A pagoda well worth a visit

A pagoda well worth a visit

= Nadi Nain =

Located in the very heart of Yangon, the ancient goldgilded stupa stands impressively as the symbol of Myanmar’s commercial capital where trade, investment and other financial activities are centered. Unfortunately, in some cases local people as well as tourists passed by the pagoda unnoticed as mostly the area around this stupa is congested with traffi c on the roads, teeming with pedestrians and vendors on the platforms, crowded with consumers and shoppers at the stores, packed with gobblers at the restaurants, and busy with clients and staff at the government departments.

It is the Sule Pagoda which is said to be over 2500 years old. The stupa’s Mon name is Kyaik Athok roughly meaning “the pagoda where a Sacred Hair Relic is enshrined” as the religious edifice is holding a hair of the Buddha in its reliquary (Mon are highly civilized people living in the southern parts of Myanmar since very early times). So, the pagoda is well worth a visit as it has many other significant characters.

It was in the middle of 19th century during the very early times of British occupation that Lt. Alexander Fraser of the Bengal Engineers drew the Yangon city plan with Sule Pagoda as the center. In fact, the present street layout of central Yangon was created by Lt. Fraser who also lent his name to Fraser Street, now Anawrattha Street and still one of the main urban streets of this commercial city. 

On account of its strategic location, holiness and architectural design, other town planners including King Thayawaddy and Montgomery also made Sule Pagoda as the hub of Yangon.

The architectural design of the octagonal shape stupa is Mon style with each side 24 feet long, and its height is 152 feet. Circling the main stupa are ten bronze bells on which the names of donors and the donation dates are inscribed.

Legend has it that Sule Pagoda marks the site where King Okkalapa organized assemblies or meetings to build Shwedagon. So, the place was called “Su-Wei” in Myanmar language meaning “meeting” or “gathering”. Time passed and the word “Su-Wei” changed to “Su- Le”. So, a pagoda named Sule is built at the place in commemoration of the meetings. The pagoda has four archways facing the four main directions. There are also two overhead bridges linking with the pagoda platform.

Very close to the sutpa outside its southern corner, is the Myanmar Travel and Tours offi ce. On the pagoda platform are pilgrims making donations in cash and kind, keeping Sabath, practicing vipassana, paying obeisance to the Buddha images or performing meritorious deeds. The pagoda also offers the spectacular view of the impressive City Hall of Myanmar architectural design, the imposing Independence Pillar in the pleasant Mahabandoola Park, the grand Immanuel Church, the colonial design High Court buildings, and major through streets from different directions making a course around Sule Pagoda hillock. The stupa also presents a first-class location to take pleasure in the cityscape and the ever busy city life of the commercial capital especially for foreigners.

Sule pagoda is also a worthy subject for photographers. But it is its age (over 2500 years old), magnificent architectural works, rich culture, wonderful shape and the gold that is gilded over its surface make it so much more sacred and stunning for pilgrims as well as other visitors.

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