Pagan Area: Myinkaba Pagoda

The Myinkaba pagoda shares its name with a village and a stream, and the chronicles thus explain the origin of the name:

On the provocation of his half-brother King Sokkate, Anawrahta mustered his forces and marched against Sokkate. When the two met in single combat on horseback by a stream. Sokkate’s lance struck the pommel of Anawrahta’s saddle, but Anawrahta’s lance pierced Sokkate through and through. Sokkate’s horse ran away with its master to the stream, where he died. The stream thus became known as Myinkaba.

“Brought on the Horse’s Saddle.”

The chroniciles go on the relate that Anawrahta ascended the throne but, torn by remorse at the killing of Sokkate, he built the Myinkaba to make amends for his deed.

The Myinkaba is simple in form, with a dome and a finial which foreshadow Anawrahta’s later work, the Shwesandaw. But the great difference is in the terraces. While those of the Shwesandaw provide a lofty, pyramidal base, those of the Myinkaba are low and circular, creating quite a different effect.

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