The Dhammayazika pagoda in Bagan

Dhammayazika pagoda

Very large gilded bell shaped dome

BAGAN TEMPLES OVERVIEW

Name

Dhammayazika pagoda

Date

1198

King

Narapatisithu

Location

Pwazaw village, South East of old Bagan

Style

Late period
Octagonal floor plan

Nearby

Number of less known monuments

Located in a remote area of the Bagan plains is the magnificent Dhammayazika Pagoda. The pagoda was build by King Narapatisithu towards the end of the 12^th century to enshrine a number of sacred Buddhist relics given to him by the King of Sri Lanka.

The Dhammayazika is a brick structure, surrounded by five smaller structures that each enshrine an image of one of the five Buddhas of the current Kalpa.

Bell shaped gilded dome

The pagoda is topped by a very large, impressive bell shaped fully gilded dome. The dome with horizontal concentric rings is beautifully decorated with several motifs, including lotus buds.

Pentagonal floor plan

Where most of the Bagan monuments have a square floor plan, the Dhammayazika has a pentagonal layout. There is an entrance on each of its five sides. The five sided floor plan was intended to include veneration of the Maitreya Buddha, the future Buddha yet to appear on earth.

Most of the large Bagan monuments with a square floor plan have a statue of the Buddha on each of the four sides of the structure, one for each of the four previous Buddhas that have reached nirvana, the Kassapa Buddha, the Kakusandha Buddha, the Konagamana Buddha and the Gautama Buddha.

The gilded dome of the Dhammayazika

Five shrines around the pagoda

On each of the five sides of the Dhammayazika pagoda is a smaller structure enshrining an image of the Buddha. Besides images of the four previous Buddhas, the fifth structure holds an image of the Maitreya Buddha, the future Buddha.

Shikhara and gilded hti

The five structures are topped with a shikhara (a tower like structure similar to that on the Ananda temple) and a gilded hti, an ornamental spire shaped as an umbrella.

The 547 Jataka tales

The three receding terraces that form the base of the dome contain glazed terracotta plaques with depictions of the 547 Jataka tales, the stories about the previous lives of the Buddha. Some of the beautiful plaques have weathered badly and are in a bad state.

The walkway towards the temple’s entrance is lined with vendors selling souvenirs and local products. A brick stairway leads up to the large, arched and intricately decorated entrance gate.

The Dhammayazika pagoda is set in a garden like environment with flowers and trees, in the otherwise mostly dry and often barren plains of Bagan.

Getting to the pagoda

Check out Getting around Bagan for ways to get to the Dhammayazika.

Other temples in Bagan

Among the other temples & pagodas in Bagan are:

History

History of Bagan