The Coolidge examiner., 1935-09-27
Prepared By National GooRranhlc Society.
Mnnhlnaton. ID C-MNr snrNlce


washluKton. u. C.--WNU Service.
.DAGAN, Burma's Sacred City,
Hs solemnlty and mystery; ;
l. about IL is enchantment Here,
30 miles southwest OF Mandalay.
the traveller finds himself In the
midst OF a yeritable forest of tenn
pies and pagodas. large and small,
nearly perfect or almost unrecog-
nizable because OF decay. Before
their vast bulks the traveller be
comes painfully conscious OF his
littleness and inslguiiicance. His
mere presence seems an lmperti-
nence The crumbling walls, the fall
On pinnacles and the desolation are
eloquent OF the vanity of fame. the
hollowness Of glory. and the fulfil
lty OF human effort.
OF the 5000 or more temples that
are still To be seen, the Amanda,
the Thatbyinnyu. and Gawdawpalln,
standing all three within a circle
OF n quarter of mile radius, are
surprisingly beautiful and majestic.
The Amanda rises like a struc-
( ture OF foam. On Its summit. like
the flame upon some altar. a slen-
der. golden spire gathers the radi-
ance OF the sun and filings II forth
again TO every quarter. IL Is the
first OF all the temples 10 COM
mand the travellers attention; II is
the last upon which he gazes as
the swift steamer bears him away.
The Thatbyinnyu has suffered
more from time and neglect than
has the Amanda. Its walls are
blackened and much OF the detail
OF its ornamentation has fallen
away. II is hardly beautiful: IL is
majestic About IL is a suggestion
OF enormous solldlty and noble
loftIness Of conception.
The third temple has neither the
exquisite beauty OF the Amanda nor
the subllmIty OF the Thatbyinnyu
yet In the perfect harmony of its
proportions. the refinement Of every
detail. II has a charm OF its own.
II contributes with the others 10
the spell which Pagan casts over
even the most careless visitor.
Lovely View From Circuit House.
Past the Gawdawpalln the path
leads on TO the circuit house. At
every step is revealed some new
grouping Of effects. some new har-
monies OF proportion or felIcltIes
Of detail. and from the spacious
veranda OF the resthouse the view
Is one never 10 be forgotten. West
ward the river and the hills, silver
and gold and blue In the sunset;
near at hand the Gawdawpalln,
with orange light and soft purple
shadows mingllng and shifting over
its huge battlements; farther away
the Amanda and the Thatbyinnyu,
now indIstinct In the twilight; and
all around, the half-seen outlines
Of pagodas.
Heroic achievements the basest
yilIaIny, successful subtlety-all
these are mingled In the history OF
this ruined city.
The greatness OF Pagan, and with
II reliable Burmese history, dates
from the accession Of Anawrata,
about A. ID. 1917. This truly re-
markable monarch won by the
sword splendid empire and es-
tablished dynasty that continued
In power for more than 200 years.
AT the beginning of his reign he de-
voted himself TO the moral and re-
ligious uplift Of his people. A cor
rupt and degrading "Naga worship"
or obedience to devils, In the form
OF serpents. had come through AS
sam from northern India.
Anawrata's Great Reform.
Soon after Anawrata ascended
the throne Buddhist missionaries
arrived at Pagan from the country
OF the Talalngs, people dwelling
TO the south and, as a result Of the
frequent and easy communication
with India by sea, highly civilized.
These Talaing missionaries found
the king Jealous convert. He ex-
PEELED the priests of the abomin-
able cult that for so many years
had debauched his people, strict
ly prescribed the Naga worship, and
did everything in his power to furth-
er the efforts of the preachers.
His fervor had, however, one la
mentable result. Hearing that there
were in Thaton, the Talaing capt.
tai, copies of the Buddhist Sacred
Books and several precious relics,
he sent a noble envoy to beg for
such portions as might be spared.
His reasonable request was refused
in a singularly insolent manner.
With characteristic energy Ana
wrata assembled an army and q
fleet and moved against Thaton. He
was completely successful, and as
the spoils of victory he carried back
to Pagan not only the books and
the priceless relics but the king
and queen of the fallen city, to-
gether with principal mobiles, rich
Ill