Andaw Thein ( my, အံတော်သိမ်ဘုရား ''amtau sim bhu.ra:'', ''Añṯotheiñ hpăyà'') is a

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in Buddhism represen ...

in Mrauk U located at the northwest corner of the Shite-thaung Temple. The name means 'Tooth Shrine'. It contains a tooth relic of the Buddha brought over from

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. It was first built as an

ordination hall The ordination hall is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual ('' upasampada'') and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Patimokkha. The ordination hall ...

between 1515 and 1521 by King

Thazata Thazata ( my, သဇာတ, ; also known as Ali Shah; 1464–1521) was king of Arakan from 1515 to 1521. He was a son of King Dawlya (r. 1482–1492), and governor of Ramree when he was selected by the ministers to succeed King Saw O. He moved ...

, and restored by

Min Bin Min Bin ( Arakanese and my, မင်းဘင်, , Arakanese pronunciation: ; also known as Min Ba-Gyi (မင်းဗာကြီး, , Meng Ba-Gri, Arakanese pronunciation: ); 1493–1554) was a king of Arakan from 1531 to 1554, "whose re ...

between 1534 and 1542.Gutman 2001: 112 It was later expanded into a temple by King Raza II in order to house a tooth relic of the Buddha he brought back from his pilgrimage to

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, either in 1596 or 1606–1607.(Gutman 2001: 112) says he rebuilt the Andaw Thein in 1596 after the Ceylon trip. But chronicles (Sandamala Linkara Vol. 2 1999: 84) mention just one pilgrimage to Ceylon, leaving for the island state in Tazaungmon 968 ME (31 October 1606 to 28 November 1606). This means he probably had the structure enlarged in 1607.

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Bibliography

* * {{Buddhist sites in Myanmar Buddhist temples in Rakhine State Pagodas in Myanmar 17th-century Buddhist temples 1521 establishments in Asia 16th-century establishments in the Mrauk-U Kingdom Religious buildings and structures completed in 1607