Atumashi Monastery
Atumashi Monastery is located at the North
Eastern part of the Mandalay Palace. Its only about
10 minutes drive from the royal palace.
The Atumashi Kyaung meaning Incomparable
Monastery (Maha Atulawaiyan Kyaungdawgyi), was
originally built in 1857 by King Mindon (1853-1879 ),
who had founded his new capital of Upper Burma at
Mandalay just a few years earlier in 1855. It was
one of the Kings last great religious construction
project. The original Atumashi was a magnificent
wooden structure with considerable exterior stucco
and set on a high platform reached by a formal
ceremonial staircase. Instead of the traditional
pyatthat (graduated wooden spires of decreasing
size) and multi-roof design of traditional monastic
buildings, the Atumashi was a huge grandiose
structure surrounded by five graduated rectangular
terraces. It was considered one of Southeast Asias
most magnificent buildings.
It originally contained a very large, almost 30
ft (9 m), image of the Buddha made from the kings
lacquered silk clothing. There were numerous
treasures within the structure, including a large
diamond set in the forehead of the Buddha, four
complete sets of the Tripikata (the three baskets
of the Buddhist sacred texts), and much more. When
the British annexed the city and Upper Burma in
1885, the large diamond vanished, perhaps taken by
the British or other marauders. The building and its
entire contents burned down in 1890.
For many years the ruins of the building lay open
to the elements. Stumps of the charred teak pillars,
a grand staircase and some colonnaded walls
remained. The area was cleared in the 1990s and was
rebuilt according to the original plans in 1996 by
the Burmese archaeological department with the use
of convict labor. While somewhat impressive, it does
not come close to recreating the magnificence of the
original building. The Atumashi Kyaung is near the
Kuthodaw Pagoda, built at the same time, and next
door to the Shwenandaw.
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Nearby Attractions
This monastery is near the base of the Mandalay
hill, and you can visit to Kuthodaw Pagoda, Sanda
Muni Pagoda and Shwe Nan Daw monastery nearby. |
