Maha Bodhi

The Maha Bodhi Temple, NE of the Gawdawpalin and just off the main road, is a replica of the temple of the same name at Bodhagaya in India's Bihar state, which was built in 500 AD at the site where the Buddha achieved enlightenment. The Bagan version is typical of India's Gupta Period and it is quite different from the standard bell-shaped Burmese temples. There are very few temples of this kind in Myanmar and was built during the regin of King Htilominlo (or Nadaungmya). It was the first temple in which a large number of Buddha images were placed in exterior niches - previously they had been confined to interior chambers. Most of these images are crude and rather disappointing close up: the whole temple is more impressive from a distance.

Temples in Bagan