The layout of the Ananda Temple, built…
1105 CE
The layout of the Ananda Temple, built in 1105 during the reign of King Kyanzittha of the Pagan Dynasty, is in a cruciform with several terraces leading to a small pagoda at the top covered by an umbrella known as hti, which is the name of the umbrella or top ornament found in almost all pagodas in Myanmar.
The Buddhist temple houses four standing Buddhas, each one facing the cardinal direction of East, North, West and South.
The temple is a fusion of Mon and Indian architecture, showing the strong influence of tthe emples of Bengal and Orissa.
The temple has close similarity to the Pathothamya temple of the tenth and eleventh century.
One of four surviving temples in Bagan, it has also been titled the "Westminster Abbey of Burma".