The Iconography and Symbolism of the Pacceka Buddhas in the Art of Pagan

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37
SAMERCHAI POOLSUWAN
THE ICONOG R A PHY AND S Y M B OLISM OF T H E
PACCEKA BUDDHAS IN THE ART OF PAGAN
INTRO D U CTION
In Buddhist literature can be found descriptions of three types of “fully awakened beings”: Omni -
scient Buddhas, their enlightened disciples or arhants, and a lesser order of Buddhas called, in Pali,
Pacceka Buddhas (Skt. Pratyeka). The first two types are well known in studies on Buddhist art, but
the last one has not yet adequately received the attention it merits. The Pacceka Buddhas are those
whose insight into the “Four Noble Truths” of Buddhism had been gained through self-enlighten-
ment, but who were unable to explain these noble truths to others. They preferred to adopt a solitary,
ascetic, and meditative life after their enlightenment. The existence of the Pacceka Buddhas is rooted
in a very early stratum of Buddhist literature.1Their role, however, is not central to Buddhism, since
they neither proclaim the supreme teachings nor do they encourage monasticism.
The Pali canon and its commentaries are the major sources for our knowledge of the Pacceka Bud-
dhas, including their spiritual natures, physical characteristics, ascetic tradition, and path to realiza-
tion. Additional information can also be gathered from other relevant sources. Contained in the
Khaggavisana-sutta (hereafter Khvs) of the Sutta-nipata (hereafter Sn), believed to be one of the oldest
parts of the Pali canon,2are forty-one verses, which are most likely associated with Pacceka Buddhas.
These verses3– each echoing, in a similar fashion, the virtue of the solitary life – are commented on,
with their relation to the Pacceka Buddhas clearly indicated, in another part of the Pali canon, the
Culla-niddesa.4Analogous writings mentioning the Pacceka Buddhas are also found in a hybrid San-
The author is grateful to Saya U Aung Kyaing, former Deputy Director General, Myanmar Department of Archaeology,
Thein Tun Oo, and Jamroon Thammada for their great assistance with reading and translating the mural inscriptions vital
to this study. Thanks are extended to Hiram W. Woodward Jr., Donald M. Stadtner, Nandana Chutiwongs, and Paritta
Chalermpow Koanantakool for their critical comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript that tremendously enhanced
its improvement; Frank Gillespie for English proof of an earlier draft of the manuscript; and Win Ko and Than Zaw for
field assistance. The research was supported by the Thailand Research Fund (Grant BRG50800018).
1 Martin G. Wiltshire, Ascetic Figures before and in Early Buddhism: The Emergence of Gautama as the Buddha (New York:
Mouton de Gruyter, 1990); Reginald A. Ray, Buddhist Saints in India: A Study in Buddhist Value and Orientations(New
York: Oxford University Press, 1994), 213–50; and Ria Kloppenborg, The Paccekabuddha: A Buddhist Ascetic (Kandy:
Buddhist Publication Society, Online Edition, 2006).
2 N. Jayawickrama, “A Critical Analysis of the Sutta Nipata (Part 3),” Pali Buddhist Review 2, no. 1 (1977): 14–41;
K. R. Norman, Pali Literature (Wiesbaden: Otto Harrassowitz, 1983), 65; and K. R. Norman, The Group of Discourses,
2nd ed. (Oxford: Pali Text Society, 2001), 162.
3 For a translation of the sutta, see, for example, Norman, The Group of Discourses, 5–9.
4 Mahamakutarajavidyalaya, Phra-sutra Lae Atthakatha Plae [A translation of the sutta texts and their commentaries]
(Bangkok: Mahamakutarajavidyalaya Press, 2525 [1982]), 67:509–628 (Khaggavisanasutta-niddesa).

skrit text, the Mahavastu-avadana of the Mahasanghika-Lokottaravadin Buddhist School,5and in a
Middle Indo-Aryan Gandhari Buddhist text, written in the Kharosthi script of probably the first cen-
tury CE.6The commentary to the Pali Khvs verses, composed by Buddhaghosa in the fifth century
CE, ascribes the verses to utterances of the Pacceka Buddhas concerning the state of mind that accom-
modated their enlightenment. The commentary attributes these sayings to individual Pacceka Bud-
dhas and provides their names and full biographies.7
A complete set of the verses contained in the Pali Khvs was also incorporated into the Paccekabuddha-
padana (hereafter Pb) chapter of the Apadana text (hereafter Ap),8belonging to a relatively late stratum
of the Pali canon.9The Ap version has an extra verse, a counterpart of the Khvs’s first verse, added at the
beginning of the set. The introductory and concluding sections of the Pb clearly associate the verses with
the Pacceka Buddhas, as the story was told to the elder Ananda by Buddha Gotama himself. Another
long account of the Pacceka Buddhas in the Pali canon is found in the Isigili-sutta (hereafter Is) of the
Majjhima-nikaya.10 The text begins with the Buddha explaining to monks that Mount Isigili, in con-
trast to other mountains around Rajagaha, has not had its name changed and has been the abode of the
Pacceka Buddhas. He then lists the names and describes the qualities of the Pacceka Buddhas who used
to reside there. A counterpart of the Is account is found in the Ekottarika-agama (hereafter Ea), pre-
served only in a Chinese translation, from the original Prakit text, made by Zhu Fonian in 384–85 CE .11
As described in the Pb, the Pacceka Buddhas, in their former existences, had deposited good deeds
in the previous Omniscient Buddhas, but they had not yet become arhants under the guidance of the
Buddha’s teaching. Being so scholarly and full of wisdom, they achieved full enlightenment during a
period when the Omniscient Buddha’s teaching was not available, after they understood the truth of
the world, which is a state of suffering.12 Existence of the Pacceka Buddhas only during an asunya-kappa
(a world cycle for the Omniscient Buddhas, who came into existence one after another) is confirmed
in the Madhuratthavilasini, a commentary on the Buddhavamsa, part of the Khuddaka-nikaya.13 Further
information from the Paramatthajotika, a commentary on the Sn, adds that the Pacceka Buddhas could
come into existence only during a period within an asunya-kappa when the teachings of the previous
Omniscient Buddha had completely lapsed and the enlightenment of the future Omniscient One had
not yet taken place.14 According to the Ea account, the Pacceka Buddhas who resided on Mount Isi -
gili rose up into the sky to attain their nirvana and immediately had their bodies spontaneously cre-
38
5 Émile Senart, Le Mahavastu: Texte sanscrit publié pour la première fois et accompagné d’introductions et d’un commentaire
(Paris: Imprimerie Nationale, 1882), 1:357–59.
6 Richard Salomon, A Gandhari Version of the Rhinoceros Sutra: British Library Kharosthi Fragment 5B(Seattle: University
of Washington Press, 2000).
7Phra-sutra Lae, 46:104–245 (Paramatthajotika).
8 Ibid., 70:237–399 (Apadanas).
9 Salomon, A Gandhari Version, 5.
10 Phra-sutra Lae, 22:332–35 (Isigili-sutta).
11 Bhikkhu Analayo, “Paccekabuddhas in the Isigili-sutta and Its Ekottarika-agama Parallel,” Canadian Journal of Buddhist
Studies 6 (2010): 5–36.
12 Phra-sutra Lae, 70:237 (Apadana).
13 Ibid., 73:466 (Madhuratthavilasini).
14 Ibid., 46:111–12 (Paramatthajotika).

mated after receiving an announcement from the gods of the Pure Abodes that in two years’ time a
Tathagata (an Omniscient Buddha) would appear in the world.15A similar account is also found in
the Mahavastu-avadana.16The point that the Pacceka Buddhas could not coexist with the Omniscient
Buddha is, thus, confirmed in the Pali, original Prakit, and old Sanskrit sources mentioned above. The
Manorathapurani, a commentary on the Anguttara-nikaya, says that the Pacceka Buddhas, as well as
the Omniscient Buddhas and the Universal Monarchs, were born only in the Middle Country (Majjhi-
madesa) of the Southern Great Continent (Jambudipa).17
The Paccekka Buddhas were praised by Buddha Gotama on several occasions. According to the
Pb, the Buddha claimed that, apart from himself, no one is equal or superior to the Pacceka Buddhas.18
The latter are, therefore, superior to the Buddha’s monk-disciples but rank lower than the Omniscient
Ones, such as Gotama and his predecessors. This hierarchy correlates with the accumulation of para -
mitas (perfections) by these supreme beings toward their enlightenment, during a period of at least
four, two, or one asamkheyyas19 and a hundred thousand kappas for an Omniscient Buddha, a Pacceka
Buddha, or a chief disciple of the Buddha.20According to the Mahaparinibbana-sutta, Buddha Gotama
honors the Pacceka Buddhas as belonging to one of the four types of thuparaha-puggalas.21 The other
three types of these superior beings include Omniscient Buddhas, their chief disciples, and Universal
Monarchs. The Buddha encourages the erection of stupas, to be worshipped by all people, to commem-
orate their deaths.
According to the Paramatthajotika, a Pacceka Buddha was not necessarily born into a high social
caste, that is, either the Khattiya (Skt. Ksatriya) or Brahmana (Brahmin); he could be born into the Vessa
(Skt. Vaisya) caste but never into the lowest caste, Sudda (Skt. Sudra). By contrast, the Omniscient
Buddhas and their chief disciples were born only into the first two mentioned castes. Unlike the
Omniscient Buddhas, the Pacceka Buddhas do not possess a complete set of the bodily auspicious char-
acteristics of a Great Man, comprising thirty-two major and eighty minor characteristics. As described
in the Sn commentary, it is normal for a Pacceka Buddha to possess the outward appearance of an asce-
tic, with his hair and beard two fingerbreadths long and equipped with the eight requisites of an asce-
tic (samanaparibhoga – three robes, bowl, razor, needle, girdle, and water strainer); this made him look
like a senior monk a hundred years old.22 At the time of his enlightenment, a Pacceka Buddha could
instantly achieve such an ascetic appearance, if he wished. Some Pacceka Buddhas are described by
their unpleasant aspects, such as being humpbacked,23 being of old age and wearing worn robes,24 or
looking like a leper.25
39
15 Analayo, “Paccekabuddhas in the Isigili-sutta.”
16 Senart, Le Mahavastu, 1:357–59.
17 Phra-sutra Lae, 32:189 (Manorathapurani).
18 Ibid., 70:237 (Paccekabuddha-padana ).
19 An asamkheyya is a set of the innumerable successive world cycles.
20 Phra-sutra Lae, 32:213 (Manorathapurani).
21 Ibid., 13:310–11 (Mahaparinibbana-sutta).
22 Ibid., 70:287 (Apadana).
23 Ibid., 33:124 (Manorathapurani); ibid., 25:500 (Samyuttanikaya-sagathavagga-atthakatha).
24 Ibid., 59:175 (Pabbajitavihethaka Jataka Atthakatha); ibid., 25:500 (Samyuttanikaya Sagathavagga Atthakatha).
25 Ibid., 44:494 (Suppabuddhakutthi Sutta Atthakatha).

