Dhamma-Yan-Gyi

 

 While staying at Bagan the town itself lead me in doing  long bicycle rides all over the old Pagodas and Temples that are found there.

It was an early morning ,which seemed to start as a cloudy one,that I chose to do that bicycle ride towards Dhamma-Yan-Gyi Pagoda.

 The temple is located about a kilometer to the southeast of the city walls directing Minnanthu.It was not so far from Old Bagan approximately a 3 kilometers ride.I have seen it from above while doing a Balloon flight over the old Bagan City.

Photo of the Dhamma -Yan Gyi from above

  Using Bicycle to approach some of the Temples and Pagodas is one great way to spend day and take photos.The route it self was interesting all the way there!

I was not the only one on this quiet route.

Dhamma- Yan- Gyi was built late in the reign of Sithu I (1113-1170), its magnificent pyramidal height dominating the surrounding plain.It is a massive temple in Bagan that was constructed by king "Narathu" in the mid of XXII century.

 

Sun started to appear removing the clouds when I reached the Temple.

  

The Dhamma-Yan-Gyi , was the copy of Ananda Temple, (Soon I will post about Ananda Temple here ) is a very large square single story pyramidal temple with six monumental ascending exterior terraces and has two corridors inside constructed in a plan in perfect Greek Cross.

 It is extending approximately 77.7 meters (255 feet) on each of its four sides, is Bagan’s most massive shrine.
 I started by looking around to photo shoot the other 3 entrances. 

 

Air was so clear by the end of my walk around this amazing structure.

 Oriented toward the east, the Dhamma-Yan-Gyi's brickwork is finely crafted—perhaps it is the finest in Bagan. (Narathu reportedly would execute masons if he could stick a pin between the bricks).

And it is true the masonry job of this temple so remarkable that even a needle cannot penetrate between two bricks.  

 Because of the death of the builder, perhaps, the temple was never finished. There is, however, another mysterious element to the temple, in addition to the identity of its builder.
There are two inner ambulatories around a solid square central core that is approximately almost 25 meters (82 feet) on each side.

 

Almost all of the inner ambulatory passages were filled with rubble, probably from around the time of its construction. Some suggest that if Narathu was the builder, workers stopped building at the time of his death and perhaps even filled in the inner ambulatory out of spite. The Dhamma-Yan-Gyi remains one of the most unique and intriguing constructs on the Bagan plain.

Its cruciform floor plan, with shrines in each arm connected by a circumferential corridor, resembles the later Sulamani Temple.(I will write about Sulamani in the posts that will follow)

Both temples have a solid central core, but in Dhamma- Yan- Gyi, the ambulatory and three of the four shrines were filled in with brick rubble, for reasons which even today remain mysterious. 
 

The interior floor plan of the temple also includes two ambulatories.

Almost all the entire innermost passage, however, was intentionally filled with brick rubble centuries ago. 

Three out of the four Buddha sanctums were also filled with bricks. 

The remaining western shrine features two original side-by-side images of Gautama and Maitreya, the historical and future Buddhas.

Gautama and Maitreya

The interlocking, mortarless brickwork at Dhamma-Yan-Gyi, best appreciated on the upper terraces, is said to rank as the finest in Bagan.

 Unfortunately the highest terraces and hidden stairways leading to them are now off limits to visitors so I did not get to see much.
 But still the rest of the artifacts where more than amazing to view and photograph.

 It toke me almost half a day but I do not regret spending so much time there.
A unique site for eyes and soul.
Amazing structure from times so long ago.