Kyaiktiyo Pagoda ( my, ကျိုက်ထီးရိုးဘုရား or ; mnw, ကျာ်သိယဵု ; also known as Golden Rock) is a well-known
Buddhist pilgrimage
The most important places in Buddhism are located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain of northern India and southern Nepal, in the area between New Delhi and Rajgir. This is the area where Gautama Buddha lived and taught, and the main sites connected t ...
site in
Mon State,
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. It is a small
pagoda
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
() built on the top of a
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
boulder covered with
gold leaves
Gold leaf is gold that has been hammered into thin sheets (usually around 0.1 µm thick) by goldbeating and is often used for gilding. Gold leaf is available in a wide variety of karats and shades. The most commonly used gold is 22-kara ...
pasted on by its male worshippers.
According to legend, the Golden Rock itself is precariously perched on a
strand of Lord Buddha's hair. The
balancing rock
A balancing rock, also called a balanced rock or precarious boulder, is a naturally occurring geological formation featuring a large rock or boulder, sometimes of substantial size, resting on other rocks, bedrock, or on glacial till. Some formati ...
seems to defy
gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
, as it perpetually appears to be on the verge of rolling down the hill. The rock and the pagoda are at the top of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. Another legend states that a Buddhist monk impressed the celestial king with his
asceticism and the celestial king used his supernatural powers to carry the rock to its current place, specifically choosing the rock for its resemblance to the monk's head. It is the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Burma after the
Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda (, ); mnw, ကျာ်ဒဂုၚ်; officially named ''Shwedagon Zedi Daw'' ( my, ရွှေတိဂုံစေတီတော်, , ) and also known as the Great Dagon Pagoda and the Golden Pagoda is a gilded stupa ...
and the
Mahamuni Pagoda.
Etymology
In the
Mon language, the word 'kyaik' () means "pagoda" and 'yo' () means "to carry on the hermit's head". The word 'ithi' ( in Mon (from
Pali
Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...
, ''risi'') means "hermit". Thus, 'Kyaik-htiyo' means "pagoda upon a hermit's head".
Legend
The legend associated with the pagoda is that the Buddha, on one of his many visits, gave a strand of his hair to Taik Tha, a hermit. The hermit, who had tucked it in the tuft of his hair safely, in turn gave the strand to the king, with the wish that the hair be enshrined in a boulder shaped like the hermit's head. The king had inherited supernatural powers from his father ''
Zawgyi'', a proficient
alchemist), and his mother, a
naga
Naga or NAGA may refer to:
Mythology
* Nāga, a serpentine deity or race in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions
* Naga Kingdom, in the epic ''Mahabharata''
* Phaya Naga, mythical creatures believed to live in the Laotian stretch of the Mekong Riv ...
serpent dragon princess. They found the rock at the bottom of the sea. With the help of the
Thagyamin
Thagyamin ( my, သိကြားမင်း, ; from Sanskrit ''Śakra'') is the highest-ranking nat (deity) in traditional Burmese Buddhist belief. Considered as the king of Heaven, he is the Burmese adaptation of the Hindu deity Indra.
...
, the king of
Tawadeintha Heaven in
Buddhist cosmology, found the perfect place at Kyaiktiyo for locating the golden rock and built a pagoda, where the strand was enshrined. It is this strand of hair that, according to the legend, prevents the rock from tumbling down the hill. The boat, which was used to transport the rock, turned into a stone. This is also worshiped by pilgrims at a location about from the golden rock. It is known as the Kyaukthanban Pagoda or stupa (literal meaning: stone boat stupa).
Legends also mention that pilgrims undertaking the pilgrimage by trekking from the Kinpun base camp three times consecutively in a year will be blessed with wealth and recognition.
Geography
The pagoda is located near Kyaikto
Kyaikto ( my, ကျိုက်ထိုမြို့; mnw, ကျာ်ထဝ်) is a town in the Mon State of south-east Myanmar. It is part of the Kyaikto Township in Thaton District. It is the nearest town to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda
Kyai ...
in Mon State in the northern part of the Tenasserim coast. The Golden Rock is situated at an elevation of above mean sea level, on top of the Kyaiktiyo hill (also known as Kelasa hills or Eastern Yoma mountains); it is on the Paung-laung ridge of the Eastern Yoma mountains. It is at a distance of from Yangon and north of Mawlamyine
Mawlamyine (also spelled Mawlamyaing; , ; th, เมาะลำเลิง ; mnw, မတ်မလီု, ), formerly Moulmein, is the fourth-largest city in Myanmar (Burma), ''World Gazetteer'' south east of Yangon and south of Thaton, at th ...
, the capital of Mon State.