After his enlightenment, a Pacceka Buddha preferred to live in solitude or join a community con-
sisting of only the enlightened ones of his type. The number of locations, mentioned in the texts, in
which Pacceka Buddhas gathered together are few, notably Mount Isigili near Rajagaha,26the Isipatana
Forest near Benares,27 and the grotto named Nandamulaka (or Nandamula) on Mount Gandha -
madana in the Himava Forest.28As described in the Sn and Ap commentaries, all Pacceka Buddhas
residing on Mount Gandhamadana assembled in the uposatha ceremony, a ceremony for recitation of
the vinaya rules, which was held twice a month, and on the arrival of a new member of their commu-
nity. Although choosing to live in solitude, Pacceka Buddhas established contacts with laypeople for
the benefit of the latter. They were regarded as “a good field of merit” to the degree that people doing
good deeds for them would be assured of happiness and prosperity in their present and future lives.29
The Pacceka Buddhas occasionally taught people to conform to a morally righteous way of life that
would result in their rebirth in a heaven.30 There were also instances in which Pacceka Buddhas guided
people toward their ordination and suggested to them some fundamental practices of ascetism.31
Pacceka Buddhas are only rarely represented in Buddhist art. The fact that they did not proclaim
the supreme dhamma could have resulted in less motivation on the part of devotees to create and wor-
ship representations of these Buddhas. Moreover, images of them may not be easily discernible from
those of Buddha’s monk-disciples, given that these two types of beings are similar in terms of their
physical appearance. Presented in this article is a rare circumstance, the earliest extant example in
Southeast Asia, where the images of the Pacceka Buddhas are epigraphically identified. They are found
in the murals of the Thambula-hpaya Temple (monument 482) at Pagan, central Burma, datable to
the thirteenth century. This key evidence securely confirms the iconographic types and the symbol-
ism associated with the Pacceka Buddhas in the Buddhist art of Pagan. With their iconography thus
securely based on this firm ground, the article aims to identify other examples in Pagan of the same
type of enlightened beings, those without inscriptional identification. It also attempts to discern their
symbolic function adopted in the broader cultural context of the art at Pagan during the early second
millennium CE.
40
26 Ibid., 22:333 (Isigiri-sutta).
27 Ibid., 34:44 (Manorathapurani).
28 Ibid., 46:133–34, 70:292–93.
29 Many examples of such can be found in Dhammapadatthakatha (ibid., 43:395–99, 519–52).
30 In the Gandhara-jataka-atthakatha is this sentence: “it is a tradition of the Buddhas, the Pacceka Buddhas, Buddha’s
disciples and the Bodhisattas to preach” (ibid., 59:327). For examples of the Pacceka Buddhas who preached, see
Aditta-jataka-atthakatha (ibid., 59:573–84) and Sivalitherapadana-atthakatha (ibid., 72:345).
31 For example, see the following: Ratana-sutta-atthakatha (ibid., 39:273); Darimukha-jataka-atthakatha (ibid.,
59:27–44); and Sonaka-jataka-atthakatha (ibid., 62:128–56).

THE T HA MBULA-HP AYA T EMPLE
Approximately two miles east of the old city of Pagan, in and around the village of Minnanthu, is
located a dense cluster of more than one hundred Buddhist monuments made of brick. Most of them
are datable to the late dynastic period of Pagan, during the thirteenth century.32A corpus of epigraphic
records found in situ attests to the significance of the area during this time, as it was religiously active
and housed the headquarters of one of the major Buddhist ecclesiastic sects of Pagan, the Aran.33
Situated in this cluster of monuments, about a quarter mile north of the village, is the temple that
is the focus of this study, the Thambula-hpaya (monument 482) (N 46.310, E 11.080) (fig. 1). Facing
east, the temple is a large four-sided brick structure topped with a sikhara (mountain peak) roof,
with extensions from its main shrine forming the anterior entrance hall as well as the south, west, and
north vestibules and porches.34 Surviving on the south wall of the shrine’s east vestibule is an original
inscription in ink recording the erection of the temple under the royal patronage of Princess Tham-
bula (the queen of King Uzana of Pagan) in 1255 CE .35Four images of colossal seated Buddhas in the
earth-touching gesture, recently renovated, preside in the temple’s main shrine.Their backs are set
against the walls of a large, square brick column that supports the building’s superstructure at the
center of the shrine, thus leaving an ambulatory space that both surrounds it and connects the shrine’s
four vestibules.
Decorating the temple’s interior are original murals, most likely dating from the time the temple
was constructed. Most of them are provided with original inscriptions in ink, in both Pali and Old
Burmese. In the anterior entrance hall of the temple, the main passage to the shrine, the murals adorn
all the walls and the vaulted ceiling. Although the ceiling murals have been heavily damaged, there
are surviving peripheral parts depicting, in a repetitive fashion, images of past Buddhas, each portrayed
seated in the maravijaya pose and contained within a frame of the lotus-petal shape. The murals on the
ceiling’s center – probably depicting a pair of the Buddha’s footprints, in conformity with the Pagan
tradition of the period – have completely flaked off. A pair of large divine figures, possibly represent-
ing the Bhodhisattas Metteyya and Lokanatha, are portrayed in the lalitasana pose on the hall’s west
wall, symmetrically flanking the entrance to the shrine.36
41
32 Pierre Pichard, Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, 8 vols. (Paris: UNE SCO, 1992–2001), vols. 2 (1993) and 3 (1994).
33 Than Tun, “Mahakassapa and His Tradition,” in
Essays on the History and Buddhism of Burma
, ed. Paul Strachan
(Whiting Bay, Isle of Aran, U K: Kiscadale Publications, 1988), 85–100; for various donation inscriptions found in
the area and dated to the Pagan dynastic period, see Tun Nyein, Inscriptions of Pagan, Pinya and Ava: Translation, with
Notes (Rangoon: Superintendent, Government Printing, Burma, 1899).
34 For a layout and architectural details of the temple, see Pichard, Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, 2:300–303.
35 Paul Strachan,
Pagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burma
(Whiting Bay, Isle of Aran, UK : Kiscadale Publications,
1989), 132.
36 Depicting these two bodhisattas flanking the Buddhist shrine was a common practice in the Pagan mural tradition.
Sculptural parallels can be found in the same architectural context of the Pagan temples. Murals in temple 1091 at
Pagan and temple 13 at Sarle (a small village about twenty miles south of the more well-known town of Sale) have short
inscriptions mentioning the names of these bodhisattas: Metteyya is depicted to the right of the temple’s Buddha image
and Lokanatha is to the left of the image (Saya U Aung Kyaing, former Deputy Director General, Myanmar Department
of Archaeology, provided the author with a reading of these inscriptions, September 2011).

Confirmed by several surviving ink inscriptions, the murals on the east, south, and north walls of
the temple’s entrance hall illustrate detailed episodes from the biography of the future Buddha
Metteyya. Identifiable scenes include, for example, his life as a bodhisatta in the Three Palaces (fig. 2),
his renunciation, his first sermon (fig. 3), his preaching in the Tavatimsa Heaven (fig. 4), and the assem-
bly of his monk-disciples on Mount Gandhamadana (fig.5). The Metteyya story depicted in the murals
was primarily based on one of the post-canonical Pali accounts, the Anagatavamsa, composed in Sri
Lanka.37 The illustration of Metteyya’s life represented by this set of murals is the only one of its kind
to survive at Pagan and to date from its dynastic period.38
Murals in Thambula’s shrine comprise three main themes: different Bodhi trees as background
to the four colossal Buddha images; past Buddhas on the walls; and various episodes from the life of
Buddha Gotama in his previous and present existences in the south, west, and north vestibules. Based
on its characteristics, the Bodhi tree depicted behind the image of the Buddha on the east wall can be
identified as an asvattha (Ficus religiosa), under which the present Buddha Gotama attained his enlight-
enment. The trees depicted under different designs behind the shrine’s other three images of the Bud-
dha could represent the Bodhi trees under which the first three Buddhas who preceded Gotama in the
present world cycle had attained their enlightenment. Moving clockwise in chronological order, the
images on the south, west, north, and east walls of the shrine stand respectively for Buddhas Kaku-
sandha, Konagamana, Kassapa, and Gotama.
Two sets of past Buddhas are illustrated in the murals of the Thambula Temple: the twenty-eight
Buddhas of the Pali Buddhavamsa text and the innumerable Buddhas (fig. 6). The twenty-eight Bud-
dhas are represented by large-scale icons, each portrayed seated in dharmachakra mudra, arranged
chronologically clockwise in a single row around the lower part of the shrine’s walls. Their identifica-
tions and biographic details are provided, according to the textual account, in long Pali inscriptions
written in ink, located beneath the images. The twenty-eight Buddhavamsa Buddhas include Buddha
Gotama himself; the twenty-four enlightened predecessors of Gotama, starting with Dipankara Bud-
dha, who had given Gotama, during his previous existences, the predictions for his enlightenment to
come;39 and the three Buddhas who preceded Dipankara in the same world cycle.40
Filling the upper part of the shrine’s walls, rising immediately above the row of the twenty-eight
Buddhas, is a grid, each of whose cells contains smaller, identical images of the innumerable Buddhas.
Each Buddha is portrayed seated in the maravijaya pose. An account of the innumerable Buddhas –
whose existences preceded the twenty-eight Buddhavamsa Buddhas and whom Gotama in his previ-
42
37 J. Minayeff, ed., “Anagatavamsa,” Journal of the Pali Text Society (London) (1886): 33–53.
38
Another set of murals that narrates the biography of Metteyya is found in Pagan monument 225 (Mya-daung-
ok-kyaung), an old brick monastery located near Nyaung U, north of the old city of Pagan; the monument is dated
epigraphically to 1442 CE, that is, after the Pagan dynastic period. See Tun Nyein, Inscriptions of Pagan, 37–47;
Pichard,
Inventory of Monuments at Pagan
, 1 (1992): 339–41; and Samerchai Poolsuwan, “Buddhist Murals Illustrat-
ing Unusual Features in Temple 36 at Sale and Their Cultural Implications,” Journal of Burma Studies 19, no. 1 (2015):
145–97.
39 The Buddhas of the whole series include Dipankara, Kondanna, Mangala, Sumana, Revata, Sobhita, Anomadassi, Pa -
duma, Narada, Padumuttara, Sumedha, Sujata, Piyadassi, Atthadassi, Dhammadassi, Siddhattha, Tissa, Phussa,
Vipassi, Sikhi, Vessabhu, Kakusandha, Konagamana, and Kassapa.
40 The three Buddhas are Tanhankara, Medhankara, and Saranankara.

