Location Bagan, Mandalay Region Country Myanmar Opened 1058 | Affiliation Theravada Buddhism Founder King Anawrahta | |
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Completed 1058; 959 years ago (1058) Similar Andaw‑thein Temple, Koe‑thaung Temple, Shite‑thaung Temple, Htukkanthein Temple, Le‑myet‑hna Temple | ||
Pitaka Taik (Burmese: ပိဋကတ်တိုက်) finds its meaning in the "library of Buddhist Scriptures". The library was created after a conquest of Thaton, Anawratha seized 30 elephant-loads of Buddhist scripture. He then built a library in 1058 to house these documents. He used a style known as "Gu" which is an early Bagan Cave Style. The material was light-sensitive so the building had limited windows decorated with chinthe imaged on each side. There are three windows on each side. There are three doors which are all on one side (front). The library is a square with each side measuring 51 feet (16 m) long.
It was restored in 1738 by King Bodawpaya of the Konbaung Dynasty. The architecture of this library is notable because of the square shape, perforated stone windows and the plaster carvings that are on the roof. These are all examples of Myanmar architecture.