Pitakataik ( my, ပိဋကတ်တိုက်; also Pitaka-taik) was the royal library in

Mandalay Mandalay ( or ; ) is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. Located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631km (392 miles) (Road Distance) north of Yangon, the city has a population of 1,225,553 (2014 census). Mandalay was fo ...

, commissioned by King

Mindon Min Mindon Min ( my, မင်းတုန်းမင်း, ; 1808 – 1878), born Maung Lwin, was the penultimate King of Burma (Myanmar) from 1853 to 1878. He was one of the most popular and revered kings of Burma. Under his half brother King Pa ...

in 1857 during the founding of Mandalay as a royal capital. The library was one of 7 structures built to mark the foundation of consecration of Mandalay as the royal capital. It was located at the foot of

Mandalay Hill Mandalay Hill ( ) is a hill that is located to the northeast of the city centre of Mandalay in Myanmar. The city took its name from the hill. Mandalay Hill is known for its abundance of pagodas and monasteries, and has been a major pilgrimage s ...

, and was a masonry building with teak joints. The building was modeled after the

Pitakataik ''Pitakataik'' ( my, ပိဋကတ်တိုက်; also spelt ''bidagat taik'' and ''pitaka taik'') is a library of Buddhist scriptures, including the Tipiṭaka, found in Buddhist societies in modern-day Myanmar (Burma). History The ''pitaka ...

in Bagan. Copies of

Tipiṭaka The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the most complete extant early Buddhist canon. It derives mainly from the Tamrashatiya school. During t ...

texts were relocated from the

Amarapura Amarapura ( my, အမရပူရ, MLCTS=a. ma. ra. pu ra., , ; also spelt as Ummerapoora) is a former capital of Myanmar, and now a township of Mandalay city. Amarapura is bounded by the Irrawaddy river in the west, Chanmyathazi Township in t ...

Pitakataik and deposited at the newly constructed library in January 1864. The Pitakataik was formerly stocked with Pali and Burmese

palm leaf manuscripts Palm-leaf manuscripts are manuscripts made out of dried palm leaves. Palm leaves were used as writing materials in the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia reportedly dating back to the 5th century BCE. Their use began in South Asia and sp ...

which were looted with the onset of British occupation in 1885. In October 2013, the

Sitagu Sayadaw Ashin Nyanissara ( my, ဉာဏိဿရ; ) best known as Sitagu Sayadaw (), is a Burmese meditation teacher and prolific Buddhist scholar. He is also the founder of Sitagu International Buddhist Academy. His work as a teacher began in 1977 a ...

announced a donation to rebuild the Pitakataik, along with the Thudhamma

Zayat A zayat (; ; from Mon ) is a Burmese building found in almost every village. It serves primarily as a shelter for travelers, at the same time, is also an assembly place for religious occasions as well as meeting for the villagers to discuss ...

and Maha Pahtan

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 ...

, with the consultation of Tampawaddy U Win Maung.

References

Buildings and structures in Mandalay Libraries in Myanmar Buddhist libraries {{Myanmar-stub

See also

References