Nathlaung Kyaung Temple

Nathlaung Kyaung is generally described as the only Hindu temple still standing within the walled old city of Bagan, once the capital of a Burmese kingdom whose monuments are overwhelmingly Buddhist. Dedicated to Vishnu, the temple follows the square, steeply-terraced plan typical of Bagan’s earliest architectural period, a style thought to reflect the direct involvement of Indian artisans; sources differ on whether it was built in the 10th century under King Nyaung-u Sawrahan or in the 11th century under the better-known King Anawrahta, the ruler traditionally credited with establishing Theravada Buddhism as Bagan’s state religion.

Its name — “shrine confining the nat (spirit)” — reflects a much later Burmese legend that a locally worshipped nat spirit was imprisoned within the building, a folk association layered onto the older Hindu structure rather than part of its original purpose. The temple served the religious needs of Hindu merchants, traders, and Brahmin priests resident in Bagan at a time when Hindu and Buddhist practice coexisted closely in the city, but it has deteriorated significantly over the centuries: its outer entrance hall no longer survives, leaving only the central hall and upper superstructure standing. Today it functions purely as a heritage monument within the Bagan Archaeological Zone, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, rather than as an active place of worship.