Shwethalyaung Hill ( my, ရွှေသာလျောင်းတောင်), also known as Kyaukse Hill ( my, ကျောက်ဆည်တောင်), is a hill that is located to the east of
Kyaukse in
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 C. Wells, Joh ...
. Shwethalyaung Hill is known for its abundance of
pagodas and
monasteries, and has been a sacred
pilgrimage site for
Burmese Buddhists
Burmese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia
* Burmese people
* Burmese language
* Burmese alphabet
* Burmese cuisine
* Burmese culture
Animals
* Burmese cat
* Burmese chicken
* Burmese (hors ...
. At the top of the hill is the
Shwethalyaung Pagoda
Shwethalyaung Pagoda ( my, ရွှေသာလျောင်းဘုရား) is a Buddhist temple in Kyaukse, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It is located on top of the Shwethalyaung Hill. The pagoda was built by King Anawrahta of Bagan and ensh ...
.
History
King
Anawratha
Anawrahta Minsaw ( my, အနော်ရထာ မင်းစော, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone ...
of
Pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
obtained several
Buddhist relics
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 gr ...
on a trip to
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Upon his return to Pagan, he decided to build a pagoda to house the precious relics. He strapped the replica of the Buddha's tooth to the back of his white elephant
Sinma Yintha and told the elephant to choose a suitable spot for the new pagoda. When the elephant stopped in the two hills, named Shwethalyaung and Pyat Kha Yway, the monarch ordered the construction of pagodas on each summit and enshrined the relic at Shwethalyaung Pagoda. To honor the royal elephants, a festival named
Kyaukse elephant dance festival Kyaukse elephant dance festival ( my, ကျောက်ဆည်ဆင်ပွဲ) is an annual major traditional dance festival in Myanmar. It is held is on the day before full moon day of the Burmese lunar month of Thadingyut and the full moon d ...
is held every year at the foot of Shwethalyaung Hill.
Gallery
File:Abara Mudra Buddhist Statue.jpg, Abara Mudra Buddhist Statue.
File:Shwe Thar Lyaung Pagoda.jpg, Shwethalyaung Pagoda.
File:Stone ship pagoda.jpg, Kyauk Thinbaw Pagoda.
File:Pagoda in Kyaukse.jpg, A monastery.
File:Arhat statues.jpg, Arhat statues.
File:The Great Rock Elephant.jpg, The giant elephant brothers.
File:The great stone siblings.jpg, The great stone siblings, are keepers of the treasure trove.
References
{{Buddhist sites in Myanmar
Hills of Myanmar
Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar