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The Last of the great pagodas of Bagan, the Mingalazedi, the “Auspicious Pagonda” was built by King Narathihapate (1256-1287).
According to the chronicles, Narathihapate started building the Mingalazedi in 1268, but before it could be finished a prophecy arose. “The pagoda is finished, the kingdom is destroyed!”. The royal soothsayers interpreted this to mean that Bagan would be sestoryed when the Mingalazedi was finished, and, Narathihapate, much afraid, stopped work on the pagoda altogether. After a lapse of six years, the Venerable Panthagu came to Narathihapate and reproached him: “O King! You have not observed the meditation on Impermanence. You build a work of merit, yet you would not finish it for fear that the country will be ruined. Will this country and its king endure forever and never die?” Narathihapate, chastened, started work on the pagoda again and finished it in 1274. Ten years later, he fled from Bagan in the face of a Mongol invasion. The Mingalazedi, beautifully proportioned, is an outstanding representative of the pagoda type whose form was established by the Shwezigon. The three receding terraces, the low, bell-like dome on its octagonal base, the tapering conical finial-all come together in a pleasing and harmonious unity. The country and the king indeed did not endure, but they left behind a monument of surpassing beauty. Reference 1. Glimpses of Glorious Bagan, Jan 1996, by The Universities Historical Research Centre |
