Wood Carvings at Shwezigon, Bagan

high-definition creative commons photographs from Bagan, Myanmar, showing the wood carvings in one of the pavillions of this famous temple, which illustrate the Life of the Buddha, Jataka Stories and Burmese Folk Stories.

The Pagoda	The Shrine	The Carvings in Situ
Unidentified Scene	Unidentified Scene	Kawhtilatt and Mabowoo	Mabowoo Dragged by the Hair
Arika and Pola Janaka Fighting 1	Arika and Pola Janaka Fighting 2	Arika and Pola Janaka Fighting 3	Brother and Sister Swinging Nats
Paduma Devi gives Birth to Children	Suvannasama Jataka	Rama Jataka	Vessantara Retires to the Forest 1
Vessantara Retires to the Forest 2	Vessantara Retires to the Forest 3	Vessantara Retires to the Forest 4	Siddhattha's Renunciation 1
Siddhattha's Renunciation 2	Siddhattha's Renunciation 3	Siddhattha's Renunciation 4	Siddhattha's Renunciation 5
Ajivika Upaka meets the Buddha	Bhikkhuni Patacara	Bodhisatta Mahosadha and Kevaddha Brahmin Fighting	Nanda's Renunciation

The charming wood-carvings in this section were found in one of the many pagodas that surround the main Shwezigon Pagoda in Bagan. I could not find out information about their construction date, but they are probably from the 18th-19th centuries, or maybe from the early 20th.

As can be seen from the photographs they form a kind of archway between two pillars and are on 3 sides on each of the entrances. They normally tell one story per archway, but sometimes more. Unfortunately because of the shape of the arch it has not been possible to show the whole of the story associated with each of the carvings.

The scenes represent stories from Myanmar folklore, the Jatakas and from the Life of the Buddha - a couple of scenes are unidentified as the plaque which identifies them is missing. Some of the scenes span several photographs, and I have tried fitting them together into panoramas, but have not been successful as there is too much distortion.