite Thaung Temple

8. Htuk Kan Thein
HtukKanThein is designed as a dual purpose ‘fortress-temple’. Although it is a ‘thein’ (Ordination Hall), it
is one of the most militaristic buildings in Mrauk U, built on raised ground, with a single entrance and
small windows. The temple enshrining the statues of Buddha was built in 1571 by King Min Phalaung.

9. Closed view of Htuk Kan Tein

10. Inside of the Htuk Kan Tein

11. The one entrance opens into a two-tiered winding vaulted passage, leading to a central shrine where the seated
Buddha image is lit through an aperture in its eastern wall. The passages are flanked by 179 Buddha images in
niches, which together with the central image brought the total to the auspicious number of 180. On either side
of the niches are a male and a female worshipper holding lotuses, said to be depictions of the nobility whose
donations the king demanded to build the shrine.

12. Koe Thaung Temple
Koe-thaung, “the shrine of 90,000 Buddha images”, is the largest in Mrauk’U. It was built by King
Dikkha, the son of King Min Da who built Shite-thaung. He ruled between 1553 and 1556.

13. Inside of Koe Thaung Temple

14. Stoned wall of Koe Thaung Temple

15. Broken Buddha image

17. Mrauk U is a rich art city
where lots of forms of
temples and Buddha
images were built by many
kings since 15th to 18
centuries.

18. https
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