Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda Festival

Buddha Images at Shwe Sar Yan Paya

This pagoda with or without a festival should not be missed. It has or must have had very wealthy patrons. It was built about 1000 years ago and is an hour’s drive from Mandalay. Massive pillars to the roof glitter with glass mosaics of gold and silver. On some pillars devas, who are heavenly spirits, are depicted in red, blue and aquamarine mirrored mosaics. The most striking of the Buddha images here, though curiously it is not the main image, is similar to the Maha Muni in Mandalay. But this paya is in the country not in a teeming city and has not had thousands of people applying gold leaf. It is all in gold but is smooth and svelte.

There is a romantic story attached to the paya. Around the 11^th century, there were nine sabwa or leaders of the nine parts of Northern Shan State. The chief sabwa offered a beautiful daughter to King Anawratha of Pagan. The king accepted her as a bride.

Years later, on her way back to Shan State to visit her family she lost an earring as she crossed a stream. Of course everyone thought it had fallen into the water, but not a trace could be found. Then someone noticed a group of small birds flying and it was the beat of their wings that kept the earring aloft. Then, miraculously, the earring fell out of the sky into her hand. This version of the story is amazing enough, but another version had the earring returning to her (correct) ear. Either way, she built the pagoda on the site and donated the earring to the Buddha.

The svelte Buddha Image

Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda

A mirrored mosaic deva