Previous Post: Sule Paya – the Stupa At The Heart of Yangon
After I visited the Sule Paya I walked through Maha Bandula Garden to the Strand Hotel to enjoy a cup of coffee in air-conditioned comfort! Then it was further east down Strand Road to my second temple of the day, the Botahtaung Paya.
humble Buddhist tree shrine on Strand Road in Yangon
Elaborate legends connect the site to the Buddha in the distant past, probably long before there actually were any Buddhists in the area. The name comes from Bo (leader) and tahtaung (one thousand). The 1000 were military leaders who acted as an honour guard when the strands of the Buddha’s hair arrived.
The paya has an entrance fee of 3000 kyats. It is open from 6 a.m. to 8 or 9 p.m. and I found it busier than the Sule Pagoda even at 1 p.m.
Google satellite image of downtown Yangon
The story of the temple connects it to eight strands of the Buddha’s hair brought by monks from India. Exactly when is not clear.
- some accounts say during Siddhartha Gautama’s own lifetime (about 2500 years ago);
- others say 1500 years ago during the rule of the Mon King Sihadipa, ruler of the Kingdom of Thaton.
The paya was originally a Mon stupa called Kyaik-de-att and was built to house the eight strands of the Buddha’s hair. This would mean that the 1000 noted military leaders who were there to welcome the relics were Mon, and not Bamar.
Terms like pagoda, paya, and zedi are used to describe the bell-shaped structure, which is 40 meters (131′) high and it sits on a square base.
The eight strands of the Buddha’s hair it once held have since been distributed elsewhere.
The original paya was destroyed in 1943 during WWII thanks to a direct hit by Royal Air Force bombers intent on destroying the wharves along the Rangoon River. At the time the Japanese controlled the port and the British wanted to degrade its usefulness.
Botahtaung Pagoda terrace – dogs in the shade
a recreation of the Bodhi Tree with a seated Buddha statue at Botahtaung Paya
monastic residence on the Botahtaung Paya terrace
Unlike the first stupas in India and Sri Lanka, which were essentially dome-shaped mounds of earth, this rebuilt stupa is hollow. The interior is a dazzling maze of gold-plated walls. During the rebuilding of the pedi after the war either in a relic chamber – 20′ x 20′ x 6′ some say – or a golden casket in the form of a stupa was apparently found. It supposedly contained relics of the Buddha – a strand of hair and a couple of other bones. Somewhere in the temple is also a tooth said to be of the Buddha donated by the Chinese government in 1960.
prayers at the largest of Botatuang Paya’s shrine rooms
Botahtaung Paya shrine room with the resident cat
In the southwest corner of the complex is a nat pavilion. As in Tibet, where the pre-existing Bon tradition was incorporated within the tantric Buddhism imported from India a thousand years after the historical Buddha’s death, in Myanmar the pre-Buddhist worship of nats was incorporated into the newly arrived Buddhist worldview to create a distinct Burmese form of Buddhism.
Botahtaung Paya – locked pavilion
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Bo Bo Gyi traditionally refers to the name of a guardian spirit (called nat) unique to each Burmese Buddhist temple or pagoda.
Botatuang Pagoda – window bars
another shrine room with seated Buddha figures
SE corner – turtle pool
an overview of Rangoon’s Botataung stupa
one of the planetary posts around the Botataung Pagoda base
Botataung Pagoda planetary post close up
a visual retelling of the Siddhartha Gautama’s story
passageway into the hollow stupa
a dead end in the maze of passages inside the Botataung Pagoda in Yangon
The Eight-Spoked Buddhist Wheel with swastika centre at the Botataung Pagoda
entrance to the chamber containing the strand of the Buddha’s hair
The Buddha’s Sacred Hair relic at the Botahtaung
There is a large terrace around the stupa with a pond and bridges. In the water are terrapin turtles. Feeding them is yet another way of gaining merit to ensure a better future life.
sculptures of Siddhartha Gautama being shielded by Mucalinda the naga or snake king from the rain
bridge over the pond with freshwater turtles
covered bridge by the terrapin turtle pond
nuns entering the Botahtaung Pagoda
Some Other Myanmar Posts:
Sule Paya – Yangon’s Downtown Heart
Pindaya’s Shwe Oo Min – The Shan Cave of The Ten Thousand Buddhas!
A One-Day Tour of Bago, Myanmar: A Checklist of Must-See Sites
An Afternoon In Bago, Myanmar: Visiting The Reclining Buddhas
Myanmar’s Inle Lake – Things To See and Do – Day One
Myanmar is on my (bucket) list…your rich resources are greatly appreciated. Thanks for this inspiring post.
An oops moment! Before I went off on a canoe trip I set today is the publication date but never got around to finishing the text!
Myanmar – and Sri Lanka too – and Nepal – definitely worth the visit – if gazing upon Buddha figures gives you extra karma points, I’m all set!
Hi, I am writing a dissertation on Burmese Buddhism and noticed your photo “sculpture of Siddhartha Gautama being shielded by Mucalinda the naga or snake king from the rain”. Would you mind if I used this photo please (giving you as a reference) or could you upload any others of Mucalinda at the Botataung Pagoda please?