Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as the Golden Stone or Golden Rock, is a famous Buddhist pilgrimage site in Mon State, Myanmar. It is a small pagoda built on the top of a granite boulder covered with gold leaves pasted on by its male devotees. Archaeologists still don't know why the rock defies gravity and didn't fall even though it was leaning over the ravine.
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| Image credit: Wikipedia |
The Golden Stone is located on the Kyaiktiyo hill in the East Yoma mountains, some 200 kilometres northeast of Yangon. It is the third most important Buddhist pilgrimage site in Burma after the Shwedagon Pagoda and the Mahamuni Pagoda.
Miraculously, the 7.6 meter diameter stone is perfectly balanced even though it is on the edge of a cliff. Scientists do not yet know the secret of the balance of the stone. But local religious adherents believe that the stone remains balanced due to the miraculous power of Buddha. Between the rock and the hill above, a strand of Buddha's hair is believed to be placed and helps it maintain balance.
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| Image credit: Express.co.uk |
The Pagoda above the rock is about 7.3 metres (24 ft) in height. The boulder sits on a natural rock platform that appears to have been naturally formed to act as the base to build the pagoda. This granite boulder lies on an inclined plane and the area of contact is extremely small.
The golden rock or boulder and the rock table on which it is resting are independent of each other; the golden rock has an overhang of half its length and is perched at the extreme end of the sloping surface of the rock. There is a sheer vertical drop in the rock face, into the valley below.
A lotus shape is painted in gold leaf, encircling the base of the rock. It appears as though the boulder will crash down at any moment. A staircase leads to the pagoda complex that houses several viewing platforms, pagodas, Buddha shrines, and nats (spirits worshipped in Burma in conjunction with Buddhism shrines). However, the Golden Rock is the main attraction for the pilgrims who offer prayers and also stick golden leaves on the rock in reverence. A short distance away, there is a circle of gongs with four statues of nats and angels in the centre.
According to Express.co.uk, the story and history of the golden stone is explored in the Smithsonian Channel's documentary, 'Wonders of Burma: Shrines of Gold', in which the narrator notes the existence of a "gravity defying" stone. They said: "This is a natural wonder sacred to the story."
The legend begins with a kingdom a thousand years ago deep in a region called 'Upper Mon'. One day, the king met a hermit who held a hair in his hat which was said to belong to the Buddha and offered it to the king.
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| Image credit: Wikipedia |
In return, the hermit insisted that the hair should be enshrined in a pagoda built on a rock in the shape of his head. The king who inherited supernatural powers from his father Zawgyi (a master alchemist, and his mother, a serpent dragon princess), agreed.
With the help of Sakra, the Thagyamin found and lifted the chosen rock from the sea bed with his power. Then the stones are carried by boat and then lifted it to the top of the mountain, and enshrined the Buddha's hair in it.
After balancing the stones on the mountain, the king built a pagoda on it. The boat used to transport the stones has also been turned into stone and is revered by pilgrims at a site about 300 meters from the Golden Rock. This is known as the Pagoda or Kyaukthanban stupa — its literal meaning translates to "stone boat".
Another version of the story states that the stone was placed on top of the hair, and the hair helped prevent the rock from sliding down the mountain.
Now the Kyaiktiyo hills and the Golden Stone are the most famous places in Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Golden Stone has become a tourist attraction because between November to March there is a traditional ceremony to honor it.
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