Manuha Temple Built in 1067 - Bagan Myanmar - One of the Oldest In Bagan

The Manuha temple is one of the oldest temples of Bagan. It is named after Manuha, King of a Mon Kingdom named Thaton located in lower Burma. Manuha built the temple in 1067, after having spend a decade in captivity in Bagan.

The temple enshrines four large gold painted images of the Buddha, each contained within a separate room, barely large enough to accommodate the images.

The front of the temple consists of three rooms, each containing a seated image. The central image measuring 46 feet high is in the “Calling the Earth to witness” posture. It is flanked by two smaller images each 33 feet high. The back of the building consists of a single room, that contains a 90 feet long reclining Buddha image wearing a serene facial expression.

Anawrahta, King of Bagan wanted to further Buddhism in his empire. He requested Manuha, King of the Mon Kingdom Thaton a copy of the Tripitaka, the Buddhist teachings. After Manuha refused, King Anawrahta invaded Thaton in 1057. King Manuha was captured, taken back to Bagan and imprisoned. Also captured were thousands of Mon artisans and craftsmen, that played an important role in the building of countless temples in Bagan during the next decades.

After having spend 10 years in captivity, Manuha wanted to gain religious merit as he wanted to attain Nirvana. He also wished that during the cycle of rebirths (Samsara), he would never be conquered by enemies and had to live in captivity again. He therefore request Anawrahta permission to build a temple.

Since the captured King did not have the money to build a temple, he sold a precious jewel to a rich Myinkaba merchant for six cart loads of fine silver. The King used the silver to pay for the construction of a large image of the Buddha, in which Buddhist relics were enshrined. Later he had three more images build. After the completion of the four images, the temple was built around them. The rooms are barely large enough to contain the four images; It is believed that Manuha wanted to express his frustration about his captivity.

This is one of the most interesting temple designs you will see and a must visit.

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