The art and architecture of India - Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (Art Ebook)

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44© CEYLON AND SOUTH-EAST ASIA
the most distinctively Burmese aspect of the
Pagan Period is the emphasis on vertically,
stressed by the terraced recession culminating
in the tapering slenderness of the superstructure
of the stupa proper. The shrine as a whole bears
a certain resemblance to Javanese monuments
in the relationship of square terraces and circular
superstructures. Like some Javanese classical
buildings, such as Barabudur and the Siva
temple at Prambanam, the walls of the terraces
at Mingalazedi were decorated with relief sculpture
leading the pilgrim to the summit of his
circumambulation.
The closest relations between Burma and the
late Buddhist kingdoms of Bengal are evident
not only from the style of early Burmese sculpture,
but from an actual copy of the Mahabodhi
temple at Gaya, dedicated at Pagan in 121
[367]. The copy repeats such features of the
original as the enormously high and solid basement
and the shape of the truncated pyramid or
central tower with lesser replicas of this spire at
the angles of the podium. 4
The most famous temple at Pagan is the
Ananda temple, rising like a great white mountain
ofmasonry topped with pinnacles of gleaming
gold [373], This sanctuary is the first to
strike the eye of the visitor to the ancient city of
Buddhist ruins. It is one of the most venerated
and popular temples in Pagan, and has been in
worship since the day of its dedication. According
to tradition, the temple was first constructed
by Buddhist friars from India during the reign
of King Kyanzittha (1084-1112). Legend has it
that the temple was intended to reproduce the
general appearance of the cave where the Indian
372. Pagan, Mingalazedi //
2?