The Kinpun village is at the base of Mt. Kyaiktiyo. It is the closest to the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. From Kyaiktiyo, the foot trail or road starts for the Golden rock. On this approach, there are numerous granite boulders on the mountain, perched in precarious condition. Near the top of the mountain, there are two large lions guarding the entrance to Kyaiktiyo Pagoda. From this location, known as Yatetaung (the last point for vehicular traffic), pilgrims and visitors have to climb to the Golden Rock barefoot, after leaving their footwear behind, as per Burmese custom. The paved mountain track, built in 1999, from the bus terminal at Yatetaung, is along a dusty section with kiosks on both sides and the climb of up to the Golden Rock is stiff and takes about one hour to reach.[ From the base camp at Kinpun, the hiking trek to the pagoda is about and many devotees do this trek as part of the pilgrimage rites.] There are also many temples and pagodas, which have been built recently on other hills in the vicinity of the Kyaiktiyo Pagoda that are visited by pilgrims and tourists by trekking along foot tracks.[
]
Structures
The boulder, which gleams golden and is popularly known as the Golden Rock, and on which the small Kyaiktiyo Pagoda has been built, is about in height and has a circumference of . The Pagoda above the rock is about in height. The boulder sits on a natural rock platform that appears to have been naturally formed to act as the base to build the pagoda. This granite boulder lies on an inclined plane and the area of contact is extremely small. The golden rock or boulder and the rock table on which it is resting are independent of each other; the golden rock has an overhang of half its length and is perched at the extreme end of the sloping surface of the rock. There is a sheer vertical drop in the rock face, into the valley below. A lotus shape is painted in gold leaf, encircling the base of the rock. It appears as though the boulder will crash down at any moment. A staircase leads to the pagoda complex that houses several viewing platforms, pagodas
A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...
and shrines for nats (folk deities worshipped in Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
in conjunction with Buddhist
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...
shrines). However, the Golden Rock is the main attraction for the pilgrims who offer prayers and also stick golden leaves on the rock in reverence. A short distance away, there is a circle of gongs with four statues of nats and angels in the centre.[
A main square close to the golden rock has many establishments that deal in religious paraphernalia for worship and offerings made by the pilgrims. Adjoining the plaza area is the Potemkin village where restaurants, gift shops, and guest houses are located. A new terrace has been built at a lower level from which visitors can get a good view of the rock and the pagoda.][
]
Pilgrimage
Kyaiktiyo Pagoda or Golden Rock has become a popular pilgrimage and also tourist attraction. At the peak of the pilgrimage season, during November to March, an atmosphere of devotion is witnessed at Kyaikhtiyo pagoda. As the golden rock gleams in different shades from dawn to dusk (the sight at dawn and at sunset are unique), pilgrims' chants reverberate in the precincts of the shrine. Lighting of candles, meditation and offerings to the Buddha continues throughout the night. Men cross over a bridge across an abyss to affix golden leaves (square in shape) on the face of the Golden Rock, in deep veneration. However, women are not allowed to touch the rock so cannot cross the bridge. Pilgrims visit the pagoda, from all regions of Myanmar; a few foreign tourists also visit the pagoda. Even disabled persons who are staunch devotees of Buddha visit the pagoda, walking up the track on crutches. Old people, who can not climb, are carried on stretchers by porters to the Pagoda to offer prayers to Buddha.[Reid p.150] The Full Moon
The full moon is the lunar phase when the Moon appears fully illuminated from Earth's perspective. This occurs when Earth is located between the Sun and the Moon (when the ecliptic longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180°). This means ...
day of Tabaung in March, is a special occasion for pilgrims who visit the shrine. On this day, the platform of the pagoda is lighted with ninety thousand candles as reverential offering to the Buddha. The devotees visiting the pagoda also offer fruits, food and incense to the Buddha.
Gallery
File:Kyaikhtiyo bus.JPG, Bus at Kyaikhtiyo base station
File:Road to Kyaikhtiyo.jpg, Road to the hill
File:Khaikhtiyo-Aufstieg-20-Saenften-gje.jpg, Litters for tourists
File:KyaiktiyoMonument.jpg, ''Tagundaing
Tagundaing ( my, တံခွန်တိုင်) refers to an ornamented victory column or flagstaff, typically , found within the grounds of Burmese Buddhist pagodas and kyaungs (monasteries). These ornamented columns were raised within reli ...
'' in the plaza area at Kyaiktiyo
File:Goldleafpilgramage.jpg, Upāsaka
Upāsaka (masculine) or Upāsikā (feminine) are from the Sanskrit and Pāli words for "attendant". This is the title of followers of Buddhism (or, historically, of Gautama Buddha) who are not monks, nuns, or novice monastics in a Buddhist order, ...
adding gold leaf to the rock
File:Kyaikhtiyo-Morning.JPG, Golden rock and Kyaiktiyo Pagoda precincts in the morning
File:Kyaikhtiyo-Sunset.JPG, View of Kyaiktiyo at Sunset
File:Rocher d'or 0003a.jpg, Night view of Golden Rock and the Pagoda
File:Myanmar Kyaiktiyo Pagoda Goldener Fels.JPG, Male Buddhists are allowed to paste gold leaf onto the rock, as a sign of devotion
File:KyaikHtiYoe Pagoda.jpg, The Gate of KyaiktiYoe Pagoda (ဆံေတာ်ရှင်ကျိုက်ထီးရိုးစေတီေတာ်၏မုခ်ဝ)
References
External links
Kyaikhtiyo Wildlife Sanctuary
{{Buddhist sites in Myanmar
Buddhist temples in Myanmar
Pagodas in Myanmar
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar
Buildings and structures in Mon State
Tourist attractions in Myanmar
Buddhist relics