ous existences had met and in whom he had deposited good deeds but from whom he did not obtain
a prediction for his future enlightenment – is given in one of the old Pali sources, the Sotattagi-nidana,
believed to have been composed in Sri Lanka.41Since the text was certainly known at Pagan during its
dynastic period,42 it could have served as a textual reference for the innumerable Buddhas, normally
portrayed accompanying the twenty-eight Buddhavamsa Buddhas, in the temple murals of Pagan,
such as at Thambula-hpaya and elsewhere, during the thirteenth century.
Depicted on the side walls of the Thambula-hpaya’s south, west, and north vestibules are murals
in large rectangular frames illustrating one or more episodes from the life of Gotama. The Nipata-
jatakas series, narrating his previous lives, is also depicted, in the lower part of the frame. At the top
of the east vestibule’s wall, above the apex of the main entrance to the shrine, is a mural depicting the
demise of the Buddha, the Mahaparinibbana scene (fig. 7). It is included in the series illustrating the
“Eight Great Life Episodes” of the Buddha. The other scenes of the series, except the enlightenment
scene, which is absent, are distributed among the murals of the west and north vestibules (fig. 8). Also
portrayed in the murals in the south, west, and north vestibules are scenes of the Buddha’s “Seven
Weeks’ Retreat” after his enlightenment (fig. 8). Just as the enlightenment episode of the Buddha is
missing from the “Eight Great Life Episode” series, the first-week retreat of the Buddha at the Bodhi
tree is not represented in the second series of murals portraying the Buddha’s “Seven Weeks’ Retreat,”
in conformity with the Pagan mural tradition during the thirteenth century.43 Other major episodes
of Gotama illustrated at Thambula-hpaya include, for example, the Buddha’s barge trip to Vesali and
the celebrated almsgiving (Asadisadana) provided to him and his monk-disciples by King Pasenadi
and his Chief Consort (fig. 9), on the east and west walls of the south vestibule.
Of greatest significance to the main thesis of this study are the two scenes located on either side of
the vaulted ceiling of the passage that connects the temple’s entrance hall and main shrine. Long
glosses in ink, in Pali and Old Burmese, located immediately below them, confirm that the scenes rep-
resent stories of the Pacceka Buddhas. The murals provide us a rare opportunity to understand the
iconography and symbolic meaning associated with portrayals of the Pacceka Buddhas in the art of
Pagan.
The mural in the southern half of the passage’s ceiling (fig. 10) shows numerous ascetic figures,
portrayed identically and arranged in rows one on top of another. Each of them, monk-like with shaved
heads and hands in the dharmachakra mudra, is seated under a grotto-like structure. A row of trees
depicted at the top of the composition creates a forest atmosphere for the scene. In the northern half
of the passage is a mural with a similar composition (fig. 11), that is, identical seated ascetics arranged
in rows. The ascetics in the latter setting, however, are not sheltered under a grotto-like structure but,
instead, are surrounded with floral motifs. Also, instead of a row of trees at the top of the composition,
the canopy of a large tree is depicted.
43
41 Culla Buddhaghosa Thera, Sotattagi-mahanidana, trans. into Thai by Banjob Bannaruji (Bangkok: Wat Suthatthep-
vararam, 1983).
42 See a discussion on this issue in Samerchai Poolsuwan, “The Pagan-Period and the Early-Thai Buddhist Murals: Were
They Related?,” SUVANNABHUMI 6, no. 1 (2014): 27–65.
43 See an investigation of this mural tradition of Pagan in Samerchai Poolsuwan, “After Enlightenment: Scenes of the
Buddha’s Retreat in the Thirteenth Century Murals at Pagan,” Artibus Asiae 72, no. 2 (2012): 377–97.

The ink inscription accompanying the scene in the southern section of the ceiling has been exten-
sively damaged, and several parts have faded away (fig. 10). Still, surviving legible parts remain inform-
ative enough to confirm that it consists of seven lines of writing, divided into two sections: the longer,
first section written in Pali, and the shorter, subsequent one in Old Burmese. The Pali part of the
inscription provides a long quotation extracted from one of the Pali canonical sources, the Is. Proba-
bly so that the inscription could fit into the space allotted to it, only the second half of the Is text is
quoted. The Is account, which has been entirely translated into English,44 describes the names and
qualities of the Pacceka Buddhas who used to reside on Mount Isigili, near Rajagaha. Some geographic
keywords that are still discernible in the fragmentary Old Burmese part of the inscription – for exam-
ple, Anotatta, Himava, and the Cave on a Golden Mountain – suggest that this passage, in its com-
plete form, might have described the abodes of the Pacceka Buddhas on Mount Gandhamadana in the
Himava Forest. The description might have been based on a fuller account to be found, for example,
in both the Pali Pb and Kvs commentaries. A translation of the corresponding part of this commen-
tarial account follows:
After having passed through the seven mountain ranges (in the Himavanta) – namely: Cullakala,
Mahakala, Nagapalivethana, Candagabbha, Suriyagabbha, Suvannapassa, and Himava –one reaches
to the Gandhamadana Mountain, which is the residence of the Pacceka Buddhas. On one partic-
ular slope of the Mountain is located the Grotto named Nandamulaka, which comprises three
caves: Suvanna-, Mani- and Rajata-guha; all of them are the abodes of the Pacceka Buddhas.45
It is likely that the second part of the inscription described the scene above it, that is, the Pacceka Bud-
dhas residing at their abode, the Nandamulaka Grotto on Mount Gandhamadana in the Himavanta.
The inscription for the scene in the northern half of the ceiling remains largely legible (fig. 11). It
comprises two sections: the longer, first section written in Pali, and the shorter, second one in Old
Burmese. The passage in Pali quotes the introductory and concluding sections of the Pb text.46 The
text’s opening verse, a parallel to the first Kvs verse, is quoted. The verses from the Kvs that also appear
in the Pb are omitted. All the Kvs verses and the Pb first verse end with the refrain “eko care khagga -
visanakappo,” which means either “one should wander alone like the horn of the rhinoceros” or “one
should wander alone like the rhinoceros.”47 It certainly reflects the attitude of people who live in soli-
tude. The Pb text clearly ascribes the verses to utterances of the Pacceka Buddhas. The Burmese part
of the inscription, which refers to the scenes above it, clearly describes the assembly of the Pacceka
Buddhas in the shade of the blooming Manjusaka tree, located in front of the Jewel Cave. It must be
44
44 Bhikkhu Nadamoli, trans., The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikaya, ed.
and rev. Bhikku Bodhi (Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009), 931–33.
45 Phra-sutra Lae, 70:292–93 (Visuddhajanavilasini).
46 A complete English translation of these two sections of the text can be found in Kloppenborg, The Paccekabuddha,
9–10.
47 For a dispute over the translation of this refrain, see K. R. Norman, “Solitary Like a Rhinoceros Horn,” Buddhist Stud-
ies Review 13, no. 2 (1996): 133–42; and D. T. Jones, “Like the Rhinoceros, or Like Its Horn? The Problem of Khag-
gavisana Revisited,” Buddhist Studies Review 31, no. 2 (2014): 165–78.

