Myanmar

Pakhan-gyi
Pakhan-gyi longs for an account of its history in English so that the world may know and appreciate its past and the beauty that it contains. One publication is in progress at the Archaeological Museum. A more difficult history to discern is that of the Sithu-shin Pagoda, the pagoda that once held this special Buddha footprint. An account of the history of this grand pagoda in English will be a future undertaking that will be of considerable benefit to the people of Myanmar and visitors to this historic religious structure.

The Buddha Footprint at Pakhan-gyi - extracted text
(To obtain details of the full publication, please contact the author.)

Environs of Pakhan-gyi
When one is a scholar of archaeological features, one may point to an ancient wall with tremendous delight particularly when it is pristine. If a person were devoted to the study of Theravada Buddhists sites in an ancient city, then the site of the Sithu-shin Pagoda would create unprecedented enthusiasm. Although it is not within the ancient walled city, its name links it to the Bagan Period (B.E. 1583 to 1830, A.D. 1040 to 1287).

The term pagoda and the Myanmar term kyaung are synonymous and are the Theravada Buddhist sites of the Myanmar tradition. The map is a first effort to document the various sites and it takes just a moment to realise that this area is well endowed with ancient Bagan Period history. The whole area could be considered as an open-air museum.

It is not only the structures that provide us with evidence of the Bagan Period, as traces from murals of the same period are also present. Early Ava murals dating to A.D. 1521 and A.D. 1526 are also to be found at Pakhan-gyi. Unfortunately, many murals do not provide dates and all are open for additional research and the further study of Theravada Buddhism in the Union of Myanmar.

The Sithu-shin Pagoda and the adjacent museum, the Archaeological Museum of Pakhan-gyi, are the key locations.

Buddha footprints have been present for many centuries in this area and I have been informed that many other traces of the Ava Dynasty are located close to the Buddha footprint. Almost as with celestial guidance, the footprint has been relocated in the new museum to ensure its preservation, further study and certainly for greater appreciation by monks, scholars and laymen.

A short history of the pagoda
Pakhan-gyi longs for an account of its history in English so that the world may know and appreciate its past and the beauty that it contains. One publication is in progress at the Archaeological Museum. A more difficult history to discern is that of the Sithu-shin Pagoda, the pagoda that once held this special Buddha footprint. An account of the history of this grand pagoda in English will be a future undertaking that will be of considerable benefit to the people of Myanmar and visitors to this historic religious structure.

Tradition assigns Pakhan-gyi to King Ana-wra-hta of Bagan (B.E. 1583 to 1620, A.D. 1044 to 1077). However, inscriptions suggest the later dates of the Bagan Period (B.E. 1583 to 1830, A.D. 1040 to 1287).

The name of the pagoda is Sithu-shin. Sithu is usually defined as ‘big drum owner’. However, this may have been true for all kings during the Bagan Period, if not for all kings in South East Asia. Shin is the Myanmar term for temple. The pagoda is assigned to King Aluang-sithu of the Bagan Period (B.E. 1656 to 1710, A.D. 1113 to 1167), thus the pagoda received its name from a king of Bagan.

The unique Buddha footprint was found as well-weathered fragments on the western side of the pagoda. In 1997, curator U Htay Win Maung moved it from the pagoda site to the Archaeological Museum. Both he and I saw the Buddha footprint as being unusual and quite different from others in Myanmar. It is not of the Bagan Period but belongs to one of the two Ava dynasties.

Oddly enough, Pakhan-gyi may be more famous for having the largest teak monastery than for its ancient and large pagoda.

The Pali text used to create the Buddha footprint
Two basic Pali texts written by Theravada Buddhist monks were in Sinhala script Pali that were subsequently transcribed into the local scripts of Myanmar.

The older of the two texts is dated to the fifth century A.D., when the script appeared more as Brahmin, rather than as Sinhala. The name of the reigning king was Dhatu-sena (circa B.E. 613 to 631, A.D. 455 to 473). The text is the Samanta-bhaddika that relates information of Metteyya, the future Buddha. Palm leaf copies of this text are extremely rare in South East Asia. Only eight extant palm leaf copies have been located in Thailand but many more are thought to exist in Myanmar. From the few that have been located, it appears that many variations occur in the text. The commentary explains the Pali poem, Anagata-vamsa.

The second text is the Jinalankara. The writer of the tika or commentary to the Jinalankara was the Venerable Buddha-rakkhita who lived in Rohana, Sri Lanka. According to the palm leaf copies that I have studied the text was written in B.E. 1700, A.D. 1157 and focussed on Gotama, the present Buddha.

Auspicious illustrations
Four line drawings of the 108 Auspicious Illustrations.

Why was this Buddha footprint selected?
Considering that this Buddha footprint was found in the open near a pagoda, well-weathered, and in many small and medium sized pieces the question is raised: Why were considerable efforts taken to reassemble the fragments into their original form?

The answer is simple: To retain and preserve a splendid example of a Buddha footprint of the Ava Period and to provide the opportunity for additional research and study. As the beautiful composition of the auspicious illustrations began to be revealed, additional impetus and enthusiasm ensured the final completion of the task. This beauty was captured perfectly in the drawing that was subsequently created by U Win Kyaing. Some of the original illustrations were weakly defined and he was required to rely on other sources of information and knowledge, as was the case for the tiger and the lion. At the present time our knowledge of Ava iconography is limited.