| Type of monument |
: Single storey Cave Style |
| Location |
: West of Shwesandaw |
| Region |
: Old Bagan |
| Built by |
: Unknown |
| Date |
: 11th Century |
| Monument Number |
: 1570 |
Around the walls of Shwesandaw near the southern part, there is a
long, vaulted-brick structure which houses an 18-metre-long
reclining Buddha Image of the 11th century.
The reclining Buddha image's head is oriented toward the south,
which would indicate that the Buddha depicted, is in a resting
rather than dying or parinibbana state. One view holds that the
orientation and iconography clash because the architects didn't want
the Buddha's back to face Shwesandaw. In Buddhist iconography
throughout Asia, however, reclining Buddha figures always lie on
their right side, a preferred sleeping and dying posture with
antecedents in Indian yoga (to keep the left nostril clear, thus
stimulating the Ida nerve channel along the spine to induce a clear,
restful state). The historical Buddha was thought to have passed
into parinibbana while lying on his right side; even today Theravada
Buddhist monks are often exhorted to sleep on their right rather
than left sides.
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