the Manjusaka tree that is depicted above the assembly of the Pacceka Buddhas. This part of the inscrip-
tion could have been based on the Pb and Kvs commentaries, a translation of which is given here:
Located in front of an entrance to Mani-guha, the middle cave, is the Heavenly (Manjusaka) Tree,
one yojana in height and the same in diameter. The Jewel Hall is located on its branches to accom-
modate an assembly of the Pacceka Buddhas, which is held on every full-moon and new-moon days
and on the arrival occasion of a new member of their community. On such occasions, the Tree is
always in full bloom, with the hall readily prepared for the congregation of the Pacceka Buddhas
by winds blowing to clean up the place, to level the floor, to sprinkle water brought from the Ano-
tatta Lake, and to bring all sweet scents of flowers from the Himavanta. Seats are always readily
prepared for all the Pacceka Buddhas.48
Based on the organization of the Thambula-hpaya’s murals as described here, it is clear that the murals
depicting stories of the Pacceka Buddhas occupy a strategic location in the temple between the other
two sets of murals, one in the temple’s entrance hall illustrating the biography of the future Buddha
Metteyya and the other in the temple’s shrine and vestibules portraying stories of the past and pres-
ent Buddhas. It may have been the Pagan artist’s (or artists’) intention to depict the existence of the
Pacceka Buddhas at an interim period after the epochs of the past and the present Buddhas and before
the existence of the future Buddha Metteyya.
HPAYA-THON -ZU TEMPL E
Another Pagan temple that is central to this study, the Hpaya-thon-zu, is located a short distance
southwest of the Thambula-hpaya (N 46.210, E 11.000). There, another set of murals illustrating the
stories of the Pacceka Buddhas can be seen. This north-facing temple comprises three square brick
towers of medium size (Pagan monuments 477, 478, and 479), aligned on the east–west axis and on
an elevated rectangular brick platform (fig. 12).49 The towers were built in a similar fashion, with the
shrine of each topped with a sikhara roof and having extensions that form the anterior entrance hall,
lateral vestibules, and posterior blind niche. Enshrined on a high pedestal in the central and western
shrines of the temple are colossal Buddha images in the maravijaya pose, made of brick and stucco. The
presiding Buddha image of the same size and pose on the old brick pedestal in the eastern shrine of
the temple is a recent addition. The three towers of the temple are united by the ambulatory passages
to form a coherent architectural compound, the only example of its kind to be found on the whole Pagan
plain.50 The temple and its murals can be dated stylistically to the thirteenth century.51
Original murals adorn the interior of the eastern and central towers as well as the corridor connect-
ing these two architectural elements of the temple. In the central tower, they appear only in the shrine
45
48 Phra-sutra Lae, 70: 292–93 (Visuddhajanavilasini).
49 See a layout and architectural details of the temple in Pichard, Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, 2:291–96.
50 Ibid.
51 Strachan, Pagan, 129–32; and Pichard, Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, 2:291–96.

room, lateral vestibules, and the corridor connecting the shrine with its anterior entrance hall. The
fact that no original murals appear in the western tower and the anterior entrance hall of the central
tower indicates that work on the murals of the temple was stopped before their completion. Also
confirming this fact is the mural, depicting a scene of the Buddha’s funeral, that was left unfinished
on the north wall of the corridor connecting the eastern and central shrines.52
The interior of the entrance hall of the Hpaya-thon-zu’s eastern tower is adorned with narrative
and decorative murals. Main themes of the narratives include the Jataka series and the “Eight Great
Life Episodes” of the Buddha; they are depicted on the east and west walls, as well as in the niche on
the east wall of the entrance hall (figs. 13, 14). Only six of the Buddha’s eight episodes are depicted in
the murals: nativity, descent from Tavatimsa Heaven, taming of the Nalagiri elephant, Yamaka-pati-
hariya (the twin miracle), first sermon, and Parileyya (the Buddha’s retreat at Kosambi). Another
episode from the Buddha’s life, the Buddha’s demise or Parinibbana, is portrayed on the south wall
in the passage connecting the eastern and central shrines; that scene is largely damaged. The enlight-
enment episode of the Buddha at the Bodhi tree is not included. Portrayed on the wall opposite the
Buddha’s Parinibbana is the scene depicting the Buddha’s funeral mentioned above.
On either side of the Buddha Parinibbana and funeral scenes are scenes depicting episodes of the
Buddha meditating during the “Seven Weeks’ Retreat” after his enlightenment. The Buddha’s
episodes at Animisa-cetiya in the second week and Ratanacankama-cetiya in the third week are depicted
on the south and north walls of the corridor’s eastern end (figs. 15, 16). His episodes at Ratanaghara-
cetiya in the fourth week and Ajapala-nigrodha in the fifth week are depicted on the north and south
walls of the corridor’s western end (figs. 17,18). It is likely that the other two scenes of the set –
Mucalinda during the sixth week and Rajayatana during the final week of the Buddha’s retreat – had
been planned for the two walls at the eastern end of the corridor connecting the central and western
shrines of the temple; however, these murals were never completed. In accordance with the Pagan
mural tradition of the thirteenth century,53 the episode of the Buddha’s first-week retreat at the Bodhi
tree probably was not planned for this series of murals.
The narrative murals of the Hpaya-thon-zu thus far described, although distributed in two par-
tially separated architectural spaces of the temple, are nonetheless coherently organized. This could
also be the case for another set of narrative murals distributed along the main axis of the temple;
the three shrines are coherently aligned along this axis. The set includes the murals of the lateral
vestibules of the shrines and of the corridors connecting them. They were probably meant to make a
symbolic connection between the three shrines of this unique temple. Unfortunately, the murals based
on the complete program were never executed in full scale. It is, therefore, an aim of this study to recon-
struct the entire mural program, comprising the existing as well as the hypothetically reconstructed
narratives.
46
52 See illustration of the temple’s unfinished murals in Pichard, Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, 2:295.
53 See an investigation on the Pagan mural pattern illustrating the “Eight Great Life Episodes” of the Buddha and his
“Seven Weeks’ Retreat” after enlightenment in Poolsuwan, “After Enlightenment.”

The vestibule murals of the Hpaya-thon-zu’s eastern shrine described stories of the twenty-eight
Buddhavamsa Buddhas (figs. 19–22). Within a large rectangular frame on each wall of the vestibules
are figures of the Buddhas, all portrayed seated in dharmachakra mudra and arranged in two rows. Small
figures located below the image of each Buddha briefly illustrate his biography; they concern his renun-
ciation, when he left the palace by using a specific vehicle, and his tonsure. Exceptions were made for
the first three Buddhas: under each of them is an assembly of monk-disciples (fig. 19).54Eight Buddhas
are represented on each of the east vestibule’s walls, and six on each of the west vestibule’s walls. The
Buddhas are chronologically arranged on each wall, from left to right on each row and from top to bot-
tom; the series starts on the south wall in the east vestibule and moves to the north wall, then continues
in the same arrangement in the west vestibule.
The murals in the corresponding vestibules of the Hpaya-thon-zu’s central shrine depict episodes
from the life of Gotama, the present Buddha, one on each wall of the vestibule. At the center of the
frame on each wall is a large figure of Gotama in the maravijaya pose. He is surrounded by a number
of worshipping devotees – royal personages, devas, laypeople, monks, or a combination of these. Since
there are no inscriptions in ink accompanying the scenes, they can be identified only on the basis of
their iconography. The mural on the south wall of the shrine’s east vestibule (fig. 23) could represent
the episode when Gotama is preaching to King Bimbisara and his courtiers; the king himself is rep-
resented by the second largest image of the scene, a seated royal personage in worshipping gesture
located to the right of the Buddha. The story could have been drawn from Nidanakatha of the Jataka
commentary,55 widely known at Pagan during its dynastic period as a prime literary source for the Bud-
dha’s biography.56 On the north wall of the same vestibule, the mural scene could represent another
episode of Gotama, from the Sakkapanha-sutta of the Dighanikaya (fig. 24).57 According to the sutta,
while staying at the Indasalaguha (Cave), amid the assembly of gods, the Buddha discoursed with
Sakka (a deva in worshipping gesture, seated to the right of the Buddha) after being lulled by songs
and music offered to him by Pancasika (a deva playing a harp, seated to the left of the Buddha). The
specific stories of the scenes on both walls of the shrine’s west vestibule (figs. 25, 26), although most
likely representing episodes from Gotama’s life, cannot be precisely identified.
The murals illustrating the stories of the Pacceka Buddhas are found on the vaulted ceiling of the
passage connecting the temple’s eastern and central shrines. Because they share some essential icono-
graphic characteristics with the murals of the Thambula-hpaya described above, their identification
as the Pacceka Buddhas is, thus, definitely confirmed, although no inscriptions in ink have been found.
Here, at Hpaya-thon-zu, the scene of the Pacceka Buddhas gathered under the Manjusaka tree is por-
trayed on both slopes of the middle part of the vaulted ceiling (fig. 27). Above the rows of the Pacceka
47
54 This is because the biographic details of these first three Buddhas – that is, Tanhankara, Medhankara, and Saranankara
– including the types of vehicles for their renunciation, are not given in the Buddhavamsa and its commentary.
55 Phra-sutra Lae, 55:137 (Jatakatthakatha).
56 For a detailed investigation of the Buddha’s biography as illustrated in the art of Pagan, see Gordon H. Luce, Old
Burma – Early Pagan (New York: J. J. Augustin Publisher, 1969), 1: parts B and C; and Samerchai Poolsuwan, “The
Buddha’s Biography: Its Development in the Pagan Murals vs the Vernacular Literature in the Theravadin Buddhist
Context of Southeast Asia,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (forthcoming).
57 Phra-sutra Lae, 14:121–43 (Sakkapanha-sutta).

Buddhas, along the midline of the ceiling, appears a much eroded depiction of the Manjusaka tree.
On the sloping sides of both ends of the ceiling are depictions of the aggregation of the Pacceka Bud-
dhas in their cavern residence at the Nandamula Grotto, on Mount Gandhamadana (fig. 28).
The Pacceka Buddhas murals at Hpaya-thon-zu are strategic in the sense that they are located on
the temple’s main axis on which the three shrines are aligned, between the two sets of narrative murals,
that is, the Buddhavamsa past Buddhas in the eastern shrine’s lateral vestibules and the biography of
Gotama in the central shrine’s corresponding vestibules. Symbolically, the Pacceka Buddhas murals
could represent the intermediate period between existences of the previous Buddhas on the one hand
and that of the present Buddha Gotama on the other.
An encompassing hypothesis could then be offered for the meaning of the Hpaya-thon-zu’s western
shrine, as being a part of the symbolism represented by the entire temple compound. The symbolism
illustrates the continuation of the Buddhist religion through successive enlightenments of the Omni -
scient Buddhas, with the intervening periods between their existences reserved for the enlightenments
of the Pacceka Buddhas. Suggested by the themes of the existing murals, the Hpaya-thon-zu’s east-
ern shrine could stand for the existence of the previous Buddhas, to be followed by the existence of the
present Buddha Gotama, symbolized by the temple’s central shrine. In this context, the western shrine
of the temple is likely to represent the existence of the future Buddha Metteyya.
Following this line of thinking, the hypothetical murals of the western shrine’s lateral vestibules
should illustrate the biography of Metteyya, based on the Pali Anagatavamsa text,58 as already evident
in a comparable context of the murals of the Thambula-hpaya described above. In order for the corri-
dor connecting the central and western shrines to signify the interim period between the existences of
Gotama and Metteyya, murals illustrating the stories of the Pacceka Buddhas should have been
planned for its vaulted ceiling, to be parallel to the murals on the vaulted ceiling of the corridor con-
necting the temple’s eastern and central shrines. Hence, the Hpaya-thon-zu Temple, with its three
shrines interconnected to form a coherent architectural compound, may symbolize the eternity of the
Buddha’s teaching via enlightenments, in the successive order of the past, present, and future Bud-
dhas, with the intervals between their periods reserved for the enlightenment of the Pacceka Buddhas.
48
58 Minayeff, “Anagatavamsa,” 33–53.

