Bagan Monument 0397 – Stupa, Myanmar

Address

Bagan Monument 0397 – Stupa, Myanmar

Taung Bi, Bagan,

Myanmar (Burma)

Moolavar

Buddha

Introduction

Monument 0397 (13th century) this finely proportioned stupa, known only by its catalog name, Monument 0397, is located immediately to the east of the Bulethi Pagoda (Monument 0394). Though superficially similar in scale and profile to Bulethi, the monuments are quite different.

Puranic Significance

Monument 0397 is bell-shaped pagoda crowned with a series of rings, forming a conical spire. The anda, or dome, stands atop a series of concentric bands forming a wide, flaring base that is nearly circular (though Pichard notes it is actually 16 sided). This ensemble rests atop two square terraces with reinvented corners, with the bottom terrace measuring about 23 meters on a side. Medial stairways provide access to the dome from all four sides. Surviving decorative treatment is sparse apart from plain glazed plaques set along the sides of the terraces. In some instances (at other temples) such plaques were used as an opportunity to display scenes from the Jataka tales, but here they were left in a plain state for reasons that are not known.

Nearby Bulethi, also built in the 13th century, is a quite different monument with an atypical bulbous dome lined with 12 vertical radial bands spewing forth from stone naga heads. Though the treatment of the base of the monument is similar to Monument 0397, the unusual dome (strikingly similar to the 11th or 12th century Pahto Hamya) suggests that either the architects deliberately built in an older style, or that Pichard’s 13th century date is incorrect by a century or more.