Petleik East-West

Petleik East-West

Type of monument	: Type IV Temple (Sinhalese)
Location	: North of Lawkanandar Pagoda
Region	: Thiripyitsaya & Bagan Myo Thit
Built by	: King Anwarahta
Date	: 11th Century
Monument Number	:

Ashe meaning east and Anauk meaning west in
Myanmar, defines theses pagodas as the pagodas in east and west
Petleik. Theses were built by King Anawrahta. The two pagodas
are similar to each other but the Eastern pagoda is larger than
the other one. Petleik means "Rolled leaves" resembles the shape
of the pagodas in wrapped leaf form. The Western pagoda is
better preserved and has a bell-shaped dome. There are unusual
features of the dome and are four deep niches at the cardinal
points to house images of the Buddha. Anauk Petleik Pagoda has a
damaged bowl-shaped disc rests on the dome, while Ashe Petleik
has a box-like relic chamber occupying the corridor. Series of
Jataka plaques were originally complete, but many are now
missing and some are broken into fragments.


In 1905, an excavating group revealed a twin 11th century
pagodas near Thiripyitsaya village. The pagodas were built not
on a solid base as expected, but on vaulted corridors, the walls
of which were lined with hundreds of unglazed terracotta tiles
illustrating scenes from the jatakas. New roofs were built over
these twin tiers of tiles, many of which are still in excellent
condition, particularly in the better preserved Anauk Petleik
Paya. The buildings themselves are not very impressive but are
of ancient architecture.