PAGAN T EMPLE MU RALS : THE BUDD HA ’S FOOTP RI NTS
Worshipping footprints of the gods or of the religious founder was an established cult in various belief
traditions of ancient India. Evidence is found in Brahmanism, Jainism, and Buddhism.59 In early Bud-
dhist art of the Indian continent, footprints of the Buddha, usually in pairs, could be the objects of
worship in their own right or signify the Buddha’s presence in narrative scenes of his life. The latter
is associated with the concept of aniconic representations of the Buddha, adopted in some early Bud-
dhist traditions. For example, they appear in the relief sculpture of the Buddha scenes on the Ajatasattu
Stone Pillar from Bharhut, dating from the second century BCE.60 At Tirat in Pakistan is found a pair
of footprints, cut into a stone slab, which is epigraphically attributed to Sakyamuni and dated to the
first century BCE.61A pair of the Buddha’s footprints engraved on a natural rock at Kirinta at the south-
ern tip of Sri Lanka, dating epigraphically from the first century BCE, confirms an early spread of the
cult associated with the Buddha’s footprints from the Indian continent onto the island.62
The tradition of creating and worshipping the Buddha’s footprints was long lasting in both India
and Sri Lanka. Several later examples of this type of representation include those at Nagarajunakonda
in southern India, which date epigraphically from the mid-third century CE,63 numerous instances at
Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka dating from the seventh to eighth century CE, and many others. Auspi-
cious signs on the soles of the footprints indicate that they belong to the Great Man. Whereas earlier
examples of the Buddha’s footprints contain only a few signs, later examples contain more. The aus-
picious signs on the Buddha’s sole in early examples include the cakka (a wheel), the svastika (an equi-
lateral cross with its four legs bent at 90degrees), the triratana (the three-jewels symbol), and the bhad-
dapittha (the throne). Provided in two Pali sources composed in Sri Lanka, the Samantabhaddika64 and
the Jinalankara-tika,65 is a list of the complete set of the 108 auspicious signs that appear on the Bud-
dha’s soles.
Throughout its dynastic period, between the mid-eleventh and the late thirteenth century, Pagan
was one of the centers for the production of the Buddha’s footprints. They appeared in both mural and
sculptural forms. The cult associated with worshipping them would have reached Pagan from either
India or Sri Lanka. As seen in the murals of Pagan, a pair of the Buddha’s footprints normally was placed
at the center of the vaulted ceiling of the main passage in a manner that the Buddha’s toes point toward
49
59 Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Elements of Buddhist Iconography (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1935), 17;
and J. Auboyer, “A Note on ‘the Feet’ and Their Symbolism in Ancient India,” in Kusumanjali, Sivaramamurti Com-
memoration Volume (Delhi: Agam Kala Prakashan, 1987), 1:125–27.
60 David L. Snellgrove, ed., The Image of the Buddha (Paris: UNE SCO, 1978), 30.
61 A. M. Quagliotti, Buddhapada (Kamakura: Institute of Silk Roads, 1998); and Virginia M. Di Crocco, Footprints of the
Buddhas of This Era in Thailand and the Indian Subcontinent, Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Bangkok: Siam Society, 2004),
10–11.
62 Di Crocco, Footprints of the Buddhas, 12.
63 A. Ghosh, ed., “Explorations and Excavations,” Indian Archaeology, 1955–56: A Review (New Delhi: Bengal Offset
Works, 1956), 23–24 and pl. XXXIX, C; H. Sarkar, “Some Aspects of the Buddhist Monuments at Nagarjunakonda,”
Ancient India 16 (1960): 65–84 and pl. X XXV III; and Di Crocco, Footprints of the Buddhas, 14–15.
64 It is a commentary on the Anagatavamsa. See a synopsis of the text in Di Crocco, Footprints of the Buddhas, 38–40.
65 Compiled by Buddharakkhita Thera in Sri Lanka in 1156 CE. K. R. Norman, Pali Literature: Including the Canonical
Literature in Prakrit and Sanskrit of All the Hinayana Schools of Buddhism (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1983), 157.

the temple’s main shrine. Found in the Loka-hteik-pan Temple are the earliest surviving murals rep-
resenting this motif, dating tentatively from the first half of the twelfth century (fig. 29).66Numer-
ous later examples of the motif can be found in temples scattered throughout the Pagan plain. A
sculpted pair of the Buddha’s footprints is enshrined in the western entrance hall of the Ananda-gu-
hpaya-gyi Temple, dating from the early twelfth century,67conforming to the pattern of the Buddha’s
toes pointing toward the temple’s main shrine.
As a rule, the Buddha’s footprints from the Pagan period are adorned with a complete set of the
108 auspicious signs,68as described in the two post-canonical Pali texts mentioned above. These aus-
picious signs, each contained in a cell of the grid, are arranged in the footprint following the order
given in the texts. Starting from below the Buddha’s big toe and moving to the other toes, the signs
are arranged in a spiral fashion, from the outermost ring to the inner ones, toward a cakka at the cen-
ter. The Buddha’s footprints of this type, with a complete set of the 108 auspicious signs, could have
been a genuine Pagan invention, since no other earlier examples of the type from elsewhere are known.
The auspicious signs on the Buddha’s footprints include all major physical components of the uni-
verse, from the human world up to the highest Brahma realm.69 They symbolize the cosmic nature of
the Buddha.
From around the second half of the twelfth century onward, a new element was added to the iconog-
raphy of the Buddha’s footprints at Pagan, that is, a row of seated ascetics, most likely representing the
Pacceka Buddhas, encircling the footprints (fig. 30). These ascetics were portrayed identically, appear-
ing as monks with their heads shaved and hands in the dharmachakra mudra, following the iconogra-
phy of the Pacceka Buddhas depicted in the murals at Thambula-hpaya discussed above. This new
iconography symbolizes the existences of the Omniscient Buddha (represented by his footprints) and
the Pacceka Buddhas, perceived in a hierarchically comparative sense. The symbols representing the
physical universe in its basic structure contained in the Buddha’s footprints suggest that the symbol-
ism of focus is, in fact, a cosmological one.
As confirmed in the Pali sources discussed earlier, it is imperative that all the Omniscient and Pac-
ceka Buddhas be born and enlightened in the same country, the Majjhimadesa of Jambudipa.70 Their
periods of existence, however, did not overlap each other within an asunya-kappa.71 Therefore, their
beings can be theoretically made to contrast with each other in the cosmic sense of time rather than
in the sense of space. Basically, the composition could be said to illustrate symbolically the temporal
dynamics within an asunya-kappa, concerning the alternative presence of the Omniscient Buddha and
the Pacceka Buddhas. The hierarchical arrangement of their representations – center versus periph-
ery – suggests the superiority of the former over the latter.
50
66 Bohmu Ba Shin, The Lokahteikpan (Rangoon: Burma Historical Commission, Ministry of Union Culture, 1962), 40.
67 Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, 1:147.
68 Ma khin lin Myint, “The Study of Anagatavamsa Atthakatha” (PhD diss., Department of Oriental Studies, Univer-
sity of Yangon, Myanmar, 2005); see examples in Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, 3: pls. 92–93.
69 See the Samantabhaddika’s account of these auspicious symbols in Ma Khin lin Myint, “The Study of Anagatavamsa,”
99–104.
70 Phra-sutra Lae, 32:189 (Manorathapurani).
71 Ibid., 46:111–12 (Khaggavisana-sutta-atthakatha); 70:237 (Apadana ).

A few notable examples of murals in Pagan from the thirteenth century demonstrate the artists’
intention to take the symbolism described above to a higher level of cosmological complexity. They
are on the vaulted ceilings of the main entrance passages to the shrines of three temples, all located
within the Pagan Archaeological Zone: Winido-hpaya Temple (monument 659) (N 47.060, E 11.040)
(fig. 31),72Chauk-hpaya-hla-nge Temple (monument 141) (N 51.265, E 13.240) (fig. 32),73and Pagan
monument 2149 (N 48.250, E 7.660) (fig. 33).74These murals, which form a trio based on their shared
iconographic motifs, some unique to them, would have been accomplished by artists who shared a com-
mon idea of the cosmological symbolism associated with the presence of the Omniscient and Pacceka
Buddhas. A description of these extraordinary murals follows.
Set within a circular border on the vaulted ceiling of each temple, at the end near the temple’s
shrine, is a standard depiction of a pair of the Buddha’s footprints surrounded by a row of the Pacceka
Buddhas. Located at the opposite end of the ceiling, away from the shrine, is a Universe scene. The lat-
ter is portrayed with Mount Meru at its center surrounded respectively by the Seven Rings of Moun-
tains, the Great Ocean, the Four Great Continents, and the Universe’s Wall. The scene achieves its
full expression in the murals at Winido-hpaya. The corresponding scene in Pagan temple 2149 is abbre-
viated; it does not include the Great Ocean and the Four Great Continents. In the murals of the Chauk-
hpaya-hla-nge Temple, the Universe’s components are reversed: the Seven Rings of Mountains encir-
cle the Great Ocean and the Four Great Continents. The Universe scene of the latter temple shown in
figure 32 flaked off almost completely sometime after the photograph of it was taken by the author in
2009; this occurrence obviously indicates the endangered status of the Pagan murals.
At Mount Meru in the Winido-hpaya’s cosmology is a depiction of a seated divine in the royal ease
pose. He raises his left hand to his chest in the teaching gesture and lets his right hand rest on his knee,
probably in varadamudra; his head is turned away from the temple’s shrine. The god is probably Sakka,
who ruled over the Tavatimsa Heaven. The murals at this point in the cosmological scene in the other
two temples have completely flaked off.
The murals displaying this iconography could provide a symbolic extension to the idea of tempo-
ral dynamics of the Universe, associated with the existence of the Omniscient and Pacceka Buddhas.
The Universe scene with no signs of any type of enlightened beings could signify a sunya-kappa, the
world cycle that does not accommodate the enlightenment of any Buddhas. Its location on the side of
the ceiling farthest from the temple’s shrine, also with the divinity turning his head toward the exte-
rior of the temple, suggests that the sunya-kappa is less significant in Buddhist terms than the asunya-
kappa, represented by the scene of the Buddha’s footprints surrounded by a row of the Pacceka Bud-
dhas.
51
72 See a layout and architectural details of the temple in Pichard, Inventory of Monuments at Pagan, 3:156–60.
73 See ibid., 1 (1992): 220–21.
74 See ibid., 8 (2001): 112.

