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Shwethalyaung Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Theravada Buddhism
Location
Location	Bago
Country	Myanmar
Shown within Myanmar
Geographic coordinates	17°20′17″N 96°27′45″E / 17.337931°N 96.462409°E / 17.337931; 96.462409
Architecture
Founder	King Migadepa
Completed	994; 1031 years ago (994)

The Shwethalyaung Temple (Burmese: ရွှေသာလျှောင်းဘုရား [ʃwèθàljáʊɰ̃ pʰəjá] is a Buddhist temple in the west side of Bago (Pegu), Myanmar. The name Shwethalyaung means "Golden Image of the Sleeping Buddha" and the temple houses a reclining Buddha statue in the temple is 55 metres in length and 15 metres in height.

According to tradition the temple was constructed during the reign of King Migadippa in 994. The temple went into disrepair twice before the 15th century and King Alaungpaya ransacked the city in 1757. It was rediscovered in 1881, and renovated..

Shwethalyaung means "Golden Image of the Sleeping Buddha".^[1]

The temple is located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) to the west of Bago, Myanmar.^[2]

The Shwethalyaung Buddha is a reclining Buddha statue that is 180 feet (55 m) long and 50 feet (15 m) in height. It is the largest Buddha statue in pre-colonial southeast Asia. The date of construction for the reclining Buddha is unknown, but is believed to date during the Hanthawaddy kingdom.^[3] According to tradition the statue was crated by King Migadippa in 994.^[4]

The temple fell into disrepair before a renovation in the 15th century. It fell into disrepair again^[4][5] after King Alaungpaya ransacked the area in 1757.^[6] British railway workers rediscovered the temple in 1881.^[7] In 1906, an iron shelter was constructed around the Buddha statue at the cost of RS 1.5 million.^[8]

U.S. Vice President Richard Nixon visited the temple in 1953, and was protested by 80 communists.^[9]