Myazedi, Bagan, Myanmar

Myazedi, Bagan


Myazedi is an ancient temple in the village of Myinkaba in Bagan, Myanmar. It is located next to Gu Byauk Gyi Temple (a different temple from the one in Wetkyi Inn).

Myazedi is important in the understanding of Bagan history because it was here that ancient tablets were discovered. In the discovery made in the late 19th century, there were two stone inscriptions. The better preserved one is now kept at the Bagan Museum while the other one is still in situ at Myazedi.

The ancient tables can be considered something like Myanmar's Rosetta Stone. As the text on them were in four languages, namely Pyu, Pali, Mon and Burmese, they helped archaeologists and historians learn about the past. The tablets are also significant because this is the earliest appearance of the Burmese language in a dated tablet. It also helped increase the knowledge of the Pyu language.

Myazedi, Bagan


Myazedi dates from the 12th century. It was built by a prince for his sick father, King Kyanzittha (1084-1112). The recovered tablets mention the ascension of Kyanzittha to the throne in 1084. This is based on the calculation from the death of the Buddha, believed to be in 544 BC, to which the tablets mentioned "1628 years later".

The stone inscription went on to mention that King Kyanzittha ruled for 28 years, and during the time he was gravely ill, his son made the dedicated, calculated to be in AD 1112. In order that his father get well, the prince dedicated a golden Buddha statue and a temple with a golden spire, believed to be Myazedi.

Although the golden Buddha is now gone, the general belief is that it resemble the bronze Buddha statues of that period, now in museums in Bagan and Yangon. Nonetheless there is a possibility that it may have been buried inside Myazedi, and discovery of statues buried under its brick wall have been made in the past. Such statues were ceremonially interned.

The ancient stone tablet discovered at Myazedi


Reference:
Ancient Pagan by Donald M. Stadtner, page 24 and 172.

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