ANAND A- GU-HPAYA -GYI TEMPL E
Gracefully adorning the arid plain of Pagan – outside the old city, walled and moated, near its east
gate – is the celebrated Ananda-gu-hpaya-gyi Temple (N 47.150, E 7.200) (fig. 34). It ranks among
the biggest and most magnificent Buddhist sanctuaries of medieval Pagan. Construction of the tem-
ple is normally attributed to Kyanzittha, one of Pagan’s greatest kings, who ruled the kingdom dur-
ing the late eleventh and early twelfth centuries.75 Enshrined in niches on the walls of the corridors,
vestibule halls, and passages of the temple are numerous stone reliefs of the Buddha. Most of them can
be dated stylistically to the time the temple was constructed in the early twelfth century.76
In each of the temple’s vestibule halls are sixteen relief sculptures that represent the life story of
Gotama, from his conception to Mahaparinibbana.77Another set of narrative sculptures, comprising
eighty scenes of the Buddha’s life, adorns niches of the two lowest tiers on four sides of the outer wall
of the outer corridor. Arranged chronologically clockwise, the episodes of the latter series conform to
the systematic narration of the Buddha’s life as told in the Avidure-nidana section of the Nidanakatha,
an introductory part of the Pali Jataka commentary.78 The series narrates the Buddha’s life from when
he was the Bodhisatta god in the Tusita Heaven accepting the invitation of devas for his final incar-
nation until he was enlightened beneath the Bodhi tree. Starting with the first niche on the bottom
tier in the northern section of west corridor’s outer wall, the series progresses along the entire tier, then
continues in the same pattern on the tier located immediately above it.
Apart from these identifiable examples, the majority of the sculptures of the temple cannot be
definitely linked to a specific episode of the Buddha’s life or to any other systematic narrative series.79
Most of them depict a seated Buddha, either in bhumisparsa or dharmachakra mudra, frequently accom-
panied with a predella scene, which shows seated worshipper(s). These “floating” sculptures, not
securely included in any definite narrative themes, enshrined in niches on the inner wall of the outer
corridor and on both walls of the inner corridor, have been provisionally classified as belonging to the
devotional series.80 That the long sculptural series representing the Nidanakatha story in the outer cor-
ridor has survived in good condition and in the original order suggests that the sculptures in the cor-
ridor of the temple, probably including the devotional series, have not been much altered from their
original arrangement, almost one thousand years ago.
52
75 Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, 1:357–73.
76 See many examples of them in ibid., 3: pls. 278–323.
77 Ibid., 1:364–67, 2:135–41, and 3: pls. 298–312.
78 See illustrations and explanations for them in C. Duroiselle, “Stone Sculptures in the Ananda Temple at Pagan,”
Archaeological Survey of India, Annual Report (Delhi: Archaeological Survey of India, 1913–14), 63–67; Luce, Old Burma
– Early Pagan, 1:153–71 and 367, 2:127–34, and 3: pls. 278–97; and Donald M. Stadtner, Ancient Pagan: Buddhist Plain
of Merit (Bangkok: River Books, 2005), 108–14.
79 Identification made for some of the sculptures enshrined in the temple’s shrines is provided in Luce, Old Burma – Early
Pagan, 1:371–72, 2:141–42, and 3: pls. 313–15. Some sculptures, probably from mixed origins, in niches on side walls
of the cross passages of the temple, can also be identified for their depicted stories (ibid., 1:368–70, 2:143–49, and 3:
pls. 318–23).
80 Ibid., 1:367–68.

Amid the devotional sculptures of the Buddha on the inner walls of the temple’s outer corridor,
there are seven sculptures that are truly extraordinary iconographically. Each of them depicts a monk-
like ascetic in a seated posture, with his short hair curled and no evidence of either an usnisa or a radi-
ant (conical knob) on top of his skull (figs. 35–41). The absence of these two iconographic motifs clearly
removes these sculptures from being usual representations of the Buddha. In this set of sculptures, the
ascetic(s) is portrayed with his right hand on his chest, palm turned completely inward, the fingers
curved naturally with tips of the thumb and the middle finger touching to form a circle. This right-
hand pose is the reverse of the standard explanation gesture of the Buddha, in which the palm is turned
completely outward. The ascetic’s left hand either rests on the lap palm upward or performs the earth-
touching gesture. In comparison with the corresponding standard mudras of the Buddha, the first may
be recognized as half-dhyana and the latter as reverse-bhumisparsa. Depicted on the predella below each
sculpture is a scene of worshipper(s) who could be monks, kings, or other royal personages.
The ascetic sculptures in the Ananda Temple were first fully identified and illustrated in Gordon
H. Luce’s magnum opus, Old Burma – Early Pagan.81Luce, although concerned with the iconographic
peculiarities of the sculptures, nevertheless identified them as representing Gotama, the present Bud-
dha. He did not, however, provide any further explanations or iconographic clues concerning the
underlying reason for the anomalies that were selectively applied only to sculptures of Gotama in this
particular set, and not to others of him that are enshrined in the same temple. The latter conform to
the standard iconographic prescriptions for the Buddha, that is, presence of the usnisa and radiant, and
standard mudras (fig. 42).
The seven sculptures that concern us here are enshrined in the niches distributed on four sides of
the inner wall of the temple’s outer corridor. Reading clockwise, starting from the main entrance pas-
sage on the western side of the temple, they appear as follows: (1) west side, second tier from the bot-
tom, north of the entrance (in half-dhyana mudra; four seated monk-like ascetics, two on each side of
the predella, facing each other) (fig. 35); (2) north side, bottom tier, east of the north entrance (in
reverse-bhumisparsa mudra; king and queen (?) seated on the left facing two court ladies on the right
of the predella) (fig. 36); (3) east side, third tier from the bottom, near northeast corner (in reverse-
bhumisparsa mudra; a monk-like ascetic seated at the center of the predella) (fig. 37); (4) south side,
third tier from the bottom, near southwest corner (in half-dhyana mudra; two monk-like ascetics seated
on the right facing two royal personages seated on the left of the predella) (fig. 38); (5) south side, bot-
tom tier, second niche west of the southeast corner (in reverse-bhumisparsa mudra; seated male royal
personage at the center, flanked by two monk-like ascetics seated on the left and two court ladies seated
on the right of the predella) (fig. 39); (6) south side, third tier from the bottom, west of the southeast
corner (in half-dhyana mudra; two monk-like ascetics seated on the left facing two royal personages
seated on the right of the predella) (fig. 40); and (7) west side, second tier from the bottom, near the
southwest corner (in half-dhyana mudra; four monk-like ascetics, two on each side of the predella, fac-
ing each other) (fig. 41).
53
81 Ibid., 1:367, 2:143, and 3: pls. 316–17.

In Pagan, a male depicted in monk’s robes with his head shaved and no presence of an usnisa and
radiant, as observed in the sculptures under discussion, normally represents a monk-disciple of the
Buddha. What clearly demarcates these sculptures from portrayals of a Buddhist monk are their
unusual hand gestures – that is, reverse explanation, half-dhyana, and reverse-bhumisparsa – not gen-
erally used for the iconography of the Buddha’s disciples. They are comparable to, although not exactly
the same as, the standard hand gestures of the Buddha. The imagery of the ascetics suggests that their
status is in between that of the Buddha and his disciples. The bhumisparsa mudra itself is of particular
importance since its association with the Buddha’s enlightenment has been firmly established in Bud-
dhist iconography. Therefore, there are good reasons, on iconographic grounds, to believe that these
seven novel ascetic sculptures of the Ananda Temple at Pagan were meant to represent self-enlight-
ened beings whose status is lower than that of the Buddha but higher than that of his disciples, that
is, they are Pacceka Buddhas. In keeping with this interpretation, they are the earliest representation
of the enlightened beings of this type so far known to us in the art of Pagan.
Whether the seven sculptures are themselves narrative is another matter to consider. The varia-
tion, in terms of numbers and types of the personages, observed in the predella scenes suggests that
the sculptures could have represented different Pacceka Buddhas whose stories are depicted in the pre-
della scenes. Detailed biographies of the Pacceka Buddhas, who lived before the enlightenment of
Gotama, are systematically narrated in one Pali source, the Visuddhajanavilasini, a commentary on the
Ap.82 In these biographies, the Pacceka bodhisattas came from different social backgrounds: the major-
ity of them were the former kings of Banares; several were the kings of lesser countries; and in a few
instances they could be noblemen, princes, or a son of a rich man. The biographies also provide exam-
ples showing that the Pacceka Buddhas sometimes formed a company to guide a Pacceka bodhisatta,
their friend or brother in previous existences, to pursue the ascetic way of life that eventually led him
to self-enlightenment. It could be the case that some of these biographies are depicted in the predella
scenes of the seven ascetic sculptures, although the exact story cannot be identified for each of them.
54
82 Phra-sutra Lae, 70:246–388 (Paccekabudda-padana-atthakatha).

