Bagan Nga-myet-hna Temple, Myanmar

Address

Bagan Nga-myet-hna Temple, Myanmar

Nyaung-U, Bagan,

Myanmar (Burma)

Moolavar

Buddha

Introduction

Nga-myet-hna Temple (13th century) is one of only seventeen known Bagan-era monuments with a pentagonal plan. The informal name of the temple, Nga-myet-hna, is simply the Burmese phrase for “five sided”, and thus may be applied to any of the pentagonal monuments.

The construction of five-sided monuments is rare throughout the world, with four-sided, octagonal, or circular monuments being the norm in Southeast Asia. Both Pichard and Luce suggest the pentagonal form probably derived from the liturgical desire to worship the five Buddhas of the present kalpa (age) in one building. These five Buddhas comprise the final four Buddhas mentioned in the Buddhavamsa (Buddha, Gautama) and Maitreya, the Buddha of the future who has not yet come.

The temple measures approximately 14 meters in diameter and includes five shrines connected by narrow corridors measuring just 55 centimeters in width. It is not perfectly symmetrical, as doorways open only on three of the five sides, with windows on the north and northwest facades. The layout and dimensions are very similar to Monument Number 607. At present, about 35% of its exterior stucco decoration survives. It was last repaired in 1976.