King
Kyansittha (AD 1084 -1112)
The bronze statue of the
King at the Bagan Museum
King Kyansittha, the second
king of fame in the Bagan Dynasty, is a romantic figure, a warrior of
courage and prowess, a lover who kept his word and faith and also a
great ruler who consolidated the Bagan Kingdom founded by his father
King Anawrahta ( AD 1044 -1077 ). He and his queen Abeyadana and son
Rajakumar were also builders of magnificent pagodas and temples in Bagan
which are visited by thousands of people today who come to admire the
fine architecture, the beautiful art work and colorful paintings; for
Buddhists to pray and meditate in these tranquil religious edifices with
cool and peaceful interiors.
When King Anawrahta died in AD 1077 the building of the great Shwezigon
Pagoda begun in 1050 at Nyaung-Oo near Bagan was still uncompleted. In
fact only three receding square terraces from the ground up had been
finished and it was King Kyansittha who built the actual stupa which now
gleams and sparkles in the brilliant sun proclaiming with pride as
recorded in the chronicles that "Shwezigon is famous in the world of men
and the world of spirits as far as the world of the Brahmas (Celestial
beings)."
The Shwezigon is a solid gilded stupa with its golden mass giving it an
air of weight and stability. Shin Arahan, the Buddhist Primate and the
royal teacher had urged King Kyansittha to complete this pagoda soon
after he came to the throne.
King Kyinsittha being a born leader of men mustered and organized the
people of Bagan, from the royal princes and ministers to the common
folk, to work together, contributing their labour as an act of merit, to
finish the pagoda in seven months and seven days.
This is all recorded in the
Myanmar Royal Chronicles of how the people were deployed to quarry rock
from the nearly Tuywin Taung ( Mount ) and bring the stones and bricks
needed for the massive bell-like dome. From Tuywin Taung the rocks were
carted westwards to a spot near the banks of the Ayeyawady River to
complete this pagoda.King Kyansittha also left a lengthy inscription in
the Mon language and set it up on two stone pillars at the eastern
approach to the Shwezigon. Kyansittha’s inscriptions are all in Mon and
it was only his son Rajakumar who first wrote in Myanmar language for a
dedicatory inscription.
In this inscription King Kyansittha proclaimed that he had been born as
a mighty king in Bagan to fulfill a prophecy made by the Buddha that a
great king will reign in Bagan who will make the Buddhist Sasana
flourish. The inscription proclaims "Know Ye all men that this is he."
King Kyansittha indeed made Buddhism flourish in Bagan as never before ;
the pagodas that he built are a constant reminder of the pious works of
this great king. The greatest monument built by
King Kyansittha is without doubt the Ananda Temple at Bagan, one the
greatest and most lovely pagodas in the whole of Myanmar. It is a
veritable picture gallery of relief scenes, and terracotta estampage
works (beautiful green glazed terracotta plaques), the largest
collection ever made for a single building, which portray the last ten
Major Lives of the Jatakas ending with the Vessantara Jataka.
The name Ananda is wrongly thought to be derived from the name of the
Buddha’s cousin and closest disciple Shin Ananda. Actually, the name
comes from Ananda-pyinnya in Myanmar, or Anantapanna in Pali, and it is
one of the attributes of the Buddha, his ‘Infinite Wisdom’— ‘Ananda’
means ‘Infinite’ and ‘Pyinnya’ means ‘Wisdom’.There are two portrait
sculptures in the west shrine, the only such figures in Bagan. One is
said to be none other than that of the great King Kyansittha and the
other of the famous Mon monk Shin Arahan who brought Theravada Buddhism
to Bagan in mid-11th century.
They are probably made of lacquer. King Kyansittha kneeling before the tall Gaudama Buddha image has sharp, clear cut features, a serene pious facial expression, a strong chin denoting a figure of courage and determination yet mellowed with compassion for all sentient beings. He wrote in one of his many inscriptions that "With loving kindness shall King Kyansittha wipe away the tears of those who are parted from their trusty friends . .. his people shall be unto him as a child to its mother’s bosom .." The chronicles record that King Kyansittha riding a white horse led a procession of his people, monks, ministers, soldiers and merchants to the Ananda Gu Phaya in AD 1090 at its dedication ceremony. Similar in outward appearance to the Ananda but much smaller is another pagoda built by King Kyansittha a few miles south near Myinkaba called Abeyadana.
The statue of the King, inside the Ananda temple.
This statue is almost 1,000 year old
There is another building connected with King Kyansittha and named after him, though there is no record that he actually built it. It is the Kyansittha Umin near the great Shwezigon Pagoda. This Umin or cave-like tunnel is a low brick structure, not much to look at from the outside.The dark corridors were probably used by monks to reside in during the Bagan Period. The only interesting feature of this dark building are some paintings left by the Mongols from around AD 1287. A late inscription ascribes it to Queen Abeyadana, the beautiful and faithful consort of King Kyansittha. Kyansittha was already married to Abeyadana before he became king and while he was hiding from the wrath of King Saw Lu, Abeyadana came to wait for him, bringing him food at this spot. Both the Abeyadana and the Nagayon temple across the road face northwards in the direction of the Grand Royal Palace that King Kyansittha built in AD 1102/ 3. They were probably garrisoned in this building during their short occupation, and to while away their leisure hours painted these valuable portrayals of Mongol archers and hunters with trained hawks.
The pagoda whose inscription fixed the actual dates of King Kyansittha’s reign, the Gubyauk-gyi at Myinkaba, was built by his son Raja-kumar when King Kyansittha after a reign of ( 28 ) glorious years, lay sick and nigh unto death. Facts about this pagoda will be presented in a later article as it is one of the most interesting and important pagodas of Bagan.
King Kyansittha left for posterity not only a united, consolidated kingdom of Myanmar, but also put Theravada Buddhism on a strong, firm foothold. At the same time he left for us these grand and beautiful pagodas with their lovely frescoes and images, a legacy of art and architecture not only for Myanmar but for the world.
Thaw Kaung