CONCL U S ION
Pacceka Buddhas attained a unique status in the philosophy of Buddhism. They were the foremost
and incomparable beings, in the spiritual sense, born within an asunya-kappa between the times of the
teaching of the Omniscient Buddhas. Their qualities and habits conformed to those of rsis or sramanas,
that is, solitary wandering ascetics in ancient India.83According to Pali sources, their enlightenment
was the culmination of spiritual achievements, collectively attained under the guidance of the previ-
ous Omniscient Buddhas.84In turn, the Pacceka Buddhas possessed an ability to guide a Buddha-to-
be, in his previous existences, to conform to the ascetic way of spiritual training.85 The paths to salva-
tion of these two types of self-enlightened beings were, thus, harmoniously integrated with each other
along the temporal progression within an asunya-kappa. Although not proclaiming the supreme
dhamma to the world, the Pacceka Buddhas could advise people how to conform to a morally righ -
teous way of life, during a period when the teaching of the Omniscient Buddha was not available, that
eventually led them to next existences in a heaven. In the materialistic sense, people depositing mer-
itorious deeds in the Pacceka Buddhas were assured, in turn, of prosperity in their present and next
existences.
Worshipping the Pacceka Buddhas was motivated by Buddha Gotama himself, as he included
them among the four types of thuparaha-puggala.86 In keeping with this, a tradition was established
to erect stupas to commemorate these supreme beings, including the Pacceka Buddhas. The fact that
the tradition was widespread in ancient India, with quite a number of these stupas surviving in various
places, is attested by the records of two Chinese pilgrim monks who traveled widely on the continent,
Fa Hian between 399 and 412 CE and Hiuen Tsang between 629 and 645 CE.87 A rock inscription dat-
ing from the first century CE in the Kurunakala district of Sri Lanka also mentions the existence of the
stupa of the tenth Pacceka Buddha.88 Related to this cult of worship, representations of the Pacceka
Buddhas could have been created among sacred icons of various Buddhist traditions.89 However, there
are rather few known examples of depictions of the Pacceka Buddhas, especially in early Buddhist art.
This could be due to the fact that the Pacceka Buddhas, given their silence on proclaiming the supreme
dhamma, were less popular than their Omniscient counterparts, who are frequently represented. More-
over, their iconographic characteristics might not be easily distinguished from those of monks and
other types of ascetics depicted in Buddhist art. One of the convincing clues in identifying the Pac-
55
83 Ray, Buddhist Saints in India, 213–50.
84 Phra-sutra Lae, 70:237 (Paccekabuddhapadana).
85
There are some examples in the Jataka stories: ibid., 59:27–44 (Darimukkha Jataka-atthakatha) and 62:128–56
(Sonaka-Jataka-atthakatha).
86 Ibid., 13:310–11 (Mahaparinibbana-sutta).
87 Samuel Beal, Si-Yu-Ki: Buddhist Records of the Western World (London: Trubner & Co., 1884), 1:xlii–xliii, xxxvi,
and liv; 2:73, 131, 209.
88 It implies that there was a list of Pacceka Buddhas to be worshipped at that time in Sri Lanka; Wiltshire, Ascetic Fig-
ures before and in Early Buddhism, 50.
89 For example, a scene depicting the final demise of the Pacceka Buddha before the advent of Gotama is found among
the bas-reliefs at Borobudur, Java (ibid.).

56
ceka Buddhas, especially where there is no epigraphic or narrative evidence, is the solitary nature and
habitat hinted at iconographically; for example, each of them is individually portrayed in a cavern niche.
Using this iconography as the basis of identification, depictions of the Pacceka Buddhas have been
found in Pagan: among the cave scenes in the murals at Abe-ya-dana Temple (Pagan monument
1202)90and in the relief-stucco scenes at Taung-pon-loka-natha Temple (Pagan monument 315).91
These two monuments can be dated to the twelfth century. These examples, heavily inspired by Pala
art and iconography from northeastern India, display an obvious inclination toward Mahayanism.92
Besides these examples related to northern Buddhism, at Pagan there is imagery of the Pacceka Bud-
dhas, developed in a genuinely Theravada context, that is, based principally on the Pali canonical and
commentarial sources. In the latter religious setting, manifestations of the Pacceka Buddhas appear
in three different forms: as sacred icons in their own right; playing a supporting role in some Bud-
dhist narratives; and as a part of the cosmological symbolism.
Seven sacred sculptures of the Pacceka Buddhas are identified, on iconographic grounds, among
the numerous stone reliefs at Ananda Temple. They probably represent some of the Pacceka Buddhas
whose biographies are accounted for in the Ap commentary. Episodes related to their biographies may
be depicted in the predella scenes of the sculptures. Since the Ananda’s Pacceka Buddhas are repre-
sented by only a small number of sculptures, they would have achieved a lesser status compared with
Gotama’s, who appears much more frequently in the imagery of the temple. Nevertheless, their qual-
ities or path to enlightenment must have inspired the commissioner of the sculptures, probably King
Kyanzittha himself, to whom the construction of the Ananda Temple has been attributed.93 A legendary
account also says that the king established the temple to resemble the Nandamulaka Grotto,94 a res-
idence of the Pacceka Buddhas.
Some narratives related to the Pacceka Buddhas are found in the murals of Pagan monuments 1192
(Naga-yon-hpaya) and 657 (Than-bu-de-hpaya). In the Naga-yon murals, dating from the early twelfth
century, a Pacceka Buddha is found in one of the Jataka scenes on the inner wall of the temple’s cor-
ridor;95 his identification is confirmed by the accompanying ink inscription. The Pacceka Buddhas are
also found in the narrative scenes in the murals of the Thanbude-hpaya (fig. 43). The main theme of
the murals, confirmed epigraphically, concerns happiness and prosperity in a heaven that personages
have gained from the meritorious deeds they had deposited, in their last existences, in the Pacceka
Buddhas or the monk-disciples of the Buddha. The stories were drawn mainly from the commentaries
of the Vimana-vatthu and Dhammapada texts. In these narratives, the roles of the Pacceka Buddhas hardly
can be distinguished from those of the Buddha’s monk-disciples. Metaphorically, all of them consti-
90 Nandana Chutiwongs, “The Iconography of Avalokitesvara in Mainland Southeast Asia” (PhD diss., University of
Leiden, 1988), 118; see details of these cave scenes in Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, 3: pls. 231–37; note that the
iconography of a monk-like ascetic depicted in one of the Abe-ya-dana’s cave scenes (Luce, pl. 231a) is identical to one
type of the Ananda sculptures representing the Pacceka Buddha (half-dhyana mudra).
91 Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, 1:356; 3: pls. 256–57.
92 Ibid.
93 Ibid., 357–72.
94 Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce, The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma (London: Oxford University Press,
1923), 110.
95 Luce, Old Burma – Early Pagan, 1:319.

57
tute the “superior field of merit,” worthy for deposition of good deeds by devotees, who shall receive
in return a luxurious life in a heaven.
Novel in the Pagan Buddhist iconography during the thirteenth century is a cosmological sym-
bolism elucidating the temporal dynamics of the world cycle, an asunya-kappa, in relation to the exis-
tences of the Omniscient and the Pacceka Buddhas. At Thambula-hpaya and Hpaya-thonzu Temples,
the depictions of the Pacceka Buddhas are arranged between two other sets of murals, one represent-
ing the biographies of the bygone Buddhas and the other concerning the biography of the following
one. The setting symbolizes temporal progression within an asunya-kappa, with enlightenment of the
Pacceka Buddhas seen as possible to be obtained during the period after the duration of the previous
Omniscient Buddha’s teaching and before enlightenment of the future Buddha. Also depicted on the
vaulted ceiling of the entrance passage to the main shrine of a typical Pagan temple, during the period
of concern, is a pair of the Buddha’s footprints, which represent the cosmic Buddha, surrounded by
the Pacceka Buddhas. This hierarchical arrangement of the symbols representing these two types of
enlightened beings suggests that, in the Pagan Buddhist ideology, the existence of the Omniscient
Buddhas was deemed to be of greater importance than that of the Pacceka Buddhas, within the same
asunya-kappa.
Truly fascinating in the Buddhist iconography at Pagan is an extension of the symbolism described
above that is found in the ceiling murals of temples 141, 659, and 2149; there, a scene of the physical
universe is portrayed vis-à-vis that of the Buddha’s footprints, surrounded by the Pacceka Buddhas.
The Universe scene is farther from the temple’s shrine than the latter one. This composition suggests
a contrast between the two types of world cycles: a sunya-kappa, without the presence of any types of
enlightened beings, represented by a Universe scene; and an asunya-kappa, with alternative presences
of the Omniscient and the Pacceka Buddhas, represented by the Buddha’s footprints surrounded by
the Pacceka Buddhas. The setting suggests that the latter type of world cycle is of greater Buddhist
value than the former one.

