According to legend two Burmese brothers met the Buddha not long after he had reached enlightenment. The Buddha gave the brothers eight of his hairs and told them to enshrine the hair relics on Singuttara Hill, where relics of the three previous Buddhas had already been enshrined. The brothers returned to Burma and gave the Buddha’s hair relics to the King. The spot where the relics of previous Buddhas were enshrined was found. At that spot a relic chamber was built and a Pagoda was built over it.
Other structures of the Shwedagon temple
The large temple complex contains many other beautiful and interesting structures. The Naungdawgyi Pagoda where only men are allowed to go is the place where according to legend the hair relics of the Buddha were placed before they were enshrined in the main stupa.
A prayer hall contains a 8 meter long Reclining Buddha image.
The Bell Pavilion houses a 23 tons heavy bell cast in the second half of the 18thcentury. Another pavilion contains a 9 meter high sitting Buddha image wearing a golden robe.
A very attractive pagoda which resembles the Mahabodhi temple in India is decorated with very colorful Buddhist depictions.
The Arakanese Prayer Pavilion has very fine wood carvings, while another pavilion contains murals with scenes from the Jataka tales, the previous lives of the Buddha.
A great number of intricately decorated pavilions with multi tiered roofs called Pyatthat and several Tazaungs, a Burmese temple pavilion enshrining Buddha images are dotted around the complex.
While the oldest original structure of the Shwedagon is what is within the main stupa, the oldest dated structure is the Dhammazedi inscription. This tablet written in Burmese, Mon and ancient Pali language on the pagoda platform dated 1485 contains information about the history of the Golden Pagoda.
The world’s largest bell
Dhammazedi, King of the Pegu Kingdom during the end of the 15th century had an enormous bell cast in the year 1484. The bell, that is believed the largest bell ever cast weighing almost 300 tons was installed in the Shwedagon Pagoda.
In 1608 a Portuguese named Philip de Brito e Nicote who ruled Syriam (present day Thanlyin) as a Portuguese colony stole the Great Bell as he wanted to melt it down to produce cannons. The raft carrying the bell however sunk in the Yangon river. The bell is still at the bottom of the river today.
How to get to the Shwedagon Pagoda
The Shwedagon Pagoda is located in downtown Yangon on Shwedagon Pagoda Road on Singuttara Hill, Dagon township, just West of Kandawgyi Lake. A taxi from the downtown are to the pagoda should cost some US$ 3 - 4. Agree on the price first, often the meter will not be used.
Entrance fee & opening hours
The temple is open daily from 6 am until 10 pm. Admission is US$ 5 per person. A guide for a couple of hours will cost about US$ 5 - 10. Please dress respectfully meaning no revealing clothes, no shorts. Longyis (long cloth worn by Burmese men) are available at the ticket booth. Before entering the temple grounds, please remove shoes and socks. Leave them at the entrance or carry them with you in a plastic bag. The grounds can get very busy, especially during weekends and Buddhist holidays.
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