The Shaitthaung Temple ( Rakhine and , Rakhine pronunciation: ), also spelled Shitthaung (Okell: ''Hyiʔthaùñ hpăyà'' ) according to Standard Burmese pronunciation, is a famous

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 ...

Mrauk U Mrauk U ( ) is a town in northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. It is the capital of Mrauk-U Township, a subregion of the Mrauk-U District. Mrauk U is of great cultural importance to the local Rakhine (Arakanese) people, and is the location of many ...

. The name means 'Temple of 80,000 Buddha Images', and is also known as the 'Temple of Victory'.

History

The temple was built in 1535–1536 by King

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 ...

to commemorate his conquest of Bengal.Gutman 2001: 96 It is located on the western face of Pokhaung Hill, north of the Royal Palace, and adjacent to the

Andaw-thein Temple Andaw Thein ( my, အံတော်သိမ်ဘုရား ''amtau sim bhu.ra:'', ''Añṯotheiñ hpăyà'') is a Buddhist temple in Mrauk U located at the northwest corner of the Shite-thaung Temple. The name means 'Tooth Shrine'. It cont ...

. It is typical of the many Buddhist temples found in Burma: a central bell-shaped

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumamb ...

, surrounded by four smaller stupas at the corners, and a multitude of even-smaller stupas surrounding them. At the east of the temple, there is a recent (though about 75 years old) addition of a flight of stairs and tazaung. There is a central hall at the heart of the temple, which can be easily accessed. Hundreds of

Buddha statues Much Buddhist art uses depictions of the historical Buddha, Gautama Buddha, which are known as Buddharūpa (literally, "Form of the Awakened One") in Sanskrit and Pali. These may be statues or other images such as paintings. The main figure in ...

line the main hall, some of them in their original positions, others moved from nearby excavation sites. However, the Shitthaung's most prominent feature is not the central hall, but rather the three layers of maze-like corridors that encircle the main hall. The three corridors contain countless reliefs of Buddhas,

Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

, Kings of Spiritual abodes, Devas, guardian spirits, the 550

Jatakas The Jātakas (meaning "Birth Story", "related to a birth") are a voluminous body of literature native to India which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. According to Peter Skilling, this genre is ...

, Arakanese culture and animals, both real and mythical. The Shite-thaung temple is the main attraction of Mrauk U. Adjacent to it lies another famous temple, the

Htukkanthein Temple Htukkanthein ( my, ထုက္ကန့်သိမ်; ) is one of the most famous Buddhist temples in the ancient Arakanese city of Mrauk U, in Rakhine State, Western Myanmar. The name means "Cross-Beam Ordination Hall". Like most of Mrauk U ...

(''Htukkan Ordination Hall'').

Weather damage

Due to Mrauk U's tropical location, much of its temples have been damaged by the monsoon rain. It was discovered in 2003 that the central stupa had begun to leak, dissolving away some of the intricate statues in the two chambers. To prevent this, the local archaeological department hastily poured concrete over the stupas. This prevented the statues inside from being destroyed, but it also destroyed the outer appearance of the temple, which was the focal pagoda to most of the northern Arakanese. Many Arakanese criticize "the defacing" of their most treasured temple, but since it was the only way to protect the more precious carvings inside, the actions have not been as widely condemned as expected.

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