Shwemawdaw Pagoda

MYANMAR, Bago

This is the tallest pagoda in Myanmar. It is not known when the pagoda was built. According to legend, two Mon merchant brothers, Mahasala and Kullasala, obtained two strands of hair from the Buddha as souvenirs when they traveled to India. They built this pagoda to enshrine the hair relics upon their return. The pagoda was rebuilt numerous times by successive kings, with the most significant reconstructions taking place in 1756 and between 1952 and 1954.
The layout of this pagoda is similar to that of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon. The pagoda was damaged numerous times due to earthquakes. During the repairs, the pagoda was expanded and made higher. It increased from an original height of 23 m to 114 m by 1954.
The pagoda is built on a wide square white base platform, which has two layers. There is an entrance at each cardinal point of the pagoda. In front of the main entrance there is a pair of huge guardian lions. The base consists of a series of layers with multiple corners. The two lowest layers have numerous ancillary pagodas, after which the base rises steeply. The pagoda body is bell-shaped and has triangular reliefs in the shape of leaves at the top. The spire consists of stacked rings with different designs, followed by a miniature version of the bell-shaped body, a canopy, and a finial. The pagoda enshrines the Buddha’s relics, which were honored in 982 and 1385.
There is a monument at the northeast corner of the pagoda, where the previous spire that fell off during the 1917 earthquake is placed at the top.