Umbrella Pagoda

Details

Name

The Umbrella Stupa

Location

Between Eastern and Northern Adoration Halls

Category

Pagodas | Places to visit
In the year 1233 of the Myanmar Era (1871 AD), King Mindon offered a great umbrella (hti) to the Shwedagon Pagoda. However, as it had become old, worn out, and decayed over time, the Shwedagon Pagoda Permanent Restoration and Reconstruction Committee, under the guidance of the Shwedagon Pagoda Treasury Trustees and revered senior monks, sought advice to restore the pagoda. With the combined efforts of Myanmar engineers and architects, a new golden umbrella was successfully offered in the year 1361 of the Myanmar Era, on the 4th, 5th, and 6th waxing days of the month of Tagu (April 4, 5, and 6, 1999 AD).

Once the new golden umbrella was installed at the Shwedagon Pagoda, the parts of King Mindon’s original umbrella were carefully reassembled to their original form, and the King Mindon Great Umbrella Stupa was constructed in the Sunday corner of the pagoda for the public to admire and venerate. The grand crown, or “Hti” of King Mindon’s umbrella, weighs 0.6 tons. It was crafted to the same size and shape as the original grand crown of the Shwedagon Pagoda. The King Mindon Umbrella Stupa was constructed with the umbrella placed at a height and the building designed in a circular shape. The entrance is made on the western side, and at the entrance, four Buddha statues, who attained enlightenment in the four directions of the Bhaddakappa (Auspicious Aeon), are venerated. The foundation stone for the King Mindon Umbrella Stupa was laid on the 5th day of the waxing moon of Kason in the 1361 Burmese calendar year (April 19, 1999), and the construction was completed with the installation of the golden umbrella on the full moon of Nat Taw (December 22, 1999). Beside King Mindon’s Hti Pagoda, there are also two other pagodas made of cement, one representing King Mindon’s Hti and the other representing King Sin Phyu Shin’s Hti, both of which are venerated.