Photo by Frank Blankers
Monywa, central Myanmar,
on the eastern bank of the
Chindwin River,
Mandalay Division.
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Photo by Frank Blankers |
Myanmar-Monywa Buddha Monywa, central Myanmar, on the eastern bank of the Chindwin River, Mandalay Division. |
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Myanmar - Monywa Buddha
Monywa is a city in central Myanmar and situated on the eastern bank of the Chindwin Rive, Mandalay Division. It lies 136 km north-west of Mandalay along the Mandalay-Budalin branch railway line. Monywa serves as a major trade center for India and Burma through Kalay Myo road and Chindwin river. Just beyond Bodhi Tahtaung, a short stroll towards the east will bring you to the Po Khaung Taung, a range of hills where you can see one of the largest reclining Buddha images in the world. Measuring 300 ft in length it is even bigger than the colossal Shwethalyaung reclining Buddha image in Bago (Pegu) which has a length of 180 ft. only. The head is 60 ft. in height. It was only built in 1991 and up to now there is still no roof or shelter to protect it from the elements. This huge image has a hollow cave-like structure inside and you can walk from the head to the feet. You will then see inside 9,000 one foot high metal images of the Buddha and his disciples in various postures. There are also representations of some of the important events in the life of the Buddha. If you are interested in Buddha footprints you can study the 108 auspicious symbols which are depicted on the soles of this huge image. With a lenght of ninety-metres it is the largest reclining Buddha in the world. Boddhi-tataung (1000 Buddhas). Originally the abbot who founded this complex set out to plant 1,000 trees and place a Buddha image under each. Now there are more than 5,000 Buddhas from merely life-size to a 90 meter long Reclining Buddha. This massive sitting Buddha is in the compound of Boddhi-tataung (1,000 boddhi trees). His eyelashes are made from 1/2" rebar, each approximately two feet long. Brief History The name Monywa comes from Mon meaning "cake or snack food" and Ywa which is the Myanmar word for village. There is a legend which says that in the old days a Myanmar king fell in love with a seller of cakes from this town and made her his queen. The original name some say is Mon-thema-ywa or "Village of the woman cake seller". There has been a large village at Monywa from the Bagan Period. The classical name for Monywa is Thalawadi. The chronicles mention that Monywa was one of the places where King Alaungphayar encamped for the night on his campaign to Manipur in 1758. During the Myanmar King's time, Monywa remained a village. The administrative center for the region was at Ahlon. It was only a year after the Annexation of 1886 that Monywa became the Headquarters of the Lower Chindwin District. In the last few years with the legalizing of the border trade with India, Monywa has grown into a bustling trading centre, second only to Mandalay in the Upper Myanmar region. Speical thanks for Frank Blankers for his effort to popularize the Monywa Buddha. Links to Myanmar Monywa BUDDHA Statue Frank Blankers Photo 418 Frank Blankers Photo 420  myanmartravelinformation.com Trek Earth Monywa Photos www.thisisvlad.com Myanmar.gov Return to World's Greatest Statues Link to other Monuments Page Return to Statue of Liberty Homepage This page maintained by Gary Feuerstein gary@endex.com 8 February 2004 
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