Spectacular 2,500 Years Old Shwedagon Pagoda In Myanmar – World’s Oldest Pagoda

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - According to an ancient legend, the Shwedagon Pagoda is 2,500 years old, dating back to the lifetime of the Buddha, making it the oldest historical pagoda in the world.

The Shwedagon Pagoda enshrines strands of Buddha's hair and other holy relics.

Tachileik Shwedagon Pagoda, Myanmar. Image credit: Peterwchen - Own work - CC BY-SA 4.0

Legends say that there's been a stupa on Singuttara Hill for 2,500 years, ever since two merchant brothers, Tapussa and Ballika, met the Buddha.

He gave them eight of his hairs to take back to Myanmar, a land ruled over by King Okkalapa. Okkalapa enshrined the hairs in a temple of gold, together with relics of three former Buddhas, which were then enclosed in a temple of silver, then one of tin, then copper, then lead, then marble, and, finally, one of plain iron-brick.

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