Where can I find the world’s largest book (and walk through it)?
I won’t make you scroll all the way to the end of this article to find the answer, so here it is: Kuthodaw Pagoda, Mandalay, Myanmar.
No less than 729 smaller stupas surround the large Kuthodaw pagoda, which is gilded above its terraces and measures 57m (188 feet) in height.
The work was completed in 1868 and the texts contain the Buddhist canon in the Burmese language. There are 730 large marble tablets and 1,460 pages, with each tablet boasting a precious gem in the top of its roof (after all, Myanmar is synonymous with the world-famous Burmese red rubies, which are among some of the finest gems in the world).
The 729 marble tablets have the Tipitaka Pali (meaning “three baskets”) canon of Theravada Buddhism inscribed on them in gold. The reason there are 730 stone inscriptions in total is because one more was added to record the whole process of building this enormous library.
Before King Mindon decided to leave this great work for posterity, the canons were kept in royal libraries in the form of palm leaf manuscripts. Scribes diligently copied the verses on marble for stonemasons, who chiseled them out and filled in with gold ink each one of the 80 to 100 lines of inscription on both sides of the marble tablet.
During the British invasion of the 1860s, the gems were looted and the buildings and paintings vandalized by the troops, however restoration work began in 1892 and although the original glory has not been fully achieved, this place is still one of the most revered destinations for devout Buddhists, scholars and tourists.
