The Payathonzu Temple ( my, ဘုရားသုံးဆူ ; literally 'Temple of Three Buddhas') 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 ...
located in the village of Minnanthu (southeast of
Bagan
Bagan (, ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Bagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that wou ...
) 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 ...
. It is unique in the sense that the temple consists of three temples conjoined through narrow passages. The structure dates from the latter part of the 13th century. The interior of the temple contains frescoes, believed to be
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
and
Tantric in style. However, it only applies to the decorative elements, and may have been added by skilled workers from northern India or Nepal. The temple was not completed. The temple was renovated after being damaged by a
2016 earthquake, with the completion of the three
stupas
A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as ''śarīra'' – typically the remains of Bhikkhu, Buddhist monks or Bhikkhuni, nuns) that is used as a place of meditation.
In ...
atop the temple, which are lighter in colour.
References
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Buddhist temples in Myanmar
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