Ananda Temple (Burmese: အာနန္ဒာ ဘုရား) is a Buddhist temple located in Bagan, Myanmar. The temple has over 900 years of history, it is said to be an architectural wonder in a fusion of Mon and adopted Indian style of architecture, also known as “museum of stones”.
The temple houses four standing Buddhas, each one facing the cardinal direction of East, North, West and South.
The Buddha statues facing north and south are said to be original, while the other two are new replacements, after the originals were destroyed by fires.
The south-facing Buddha statue depicts Kassapa (Sanskrit: काश्यप) with a unique architectural display; the statue shows a sad look when it is viewed close, but it gives an expression of mirthfulness if being viewed from a distance.
The name Ananda of the temple is derived from the Venerable Ananda (Sanskrit: आनन्द), Buddha's first cousin, personal secretary, one of his many principal disciples and a devout attendant.
Ananda Temple was built in 1105 AD, during the reign (1084–1112) of King Kyansittha (ကျန်စစ်သား) of the Pagan Dynasty.
The temple was damaged in the earthquake of 1975 but it has been fully restored and is well maintained by frequent painting and whitewashing of the walls.
The walls of the temple are painted with frescoes, which have also become blurred due to weathering, but you can still see how exquisite the paintings used to be.
