[from Pali Anantapannà". ‘infinite wisdom’]. The most famous Buddhist brick monument of Pagan, northern Burma, built under king Kyanzittha and consecrated in 1090. According to legend, it was modelled after the grotto of Nandamùla on Mount Gandamàdana, identified with the Ananta cave-temple of the Udayagiri hills of Orissa, or possibly the temple of Paharpur in northern Bengal. Its plan is cruciform, with the central pillar supporting a stupa. On the outside of the stucco-decorated monument 1500 glazed terracotta plaques illustrate the Jataka stories (lives of the Buddha).
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied