Gawdawpalin Temple

The Gawdawpalin Temple rises nearly two hundred feet above the plains of Bagan, its massive white structure anchored by a broad, terraced base that dwarfs the surrounding shrines. King Narapatisithu commissioned this temple in the late twelfth century to atone for a perceived ancestral slight. According to local chronicles, the king traced his lineage back to the founding monarchs and built this monument to honor their spirits. He never saw it finished, as a serious eye ailment struck him before the work concluded.