Uppātasanti Pagoda
ဥပ္ပါတသန္တိစေတီတော်
The pagoda from a distance
Religion
AffiliationBuddhism
SectTheravada Buddhism
Location
LocationNaypyidaw
CountryMyanmar
Uppatasanti Pagoda is located in Myanmar
Uppatasanti Pagoda
Shown within Myanmar
Geographic coordinates19°46′16.14″N 96°10′58.76″E / 19.7711500°N 96.1829889°E / 19.7711500; 96.1829889
Architecture
FounderState Peace and Development Council
CompletedMarch 2009
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Uppātasanti Pagoda (ဥပ္ပါတသန္တိစေတီတော်, pronounced [ʔoʊʔpàta̰ θàɰ̃dḭ zèdìdɔ̀]; officially called ဥပ္ပါတသန္တိစေတီတော်မြတ်ကြီး, also called the "Peace Pagoda") is a prominent landmark in Naypyidaw, the capital of Myanmar. The pagoda houses a Buddha tooth relic.[1] It is nearly a same-sized replica of Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon and stands 99 metres (325 ft) tall.[2]

History

Construction of Uppatasanti Pagoda began on 12 November 2006, with the stake-driving ceremony, and completed in March 2009, built under the guidance of Than Shwe, head of Burma's ruling State Peace and Development Council.[2] The invitation card for the stake-driving ceremony opened with a phrase "Rājaṭhānī Naypyidaw" (the royal capital).[3] The pagoda is 30 centimetres (12 in) shorter than the Shwedagon Pagoda.[4] The name "Uppātasanti" roughly translates to "protection against calamity". It is the name of a sutta prepared by a monk in the early 16th century. It is to be recited in time of crisis, especially in the face of foreign invasion.[5]

On 4 March 2009, 20 people died during a ferris wheel accident at a festival marking the pagoda's consecration.[6] The consecration of the pagoda, which involves the hoisting of the htidaw (sacred umbrella, ထီးတော် [tʰí dɔ̀]) and the seinbudaw (diamond lotus bud, စိန်ဖူးတော် [sèɪɰ̃ bú dɔ̀]), took place on 10 March 2009.[1]

Structure

The massive base of the pagoda which may be mistaken for a large hill is completely man-made. The pagoda precinct also comprises:[2]

Captive white elephants

Seven captive white elephants are kept at the pagoda grounds, under the custody of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation's Forest Department.[7][8] They are kept in inhumane conditions, shackled for 22 hours a day and housed in small open-air pavilions.[9]

Gallery

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Uppatasanti Pagoda.
  1. ^ a b "Than Shwe's New Pagoda Hides More than a Buddha Relic". The Irrawaddy. March 10, 2009. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "Signs of rapid development in Nay Pyi Taw". MRTV-3.
  3. ^ Steinberg, David (2009). Burma/Myanmar: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press. p. 133. ISBN 978-0-19-539068-1.
  4. ^ "Naypyidaw's Version of Shwedagon Pagoda Nears Completion". The Irrawaddy. March 6, 2009. Archived from the original on August 11, 2010. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
  5. ^ Weekly Eleven News Journal. 1 (44): 9. 16 August 2006. ((cite journal)): Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ "20 Reported Dead in Naypyidaw Funfair Disaster". The Irrawaddy. 2009-03-10. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  7. ^ Hirschi, Eva (2019-01-19). "Improving life for Yangon's white elephants". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  8. ^ "Status-Obsessed Myanmar Junta Chief's Reverence for White Elephants Draws Ridicule". The Irrawaddy. 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  9. ^ Hirschi, Eva (2019-01-19). "Improving life for Yangon's white elephants". Frontier Myanmar. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
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