Mercoledì 9/XII/2016
The Sandamuni pagoda in Mandalay is known for its large
golden zedi, its hundreds of shrines containing inscribed marble slabs and the
largest iron Buddha image in Burma, the Sandamani, after which it is named.
Resembling the nearby Kuthodaw pagoda, the Sandamuni is
located on the foot of Mandalay Hill with good views of the hill and its
monasteries.
The pagoda was built as a memorial to crown Prince
Kanaung, who was murdered in 1866 by two of King Mindon Min’s sons, who were
unhappy not to be the first in line to become the next King. The bodies of the
crown Prince and three of his sons who were also killed were entombed on the
Sandamuni pagoda grounds. In the early 1990’s the tombs were moved to a
mausoleum in Mandalay.
The oldest structure on the grounds is the golden
chedi. The chedi was built in 1874 by King Mindon Min on the site of his
temporary Palace while the nearby Royal Palace was being built. Covered
walkways through hundreds of shrines lead towards the zedi in the center of the
complex. Set on a base of three square tiers of diminishing size, the conical
stupa is topped with a multi tiered hti, an ornamental spire.
Surrounding the central pagoda are 1774 shrines, each
housing a single marble slab. The slabs are inscribed with the teachings of the
Buddha, consisting of Sutta Pitaka, Vinaya Pitaka and Abhidhamma Pitaka (the
three baskets that make up the Tripitaka), as well as commentaries and sub
commentaries.
Each slab measuring 1.68 meters tall and 1.07 meters
wide is enshrined in a small white shrine named Dhamma ceti, Dhamma being the
teachings of the Buddha and ceti the Burmese word for chedi or stupa. The white
shrines are topped with a hti, an ornamental spire shaped like an umbrella. The
grounds are more cramped than the nearby Kuthodaw pagoda; little space is left
behind the rows of Dhamma cetis.
GLI SCULTORI DI STRADA E BOTTEGA
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