Uppatasanti Pagoda

Uppatasanti Pagoda
ဥပ္ပါတသန္တိစေတီတော်
Shown within Myanmar
Basic information
Location Naypyidaw
Geographic coordinates 19°46′16.14″N 96°10′58.76″E / 19.7711500°N 96.1829889°E / 19.7711500; 96.1829889Coordinates: 19°46′16.14″N 96°10′58.76″E / 19.7711500°N 96.1829889°E / 19.7711500; 96.1829889
Affiliation Theravada Buddhism
Country Myanmar
Architectural description
Founder State Peace and Development Council
Completed March 2009
Thai delegation led by PM Abhisit Vejjajiva circumambulates Uppatasanti Pagoda

Uppatasanti Pagoda (ဥပ္ပါတသန္တိစေတီတော်, pronounced [ʔoʊʔpàta̰ θàɴdḭ zèdìdɔ̀]; officially called ဥပ္ပါတသန္တိစေတီတော်မြတ်ကြီး, also called the "Peace Pagoda") is a prominent landmark in Naypyidaw, the new capital of Burma. The pagoda houses a Buddha tooth relic from China.[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 "Rajahtani Naypyidaw" (the royal capital where the king resides).[3] The pagoda is 30 cm shorter than the Shwedagon Pagoda.[4]

"Uppatasanti" roughly translates to "protection against calamity". It is the name of a sūtra 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]

Structure

The pagoda precinct also comprises:[2]

According to The Irrawaddy, 20 people died during a ferris wheel accident at a festival marking the pagoda's consecration in March 2009.[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 [sèɪɴ bú dɔ̀]), took place on 10 March 2009.[1]

References

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  1. 1 2 "Than Shwe's New Pagoda Hides More than a Buddha Relic". The Irrawaddy. March 10, 2009.
  2. 1 2 3 "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.
  5. ↑ Weekly Eleven News Journal. 1 (No. 44): 9. 16 August 2006. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ "20 Reported Dead in Naypyidaw Funfair Disaster". March 10, 2009.
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