The Manuha Temple

Photo:The master piece of an extreme art.

It is one of the famous temple in Bagan, old ancient city in Myanmar. If someone go there, they would have experience with the various legends which are related to the temples and the royal families. It is a tourist destination in Myanmar. More than that, Bagan is the heart of Myanmar people. One can experience the beautiful scenic nature of the old city, animation from the old ages, cultural essence and the principles of the heroes in the history, smell of the dessert trees called, Tamar is one of the most beautiful symbol of central Myanmar. One can see the drinking water pots donated for free under the trees and at the temples where there is scarce of water. The warmly welcomed common houses where we meet people and talk to each other while we are refreshing our tiredness under the burning of the sun. The small and big, great and anonymous, detailed and rough temples all contributing the beautiful nature of Bagan. When someone go to Bagan, it is to say that the trip is not completed if he has not been to Manuha temple. The Manuha Temple is the temple built by the Hmong King, Manuha who was confined in Bagan by King Manuha of 'Suwanabhumi'. I don't know weather it is true or not, it is said in the history that King Anawrahta of Bagan was so magnanimous that he let former king, whom he defeated, to live in a palace the same as in his kingdom 'Suwanabhumi' in 'Bagan'. I think it is like house arrest nowadays. In the history, people tell this story as a magnanimity of the king Anawrahta. When I have had a visit to U Khun Tun Oo's house in his house arrest, I could not believe that King Anawrahta was magnanimous. It was a palace but it is not at his kingdom. How would be the King Manuha in his house arrest? I think the palace would not be pleasurable anymore. One day, the king Manuha sold his ruby ring, one of the most precious one he owned at that time, to a rich man in Myinkabar village with nine carts of silver pieces. He built the Manuha temple with that money he earned from his royal ring. Some people say that the temple portray the Hmong generosity to give away the possessions. Some say that it is the symbolic of his confinement in Bagan with a very huge Buddha statue in a relatively small temple. However, it is really unproportionate to put four very big Buddha statues in that temple since it only left a small place for the visitors and we even got the feeling of suffocation from the form. Some historians interpret that 'The Buddha statue is really big but have a small temple, I am king but have no place here'. However, the three Buddha statues are the masterpieces of the confined king, having different looks on the face of the statue from the different angles. As a person who come in to the person, he would see the smiling Buddha in his first look. If he would squeeze in himself into the temple, he would see the frowning Buddha from the side view. Unluckily, I did not take picture of frowning Buddha in my camera. The sad emotion was created in the temple artistically and delicately. Some architects say that the temple and the statues are not proportionate that it gives different looks from different position, unstable. I think it was not an accident, it has an intention since it was one of the extremism in the architecture of ancient Bagan. In the temple there is a stone script which says that, ‘The King Manuha was building a temple. The King Anawrahta that, whether I could help you my dear friend to build this temple together. Let me send my messengers to help you. The king Manuha said, ‘no, I don’t want your help to do a good deed. Then the King Anawarahta replied that, Manuha don’t need my help that he should finish building the temple within six months. Then the former King made his temple with four statue by himself within six months and six days.’ When I read this I feel more confidence that it was the artifacts of a humiliated king. When I see the prison arts, I think that the Manuha Temple could be the one of the earliest prison arts in Myanmar built in 11th century.