Shite-Thaung temple
Large fortress like temple with a maze like interior
The Shite-Thaung, a fortress like stone temple with a dark, maze like interior is one of Mrauk U’s most impressive monuments. The temple is located on a hill about one kilometer North of the Royal Palace.
Shite-Thaung translates to “temple of the 80,000 images of the Buddha” referring to the number of Buddha images contained in it.
Built in 1535
The temple was built in 1535 by King Min Bin to commemorate the success of a military campaign. It is therefore also known as the “Temple of victory”. Construction with a thousand workers lasted just one year. This was a prosperous time for Mrauk U, a time of expansion of the empire and great military power.
Architecture of the Shite-Thaung
The temple’s location on a hill and massive bunker like construction has led archeologists to believe it was used as a fortress and place of refuge during times of war. Its architecture, specifically its turret like stupas incorporates elements of 16th century Bengal (present day Bangladesh and Bengal state of India) style.
The large sandstone temple is built halfway up a small hill. It is surrounded on all sides by very solid walls except the East which adjoins the hill. The North and South walls are lined with small turret like pagodas. On the East side is a much more recent tazaung building and a stairway leading to the temple, which stands on a platform.
At the center of the temple’s flat surface stands a 26 meter high bell shaped stupa surrounded by four smaller stupas at the corners, in turn surrounded by even smaller stupas. A total of 27 stupas are found on the temple’s surface. Outside of the temple’s walls are several more stupas in various styles.
The maze like interior of the Shite-Thaung
Entering the temple, the visitor arrives in the main prayer hall, a large room containing a great number of images of the Buddha. From here, entrances lead to several arched dark, inner passageways encircling the room with the principal Buddha image. An almost 100 meter long passageway through the temple’s interior is lined with sculpted figures cut out of stone in six rows placed one above the other.
Over a thousand sculptures in bas relief depict ordinary Rakhine people like boxers, wrestlers, dancers and humans praying as well as scenes from the Jataka tales, the stories about the previous lives of the Buddha. The passageway also contains sculptings of Hindu figures, like Indra on three elephants, the Earth Goddess Vasundhara and Surya, the Hindu God of the sun. At one of the corners is a sculpture of the builder of the temple, King Min Bin and his queens. After 100 meter the passageway finally ends up again in the main prayer hall.
Another passageway contains a Buddha footprint and is lined with niches enshrining images of the Buddha. At the center of the temple is the room that enshrines the Shite-Thaung’s principal Buddha image, seated on a pedestal. The three meter high golden Buddha image is in the Bhumisparsha mudra, also known as calling the Earth to witness.
Shitthaung pillar
A building next to the entrance stairway contains the Shitthaung pillar, which is much older than the Shite-Thaung temple itself. King Min Bin brought it over from Wethali, a Kingdom North of Mrauk U that existed from the 4th until the 8th century. The three meter high sandstone pillar bears inscriptions in ancient Sanskrit language, the oldest ones from the 5th century. One of its sides contains a list of Kings who ruled during the 7th and 8th centuries.
Near the pillar is a large stone slab, that was likely a lintel over the temple entrance gate. A carving in relief shows a conch shell in the water with a lotus flower growing out of it and a Dhamma wheel, symbolizing the “setting in motion of the wheel of Dhamma”, the teachings of the Buddha.
Other temples in Mrauk U
Among the other temples & pagodas in Mrauk U are: