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It's often ask why the city of Old Bagan in Burma have so many pagodas. It's a strange thing, but it become understandable when you learn that there's a reason. In ancient times, it was a mandatory requirement for a king to demonstrate his power and legitimacy.
Just like in any government, massive construction projects represent a distinct achievement for a ruler. The same was true for the kings of Burma in the past.
This time, we will take a look at the Dhammayangyi Temple, believe to be an unfinish pagoda. However, it's one of the temples that has never been renovated or restored, as its story is truly fascinating.
This temple represents a man desire to become king. At that time, King Nathu wanted to overthrow his father and brother so he could rule. He ultimately killed them and assumed the throne. During his reign, he built this pagoda and erected two Buddha statues as a token of his gratitude to his father and brother.
This temple is quite spacious, luxurious, and very big temple, considering with another temples in the area, but it's still smaller than Ananda Temple, which has undergone frequent renovations.
Not only that, there are also several female Buddha statues, which represent King Nathu's mother or wife. I'd completely forgotten about this because my guide was talking about it, and I was focused on the statues, not the story. However, the statues were not far from the statues of his father and brother. They were also painted red, a red that resembled bloodshed. What was their significance?
Because the temple was quite large, I kept walking, as the story of Dhammayangyi Temple made me curious about the ambition of someone who wanted to rule and assume the throne. Was that really his strong ambition? Our guide's final words revealed that even until the end of his reign, King Nathu felt deeply depressed and didn't even leave the temple, remembering his sins against his family.
This is a piece of the story about Dhammayangyi who was a silent witness to a great struggle for power at that time. Like, history repeating itself?
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See you the next time hive friends!
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Editing by Lightroom and VN iphone 11
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About Author
Hi! Let me introduce myself, its me Wita.
I'm just a woman who wants to write whatever's on my mind. I really enjoy cooking, occasionally traveling, and doing whatever I like. I want to live like a bird flying freely in nature. But I know I'm only human. So, I can only write freely like a bird that can fly with its two wings.
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