Shwedagon Pagoda Yangon
Mon foundation legend 6th c. BCE; major form 14th–18th c. CE·Mon-Burmese Theravada Buddhist·🇲🇲 Yangon Region, Myanmar
About
About Shwedagon Pagoda Yangon
Shwedagon Zedi Daw – 112m gilded stupa encrusted with 60 tonnes of gold leaf and 5,448 diamonds (76-carat crown), enshrining hairs of Gautama and relics of three prior Buddhas. Mon legend 2600-year origin; archaeology confirms Mon 6th c. foundation, 14th–18th c. enlargement. 105 surrounding smaller stupas, Singu Min bell (1790, 23t) and Shwedagon Pagoda Festival at Tabaung make it Myanmar's Theravada axis mundi.
Why it mattersMyanmar's holiest Theravada shrine and relic stupa of record gold mass
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Construction labor organization
- 02Chronology and phasing
Theories
- 01Ceremonial centre and cosmological alignment
- 02Territorial marker and ritual landscape
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- Tradition 6th c. BCE relic enshrinement; current 99m stupa 1485–1768 reconstructions
- Period
- Mon foundation legend 6th c. BCE; major form 14th–18th c. CE
- Culture
- Mon-Burmese Theravada Buddhist
- Builders
- Mon kings, Burmese dynasties (Binnya U, Hsinbyushin)
- Purpose
- Theravada Buddhist relic stupa housing hairs of Gautama and predecessors
- Excavation
- Excavation ongoing
Tradition 6th c. BCE relic enshrinement; current 99m stupa 1485–1768 reconstructions
Initial construction
On the ground
Structures & features
16.7983° N · 96.1497° E · 52 m · 3 mapped features
Main Gilded Stupa (Zedi Daw)
stupa112m bell-shaped stupa with 76-carat diamond hti
16.7983° N · 96.1497° ESingu Min Bell
bell1790 23-tonne Singu Min bell (second largest)
16.7985° N · 96.1498° EShwedagon Platform and Shrines
platform105 subsidiary stupas and 64 small temples on raised platform
16.7980° N · 96.1494° E