Nat Hlaung Kyaung Temple : The last Hindu temple in Bagan

“Bagan” (classically referred to as "Arimaddanapura") contains largest concentration of Buddhist pagodas and stupas in the world.  It is estimated that 4,446 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed between the 11th and the 13th centuries CE. Over 3,500 of these remain to date.

However, not all monuments in Bagan are related to Buddhism. Located just to the west of the well-known “Thatbyinnyu temple”, we find the “Nat Hlaung Kyaung temple”, the only remaining Hindu temple in Bagan.

Nat Hlaung Kyaung temple

Nat Hlaung Kyaung temple is a temple dedicated to lord Vishnu. One of the oldest temples in Bagan, it is believed to have been constructed during the reign of King Anawrahta who ruled Bagan from 1044 CE to 1077 CE. It is believed to have been built by a colony of Indian settlers for their own use. These settlers are believed to be merchants and Brahmins who served the king.

An alternative theory on the origins of the temple suggests that the construction may have taken place in the 10th Century CE, during the reign of King Nyaung-u Sawrahan also known as Taungthugyi (reigned from 956 CE to 1001 CE). Another theory is that the temple was built to store all the “Nat” (a form of spirits worshiped in Myanmar) from other temples, so Buddhism could get established in Bagan.

At the entrance of the temple, there is a sculpture of lord Vishnu reclining on who appears to be "Ananta Shesha": the king of all Nāgas. It also appears that the trinity of Hinduism Brahma, Vishnu himself and Shiva seated on lotus pedestals are springing from the body the reclining sculpture. However, closure inspection may indicate that only the image of lord Shiva to the right and the lotus throne and halo of lord Brahma were part of the original sculpture.

The reclining sculpture of lord Vishnu at the entrance of the temple

Originally, the temple is said to have housed sculptures of the 10 Avatars of Vishnu including Gautama Buddha. However, only 7 of these sculptures are still intact. One of the three removed sculptures is said to have been taken to the Berlin-Dahlem Museum. Below are some of the sculptures of lord Vishnu that still remain within the temple.