Shwesandaw Paya [monastery?], (in) Pyay, Bago Division, MM

Raw data

"The Shwesandaw Pagoda, or Shwesandaw Paya,[…] is a Buddhist pagoda in the center of Pyay, Burma. It is one of the more important Buddhist pilgrimage locations in Burma. It is said to contain a couple of the Buddha's hairs, as its name means Golden Hair Relic. It is one meter taller in height than Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shwesandaw_Pagoda,_Pyay

"The name "Pyi" means "country" in Burmese, and refers to the ruins of the Pyu capital of Sri Ksetra (Burmese: […], lit. "City of Splendour" in Sanskrit), which is located 8 km (5.0 mi) to the southeast of modern Pyay and is in the village of Hmawa - tmc.
Much debate surrounds the construction of Sri Ksetra. Maung Htin Aung suggests that Pyu might have been founded in 78 CE, based on the Sanskrit / Pyu Era. D.G.E. Hall and Gordon Luce however claim that civilisation of the Irrawaddy Valley could not have been possible before the 4th century, thus, attributing the founding of Sri Ksetra to 638, from which the current Burmese Kawza Era begins.
Sri Ksetra was the capital of the Pyu dynasty of Vikrama. The city was circular with walls enclosing an around of 46 km2 (18 sq mi), making it the largest walled city in Southeast Asia during its peak. The city contained both housing and also farms, as evident from the remains of water ways and tanks which have been discovered. The Chinese pilgrims Xuanzang and I Ching mentioned about Sri Ksetra in their mid-7th century accounts. It is not known when precisely the Pyus abandoned Sri Ksetra and moved northward. It is speculated that their decline was due to the growth of the Irrawaddy river delta, cutting it off from coastal trade, and also from Mon and later Tai Shan incursions. Burmese chronicles state that when Anawrahta invaded the southern parts of modern day Myanmar in 1057, he ordered the ruins of Sri Ksetra to be destroyed to prevent rebels from sheltering.
[…]
Lat 18.816667, Long 95.216667"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyay

Input by: tmciolek, Sep 21, 2012

Final data (and their sources)

Last updated: 17 Jul 2014

Lat/Long coordinates' accuracy:
The monastery in question is assumed to be situated actually no farther than 200 m from the point defined by the coordinates below.

Location of Shwesandaw Paya monastery, MM.

General location of the Shwesandaw Paya monastery, MM.
Lat 18.8181 Long 95.2211
Mapping & images: Falling Rain Genomics (http://www.fallingrain.com), 2012.


Google Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=18.8181+95.2211+(Approx.%20loc.%20of%20the%20Shwesandaw%20Paya%20monastery,%20MM)&ll=18.8181,95.2211&spn=05.0,05.0&t=k&hl=en

Final data - explanatory notes

1. Monastery's name

2. Monastery's modern country & province

  • Myanmar: Bago Division

3. Monastery's alternative/historical names

4. Monastery's lat/long coordinates

  • Approx., Lat 18.8181 Long 95.2211 - based on the visual identification of the site in maps and satellite imagery, maps.google.com - tmciolek, 21 Sep 2012.

5. Other known nearby Buddhist monasteries

  • [missing data]

6. Modern name of the known nearest city, town, or village

7. The settlement's alternative/historical names

8. The settlement's coordinates

9. Monastery's major Buddhist tradition

10. Monastery's Buddhist sub-tradition

  • [missing data]

11. Date-early

MBM chrono-tag 0633-66c - tmciolek 17 Jul 2014
0633-66c 0667-99c 0700-32c 0733-66c 0767-99c 0800-32c 0833-66c 0867-99c 0900-32c 0933-66c 0967-99c 1000-32c 1033-66c 1067-99c 1100-32c 1133-66c 1167-99c 1200=> dated-el

12. Date-intermediate

  • [missing data]

13. Date-late

MBM chrono-tag 1200=> - tmciolek 17 Jul 2014

14. Details of contacts with other monasteries

  • [missing data]

15. Type of evidence regarding the monastery

  • Architecture

16. Additional notes

  • [missing data] (incl. details of the size of the monastic population)

17. Corrections & addenda to this page were kindly provided by

  • [missing data]

18. Available Printed Literature

  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 1]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 2]
  • [bibliographical details of the Book/Article 3]

end of page

0633-66c0667-99c0700-32c0733-66c0767-99c0800-32c0833-66c0867-99c0900-32c0933-66c0967-99c1000-32c1033-66c1067-99c1100-32c1133-66c1167-99c1200=>200mdated-elmonastery(?)myanmarpagodaplacerelics-buddhassouth-east-asiatrad.theravadaven.xuanzangven.yijing
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