Lokahteikpan () is a small but historically significant

Buddhist temple A Buddhist temple or Buddhist monastery is the place of worship for Buddhism, Buddhists, the followers of Buddhism. They include the structures called vihara, chaitya, stupa, wat, khurul and pagoda in different regions and languages. Temples in B ...

located in

Bagan Bagan ( ; ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...

. The temple was founded circa 1125 CE during the reign of King

Alaungsithu Alaungsithu or Sithu I ( ; also Cansu I; 1090–1167) was king of Pagan Dynasty of Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in ...

. It is best known for its

fresco Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

paintings and mural inscriptions, which are among the oldest surviving documents written in

Old Burmese Old Burmese was an early form of the Burmese language, as attested in the stone inscriptions of Pagan, and is the oldest phase of Burmese linguistic history. The transition to Middle Burmese occurred in the 16th century. The transition to Middl ...

Architecture and Artistic Features

The temple consists of a central hall (''gandhakuti'') housing a seated

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

image. The ceiling and side walls of the Buddha hall are adorned with murals depicting the Five Hundred and Fifty Jataka stories, visualizing the past lives of the Buddha. These frescoes are notable for their intricate detail and storytelling technique. The mural paintings distinguish kings from commoners through differences in posture and attire. Gender is also clearly represented—men are shown with beards and whiskers, while women are depicted with flowing hair and stylized bodies, reflecting classical ideals of beauty. The accompanying texts for the murals are written in both the ancient Mon language and Old Burmese, providing valuable linguistic and cultural insights into the 12th-century Bagan period.U Maung Maung – ''Bagan Pagoda of Yangon University''

Cultural Significance

Lokahteikpan’s inscriptions are among the earliest known examples of the Old Burmese script, making the temple a critical site for historians and linguists studying the evolution of Burmese language, literature, and Buddhist storytelling traditions.

References

* U Ba Shin (1962). ''The Lokahteikpan.'' Rangoon: Burma Historical Commission, Ministry of Union Culture, Revolutionary Govt., Union of Burma. Buildings and structures in Mandalay Region Buddhist temples in Myanmar Buildings and structures completed in 1125 Religious buildings and structures completed in the 1120s 12th-century Buddhist temples {{Myanmar-Buddhist-temple-stub