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Shwethalyaung Buddha of Bago

The second largest reclining Buddha in the world got "lost" for over 120 years.

Bago, Myanmar (Burma)

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ser flac
  Christopher Voitus
  Nkenji
The newer Naung Daw Gyi Mya Tha Lyaung Buddha   Chenevier
The gilded soles of the Naung Daw Gyi Mya Tha Lyaung reclining Buddha   Mangostani
Face of the Naung Daw Gyi Mya Tha Lyaung reclining Buddha   Tanenhaus
A nearby sitting Buddha   Tanenhaus
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About

One thinks it would be hard to lose the second largest reclining Buddha in the world. Apparently that would be wrong. 

Believed to have been built in 994, the Shwethalyaung Buddha is huge, at 180 feet long and 52 feet high. However after a 1757 pillaging of the area, the world lost track fo the Buddha, only to have a British railway engineer accidentally rediscover it, completely overgrown with jungle, in 1880.

The Buddha was given a giant mosiac pillow in 1930, and is currently kept under a rather unattractive enormous shed. 

A number of other giant Buddhas can be found throughout Bago, however the Shwethalyaung Buddha is the oldest and most revered. 

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Statues Giant Buddhas

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Added By

serflac

Published

August 15, 2011

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