Pagan Kingdom flourishes under Kyansittha

1105

In upper Burma, the aging King Kyansittha presided over a golden age of Theravada Buddhism, commissioning the elegant Ananda Temple at Pagan - a masterpiece of Mon architecture whose gilded spire rose high above the flat Irrawaddy plain. His court patronized Pali scholarship, maintained diplomatic contact with the Song dynasty, and sent missions of monks to study in Sri Lanka.