58
Ajâtasattu
Anâgatavaµsa
Aπguttara-nikâya
Anurâdhapura
Apadâna
Arañ
Asadisadâna
asaµkheyya
Avidûre-nidâna
Bhârhut
bhûmisparªa-
bhûmisparªa-mudrâ
Bimbisâra
Brâhma∑a
Buddhavaµsa
Cullakâ¬a
dharmachakra-mudrâ
dhyâna
Dîghanikâya
Dîpaπkara
Ekottarika-âgama
Gandhamâdana
Gândhârî
Himavâ
Indasâlaguhâ
Jambudîpa
Jâtaka
Jinâlaπkâra-†ika
khaggavisâ∑akappo
Khaggavisâ∑a-sutta
Kharo߆hî
Khuddaka-nikâya
Ko∑âgamana
Kßatriya
lalitâsana
Lokanâtha
Madhuratthavilâsinî
Mahâkâa
Mahâparinibbâna
Mahâparinibbâna-sutta
Mahâsaπghika-Lokottaravâdin
Mahâvastu-avadâna
Ma∑i-guhâ
Majjhima-nikâya
Mañjûsaka
Manorathapûra∑î
mâravijaya
Nâgapalive†hana
Nâlâgiri
Nandamûlaka
Nidânakathâ
nipâta-jâtakas
nirvâ∑a
Paccekabuddhâ-padâna
Pâli
Pañcasika
Paramatthajotikâ
pâramitâs
Pârileyya
Parinibbâna
Râjagaha
Rajata-guhâ
Rajâyatana
Ratanacaπkama-cetiya
®ßis
Sakkapañha-sutta
Sakyamunî
Samantabhaddikâ
ªikhara
Sotattagî-nidâna
ªrama∑as
·ûdra
Sutta-nipâta
Tathâgata
Tâvatiµsa
Theravâdin
GLOSSARY

59
thûpârahâ-puggalas
Tirât
uß∑îßa
Vaiªya
varadamudrâ
Vesâli
Vimâna-vatthu
Visuddhajanavilâsinî
Yamaka-pâ†ihâriya

Fig. 1 Thambula-hpaya Temple, south side, constructed 1255 CE . Photograph by the author

Fig. 2 Metteyya Bodhisatta in the Three Palaces, eastern section of the north wall, entrance hall, Thambula-hpaya Temple.
Photograph by the author

Fig. 3 The first sermon of Metteyya, with
ink inscription narrating the story, southern
section of the east wall, entrance hall,
Thambula-hpaya Temple. Photograph
by the author
Fig. 4 Metteyya preaching in the Tavatimsa
Heaven, northern section of the east wall,
entrance hall, Thambula-hpaya Temple.
Photograph by the author
Fig. 5 Assembly of monk-disciples of
Metteyya on Mount Gandhamadana, upper
part of the north wall, entrance hall,
Thambula-hpaya Temple. Photograph by
the author

Fig. 6 Inumerable Buddhas (above) and the Buddhavamsa Buddhas with larger icons (below), northern section of the south
wall, ambulatory corridor, Thambula-hpaya Temple. Photograph by the author

Fig. 7 Mahaparinibbana scene, east wall of
the east vestibule, Thambula-hpaya Temple.
Photograph by the author
Fig. 8 Buddha scenes on the west wall of the
north vestibule, Thambula-hpaya Temple:
Aninisa Cetiya (top left); Ratanaghara-cetiya
(bottom left); Preaching of the Buddha in
the Tavatimsa Heaven and his descent from
the Heaven (right); and Nipata-jatakas in
the rows along the lowest part of the frame.
Photograph by the author
Fig. 9 Buddha scenes on the west wall of the
south vestibule, Thambula-hpaya Temple:
Asadisadana provided to the Buddha and his
monk-disciples by King Pasenadi and his
Chief Consort (left); Rajayatana-cetiya (top
right); Mucalinda (bottom right); and
Nipata-jatakas in the rows along the bottom
part of the frame. Photograph by the author

Fig. 10 Pacceka Buddhas in their abodes, the caves at the Nandamula Grotto on Mount Gandhamadana, southern slope of
the vaulted ceiling of the passage between the entrance hall and the main shrine, Thambula-hpaya Temple. The inscription
in Pali below the scene provides a quotation from the Isigili-sutta; toward the end of the inscription is its Old Burmese coun-
terpart. Photograph by the author
Fig. 11
Assembly of the Pacceka Buddhas in the shade of the Manjusaka tree at the Nandamula Grotto on Mount Gandhamadana,
northern slope of the vaulted ceiling of the passage between the entrance hall and the main shrine, Thambula-hpaya Temple.
The inscription in Pali below the scene provides a quotation from the Apadana text; toward the end of the inscription is its
Old Burmese counterpart. Photograph by the author

Fig. 12 Hpaya-thon-zu Temple (Pagan monuments 477, 478, 479), northwest corner. Photograph by the author

Fig. 13 The murals on the east wall of the entrance hall, eastern tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple: past Buddhas (in the top
row); Nipata-jatakas; and scenes of the “Eight Great Life Episodes” of the Buddha. Photograph by the author
Fig. 14 The murals on the west wall of the entrance hall, eastern tower, Hpaya-thon-zu: past Buddhas (in the top row);
Nipata-jatakas; and, scenes of the “Eight Great Life Episodes” of the Buddha. Photograph by the author

Fig. 15 Animisa-cetiya, south wall, eastern end, corridor
connecting eastern and central towers, Hpaya-thon-zu
Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 16 Ratanacankama-cetiya, north wall, eastern end,
corridor connecting eastern and central towers,
Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 17 Ratanaghara-cetiya, south wall, western end,
corridor connecting eastern and central towers,
Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 18 Ajapala-nigrodha, north wall, western end,
corridor connecting eastern and central towers,
Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by the author

Fig. 19 Buddhavamsa Buddhas, south wall, east vestibule, east tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. From left to right and top to
bottom: Tanhankara, Medhankara, Saranankara, Dipankara, Kondanna, Mangala, Sumana, and Revata. Photograph by the
author
Fig. 20 Buddhavamsa Buddhas, north wall, east vestibule, east tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. From left to right and top to
bottom: Sobhita, Anomadassi, Paduma, Narada, Padumuttara, Sumedha, Sujata, and Piyadassi. Photograph by the author

Fig. 21 Buddhavamsa Buddhas, south wall, west vestibule, east tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. From left to right and top
to bottom: Atthadassi, Dhammadassi, Siddhattha, Tissa, Phussa, and Vipassi. Photograph by the author
Fig. 22 Buddhavamsa Buddhas, north wall, west vestibule, east tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. From left to right and top
to bottom: Sikhi, Vessabhu, Kakusandha, Konagamana, Kassapa, and Gotama. Photograph by the author

Fig. 23 Buddha Gotama preaching to King Bimbisara,
south wall, east vestibule, central tower, Hpaya-thon-zu
Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 24 Sakkapanha-sutta, north wall, east vestibule,
central tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by
the author
Fig. 25 Buddha’s episode, south wall, west vestibule,
central tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by
the author
Fig. 26 Buddha’s episode, north wall, west vestibule,
central tower, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by
the author

Fig. 27 Assembly of the Pacceka Buddhas in the shade of the Manjusaka tree at the Nandamula Grotto on Mount Gand-
hamadana, vaulted ceiling, central part, corridor connecting eastern and central shrines, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photo-
graph by the author
Fig. 28 Pacceka Buddhas in their abodes, the caves at the Nandamula Grotto on Mount Gandhamadana, vaulted ceiling,
eastern end, corridor connecting eastern and central shrines, Hpaya-thon-zu Temple. Photograph by the author

Fig. 29 Pair of the Buddha’s footprints, ceiling, entrance passage, Loka-hteik-pan Temple, dated ten-
tatively to the first half of the twelfth century. Photograph by the author
Fig. 31 A Universe scene portrayed opposite a scene of the Buddha footprints surrounded by a row of the Pacceka Buddhas,
ceiling, entrance hall, Winido-hpaya Temple (Pagan monument 659). Photograph by the author

Fig. 30 Pair of the Buddha’s footprints surrounded by a row of the Pacceka Buddhas (with detail of the Pacceka Buddhas
shown below), ceiling, entrance passage, Pagan temple 1148, thirteenth century. Photograph by the author
Detail of fig. 30. Photograph by the author

Fig. 32 A Universe scene portrayed opposite the Buddha’s footprints surrounded by a row of the Pacceka Buddhas, ceiling,
entrance passage, Chauk-hpaya-hla-nge Temple (Pagan monument 141). Photograph taken in 2009; the current condition
of the mural is much more damaged with the Universe scene almost completely flaked off. Photograph by the author
Fig. 33 A Universe scene portrayed opposite the Buddha’s footprints surrounded by a row of the Pacceka Buddhas, ceiling,
entrance passage, Pagan monument 2149. Photograph by the author

Fig. 34 Ananda-gu-hpaya-gyi Temple (Pagan monument 2171), east face, early twelfth century. Photograph by the author

Fig. 35 Pacceka Buddha (?) in half-dhyana mudra, west
side, second tier from the bottom, north of entrance, inner
wall, outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-gyi
Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 36 Pacceka Buddha (?) in reverse-bhumisparsa mudra,
north side, bottom tier, east of entrance, inner wall,
outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-gyi Temple.
Photograph by the author
Fig. 37 Pacceka Buddha (?) in reverse-bhumisparsa mudra,
east side, third tier from the bottom, near northeast corner,
inner wall, outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-
gyi Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 38 Pacceka Buddha (?) in half-dhyana mudra, south
side, third tier from the bottom, near southwest corner,
inner wall, outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-
gyi Temple. Photograph by the author

Fig. 39 Pacceka Buddha (?) in reverse-bhumisparsa mudra,
south side, bottom tier, second niche west of southeast
corner, inner wall, outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-
gu-hpaya-gyi Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 40 Pacceka Buddha (?) in half-dhyana mudra, south
side, third tier from the bottom, west of southeast corner,
inner wall, outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-
gyi Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 41 Pacceka Buddha (?) in half-dhyana mudra, west
side, second tier from the bottom, near southwest corner,
inner wall, outer ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-
gyi Temple. Photograph by the author

Fig. 43 A lady giving alms to the Pacceka Buddha has gotten in return her luxurious next life in the Tavatimsa Heaven,
south wall, west vestibule, Than-bu-de-hpaya Temple. Photograph by the author
Fig. 42 Enlightenment of Gotama in
standard Pagan iconography, with Sakka
blowing his auspicious conch-trumpet,
Vijayuttara, on one side of the Buddha, and
Brahma holding a parasol on the other
side, south side, second tier from the bottom,
near southwest corner, outer wall, outer
ambulatory corridor, Ananda-gu-hpaya-gyi
Temple. Photograph by the author