Qualla: Shite-thaung Temple

Shite-thaung Temple: Introduction

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Jmhullot, CC BY 3.0. Two names, one temple, and a choice that reveals everything. The Arakanese call it the Temple of 80,000 Buddha Images. They also call it the Temple of Victory. Built in 1535-1536 by King Min Bin to commemorate his conquest of Bengal, the Shite-thaung Temple sits on the western face of Pokhaung Hill in Mrauk U, and it serves both titles equally. Step inside and you enter three concentric rings of maze-like corridors, their walls covered with reliefs of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, guardian spirits, kings of celestial realms, and all 550 Jataka tales -- the past lives of the Buddha rendered in stone. Victory and devotion, it turns out, were the same project.

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Image: Jmhullot | CC BY 3.0

Shite-thaung Temple: A Conqueror's Gift to the Faith

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0. Min Bin was the most militarily successful king of the Mrauk U Kingdom. His conquest of parts of Bengal expanded Arakanese territory to its greatest extent, and the Shite-thaung Temple was his thanksgiving -- a victory monument dressed in the language of Buddhist piety. The desig...

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Image: Gerd Eichmann | CC BY-SA 4.0

Shite-thaung Temple: Three Corridors Deep

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit DANIEL JULIE from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0. The central hall is easy enough to find. Hundreds of Buddha statues line its walls, some in their original positions, others relocated from nearby excavation sites. But the heart of the Shite-thaung experience lies in the three layers of corridors that encircle this hall. The inn...

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Image: DANIEL JULIE from Paris, France | CC BY 2.0

Shite-thaung Temple: Concrete Over Sandstone

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Uthantofburma at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Mrauk U sits in one of the wettest corners of monsoon Asia, receiving over 3,600 millimeters of rain annually. In 2003, archaeologists discovered that the central stupa had begun to leak, and monsoon water was dissolving the intricate statues in two interior chambers. The local a...

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Image: Uthantofburma at English Wikipedia | Public domain

Shite-thaung Temple: The Main Attraction Endures

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Gerd Eichmann, CC BY-SA 4.0. The Shite-thaung Temple has always been the centerpiece of Mrauk U. Adjacent to it stands the Htukkanthein Temple, an ordination hall whose fortified design earned it comparisons to a bunker. Together with the massive Koe-thaung Temple and the Andaw-thein, they form a constellati...

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Image: Gerd Eichmann | CC BY-SA 4.0