Kalyāṇī Ordination Hall (, ) is a Buddhist

ordination hall The ordination hall (Pali: ''sīmā'') is a Buddhist building specifically consecrated and designated for the performance of the Buddhist ordination ritual (''upasampadā'') and other ritual ceremonies, such as the recitation of the Pāṭimokkha. ...

located in

Bago, Myanmar Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...

. The ordination hall is a major pilgrimage site, and houses the

Kalyani Inscriptions The ''Kalyani Inscriptions'' (), located in Bago, Myanmar, are the stone inscriptions constructed by King Dhammazedi of Hanthawaddy Pegu between 1476 and 1479. Located at the Kalyani Ordination Hall (Kalyani Sima) outside Bago, the inscriptions ...

, a set of 10 sandstone pillars inscribed in

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

and

Mon Mon, MON or Mon. may refer to: Places * Mon State, a subdivision of Myanmar * Mon, India, a town in Nagaland * Mon district, Nagaland * Mon, Raebareli, a village in Uttar Pradesh, India * Mon, Switzerland, a village in the Canton of Grisons * A ...

in 1480. The

inscription Epigraphy () is the study of inscriptions, or epigraphs, as writing; it is the science of identifying graphemes, clarifying their meanings, classifying their uses according to dates and cultural contexts, and drawing conclusions about the wr ...

s are important records of

Theravada ''Theravāda'' (; 'School of the Elders'; ) is Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school's adherents, termed ''Theravādins'' (anglicized from Pali ''theravādī''), have preserved their version of the Buddha's teaching or ''Dharma (Buddhi ...

history of Buddhism The history of Buddhism can be traced back to the 5th century BCE. Buddhism originated from Ancient India, in and around the ancient Kingdom of Magadha (Mahajanapada), Magadha, and is based on the teachings of the renunciate Siddhartha Gautama, ...

and of that era.

History

The

was first built by King

Dhammazedi Dhammazedi (, ; c. 1409–1492, reigned 1471 to 1492) was the 16th king of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in Burma. Considered one of the most enlightened rulers in Burmese history, by some accounts call him "the greatest" of all Hanthawaddy kings.Hal ...

of the Hanthawaddy Kingdom in 1476 to re-

ordain Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform vari ...

the kingdom's Buddhist monks, in an effort to purify the kingdom's

Sangha Sangha or saṃgha () is a term meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community". In a political context, it was historically used to denote a governing assembly in a republic or a kingdom, and for a long time, it has been used b ...

, which had undergone several internal

schism A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...

s. To this end, in 1476,

Dhamma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold'' or ''to support' ...

zedi sent 22 senior monks and their disciples to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, where they were re-ordained at the

Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara The Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara or Kelaniya Temple is a Buddhist temple in Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. It is located north-east of Colombo. The current chief incumbent (chief priest) is Venerable Professor Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thera. The ...

. After the monks had returned, Dhammazedi built the Kalyani Ordination Hall, which derives its name from the

Kelani River The Kelani River () is a river in Sri Lanka. The fourth-longest river in the country, it stretches from the Sri Pada Mountain Range to Colombo. It flows through or borders the Sri Lankan districts of Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, Gampaha ...

in Sri Lanka. The construction of the first Kalyani Ordination Hall spurred construction of similarly-named Kalyani Ordination Halls; throughout the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, 9 large ones and 107 small ones were constructed. The ordination hall was destroyed several times.

Portuguese explorer Portuguese maritime explorations resulted in numerous territories and maritime routes recorded by the Portuguese on journeys during the 15th and 16th centuries. Portuguese sailors were at the vanguard of European exploration, chronicling and mapp ...

s burnt the structure in 1599, and King

Alaungpaya Alaungpaya (, ; also spelled Alaunghpaya or Alaung-Phra; 11 May 1760) was the founder and first emperor of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma. By the time of his death from illness during his Burmese–Siamese War (1759–60), campaign in Siam, this ...

destroyed the hall during his invasion of Bago in 1757. The ordination hall was also destroyed by fires and earthquakes, including an earthquake in 1930 that levelled the structure completely. The extant ordination hall was reconstructed in 1954.

Notes

References

Bibliography

* {{Buddhist sites in Myanmar Buddhist temples in Myanmar Buildings and structures completed in 1476 Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1470s