Kondawgyi Temple (151/ 122 A)(ကုန်းတော်ကြီးဘုရား)

Type of monument Type II Temple
LocationSouth of Thetkyamuni
RegionNyaung U & Wetkyi-In
Built byUnknown
Date13th Century
Monument Number 151/ 122 A
Kondawgyi Temple(ကုန်းတော်ကြီးဘုရား)

Kondaw Gyi Paya is situated on a mound south of Thet Kya Muni Paya.

The Kondawgyi probably derives its name, “Great Holy Mound”, from its situation on a mound. A 13th century temple, it has, like the Thetkyamuni nearby, receding terraces surmounting the main square block. However, there is no spire, and a large stupa rises immediately above the terraces.

It is a temple facing east. A zedi stands on its brick image house. Inside the image house are fine frescoes. On the walls of devotional hall are depicted eight scenes of the Buddha’s life and scenes of 550 Jatakas.

In the frescoes on the ceiling of the main hall are beautiful floral designs figures of birds and couples of animals.

The story of the future Buddha receiving prediction from the 28 Buddhas and important events of the Buddha’s life are depicted with captions in ink writing. Owing to the earth quake of 1975, about 30 percent of the beautiful frescoes on the ceiling had fallen off. The plaster mouldings are excellent art works. They include figures of devas, nagas and ogres clutching floral garlands.


The diagram is based on a painting from the Kondawgyi temple, Bagan, 13th century.
Mount Meru and the surrounding seven mountains with the seven seas, together with the four continents:

-Popawideha (East), (ပုဗ္ဗဝိဒေဟကျွန်း) which is white and crescent-shaped;

-Jambudīpa, Zambudipa (South), (ဇမ္ဗူဒီပကျွန်း), which is brown and triangular.

-Aparagawyana (West), (အပရဂေါယာနကျွန်း) , which is green and round; and

-Ottarakuru (North), (ဥတ္တရဂုရုကျွန်း), which is gold in colour and square in shape;
Unique Stucco Curving of Kondawgyi Temple

Kondawgyi Temple (Google Map)


Reference Books:

Glimpse of Glorious Bagan, Universities Historical Research Centre, Yangon, Myanmar, The University Press, 1996

Pictorial Guide to Pagan, Ministry of Culture, Yangon, Myanmar, The Printing and Publish Corporation, Reprint 1975

The Pagodas and Monuments of Bagan, Vol. 1, Translated by Dr Khin Maung Nyunt, Ministry of Information, Yangon, Myanmar, Graphic Training Centre (G.T.C), 1995

The Pagodas and Monuments of Bagan , Vol. 2, English Text by Dr Khin Maung Nyunt, Ministry of Information, Yangon, Myanmar, Graphic Training Centre (G.T.C), 1998

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