By Maung Maung Aye
It was 9 am when we left our car at the parking lot near the entrance to the precincts where the Maravijaya Buddha Image sojourned. I saw some security guards greeting us warmly with “Good morning”. We walked through them southwards. We headed for the platform.
On the way there, some pilgrims were walking with their family members and friends. Among them, I noticed an old woman sitting in a wheelchair pushed by her son. We walked, exploring the scenes and religious buildings on both sides of the road in the wide precincts. Meanwhile, we felt pleasant and eager to worship the large Buddha image that was the tallest in the world.
Ten minutes later, we departed from this road, turned left and espied the seated, large Maravijaya Buddha Image sojourning sublimely on the lotus throne on the platform. “Mara Vijaya” means victory over evil ones. “Thus, ‘Maravijaya’ is Buddha Image who won victory over the Evil Ones.”
The history of this Buddha image goes thus: the massive raw blocks were quarried from Sagyin Hill, near Mandalay. They were so enormous that the body of the Maravijaya Buddha Image had to be cut into four sections and the throne into five sections. The transport began by water. The first stage went from Sagyin Hill to Semikhon Port in Myingyan Township. That journey took 105 days, from 11 June 2020 to 23 September 2020. The second stage was by land. The blocks moved from Semikhon Port to the Buddha Garden site in Nay Pyi Taw. That took only five days – from 25 January 2021 to 29 January 2021. Thousands of tonnes of marble were handled. Every section was delivered successfully. Then, enshrining the sacred objects, relics and jewellery items in the throne, the Maravijaya Buddha image was constructed by the government for public veneration.
We ascended to the platform through a short flight of stairs. To my heart’s content, I paid homage to the great marble Maravijaya Buddha Image because I was just a visitor who came from Yangon. It had taken a long time to be desirous of pilgrimage to it. It was unlike my elder brother, who was posted as an administrative officer in Nay Pyi Taw.
I stood there and could not help but marvel at the Maravijaya Buddha image’s height and architectural design. It was a seated one facing west. It was sublime in Bhumiphassa mudra, bearing a trace of a smile on the lips. It was very blessed and auspicious. It is learned that this image itself rises 63 feet. The throne adds another 18 feet. The total height is 81 feet. The statue weighs 1,782 tonnes. The throne weighs 3,510 tonnes.
I noticed the pagoda platform was floored with marble slabs. There were four pavilions on the platform. I walked clockwise around the large Buddha image. I saw some pilgrims praying at the planetary posts. I got to the southern pavilion and enjoyed some murals depicted on the ceilings of the pavilion. My elder brother took my memorable photos inside it. After spending there for 20 minutes, we left the platform again.
After walking down the platform, I walked westwards because I saw some pilgrims having some photographs taken in the beautiful water fountain square. I saw some statues of white, lovely elephants near the water fountain. Due to the gentle breeze, I felt fresh and peaceful in my heart.
Passing through the water fountain square, I proceeded again towards the Maravijaya Park. I found many stone plaques on which Tipitaka treatises were carved in the Pali and Romanized Languages. Stone plaques with Tipitaka treatises on them totalled 1,440 in number. It is learned that apart from these stone plaques, four additional plaques also existed there as a commemorative record of the site. Each large plaque measures three feet and nine inches by six feet and three inches. The thickness is 7.2 inches.
We rambled in the precincts and got to the Buddha Garden Site (ဗုဒ္ဓဥယျာဉ်တော်). The area around the Maravijaya Buddha image was not just an open field. It had been carefully designed as a sacred landscape. We decided to visit each place one by one.
We walked to the Sudhamma Zayat (သုဓမ္မာဇရပ်). These Zayats were beautifully built of teak pillars. They included Myanmar architectural carvings. I sat down for a moment. The shade was cool. Pilgrims sat chatting relaxingly around us. The ancient architectural spirit was still alive here.
We went to Mucalinda Lake (မုစလိန္ဒအိုင်). This lake was built exactly according to historical accounts. As usual, a Buddha image was constructed in the style of sitting on the celestial serpent, who protected him from a storm or destructive elements. I stood by the water. It was calm and clear. The serene environment made my mind peaceful.
Tirelessly, we walked about in the precincts and reached the Nagayon Shrine (နင်္ဂါးရုံဘုရား). This shrine was built based on Buddhist scriptures. It showed the great celestial serpent (Naga) wrapping his coils seven times around the Buddha. He spread his hood to form a protective canopy. He protected the Enlightened One from wind and rain. The stone carving here was exceptionally fine. I stood there for some minutes. Then, we proceeded.
I entered the Ordination Hall or Sima (သိမ်တော်ကြီး၊ သာသနာ့ဗိမာန်တော်). It was modelled after the Great Cave Ordination Hall at Kaba Aye in Yangon. That was where the Sixth Buddhist Council was held. This majestic building could accommodate 900 monks and 1,200 lay devotees, totalling 2,100 souls in number. Inside, I saw a large Buddha image (နောင်တော်ကြီး ရုပ်ပွားတော်). I heard something interesting about this sacred Buddha image. Thus, before carving the final statue (Maravijaya), craftsmen first made a nine-foot prototype, seeking advice from the venerable monks with a mark of deep respect for tradition. The main Maravijaya Buddha image was modelled after this prototype. Afterwards, we left this building.
Then, we strolled through the gardens. The garden was a delight throughout the year. I saw Kyee trees (ကျည်းပင်). There was a sacred Bodhi tree brought from India. I also saw Ingyin trees (အင်ကြင်းပင်) from Lumbini – the Buddha’s birthplace. There were clumps of Lin Lun trees in Rajayatana Grove (လင်းလွန်းတောအုပ်). Nearly 1,000 Gangaw (ကံ့ကော်) trees stood tall. A natural stream had been straightened. A bridge was built in the style of the Mandalay Yadanabon era’s “Mingala Bridge” (မင်္ဂလာတံတား). Walking along the paths, I felt coolness from the white marble. The shade of the trees refreshed my mind. It was a true mental refreshment.
Overall, the precincts had been pleasant with such eminent places as the Mucalinda Lake, Sasana Beikman, Maravijaya Monastery, and Therasana Venue. There was also an archive museum, the pagodas, a monastery, a lake, an ordination hall, public rest houses and a bridge in the park, etc. We elapsed some hours unnoticed. When I looked up at the sky, the sun was already high. So, we walked back to the entrance near which our car was parked.
To conclude, the Maravijaya Buddha Image, the tallest in the world, was also one of the most renowned ones in Nay Pyi Taw. Thus, our pilgrimage there made me and my elder brother pleasant and increased our knowledge of history, religion, and architecture. Merits could also be obtained because we could pay homage to the Maravijaya Buddha Image and other sacred images while having a good time.
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