The Mandalay Pitakataik (; also Pitaka-taik) was the royal library in

Mandalay Mandalay is the second-largest city in Myanmar, after Yangon. It is located on the east bank of the Irrawaddy River, 631 km (392 mi) north of Yangon. In 2014, the city had a population of 1,225,553. Mandalay was founded in 1857 by Ki ...

, commissioned by King

Mindon Min Mindon Min (, ; 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 because of his role in the Fifth Buddhist Council. Under his half brothe ...

in 1857 during the founding of Mandalay as a royal capital. The library was one of seven structures built to mark the foundation and consecration of Mandalay as the royal capital. It was located at the foot of Mandalay Hill, and was a masonry building with

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

joints. The building was modeled after the Pitakataik in

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 Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

. Copies of

Tipiṭaka There are several Buddhist canons, which refers to the various scriptural collections of Buddhist sacred scriptures or the various Buddhist scriptural canons.

texts were relocated from the

Amarapura Amarapura (, , ; 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 the north, and the ancient capital site of Ava ...

Pitakataik and deposited at the newly constructed library in January 1864. The Pitakataik was formerly stocked with Pali and Burmese palm leaf manuscripts which were looted with the onset of British occupation in 1885. In October 2013, the Sitagu Sayadaw announced a donation to rebuild the Pitakataik, along with the Thudhamma

Zayat A zayat (; ; from ) 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 the n ...

and Maha Pahtan

Ordination Hall The ordination hall (Pali: ''sīmā'') is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual (''upasampadā'') and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha. ...

, with the consultation of Tampawaddy U Win Maung.

References

Buildings and structures in Mandalay Libraries in Myanmar Buddhist libraries Libraries established in 1857 {{Myanmar-org-stub

See also

References