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Mel Lamu Pagoda

info Mel Lamu (မယ်လမု) means Maid of the Mangrove.

There was a legendary saying about Mel Lamu Pagoda (ဆုတောင်းပြည့် မယ်လမုစေတီတော်). It was said that a hermit once came upon a mangrove tree bearing an abnormally large bud which he took to his retreat and it later bloomed, revealing a baby girl inside.

monetization_on Entry Fees: US$ 2

watch_later Operation hours: 6:00-20:00

hourglass_full Time needed: Approximately 1 hour

visibility Virtual Tour

You can view 360°x360° view photosphere of this tourist site below. Click and drag, to move up, down, or around.

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The child was nurtured and brought up by the hermit who named her Mel Lamu on account of her being born of a mangrove fruit. She grew up into a beautiful woman and Sakka (or the Indra), monarch of the celestial divinities, fell in love with her. After asking for her hand in marriage from the hermit, the lord of the celestial gods fathered a child who, it was said eventually became King of Okkalapa, the name by which Yangon had been referred to in the remote past. Representations of the Maid of the Mangrove and her heavenly suitor can be seen at the southwest corner of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

In 1959, during the clearing of land near the Ngamoeyeik tidal stream as part of the programme in setting up the new township of North Okkalapa, the stump of a ruined pagoda overgrown by a hardwood tree was revealed. Eventually a donor materialized who built a new pagoda at this site. As the ruins were being cleared before the construction of the new pagoda, a casket bearing a figurine of a woman was recovered from the reliquary of the ruined pagoda. The figurine was said to resemble the Mel Lamu statue on the Shwedagon Pagoda exactly and in the light of the legendary association of a crocodile named Ngamoeyeik involved in the legend of King Okkalapa with the location of the ruined pagoda by the Ngamoeyeik stream, the shrine came to be known as Mel Lamu Pagoda. A stylized fruit of the mangrove is also featured in the construction of the pagoda. There is also an image of the reclining Buddha and clustered around these Main edifices are compositions in stucco of various episodes in the life of the Buddha.

A sculpture to give the look of Buddha with the long chain of his disciples.

Another sculptures in Maelamu Pagoda

build Year established: n.a.

directions Directions:

place Location: Thudhamma Road, North Okkalapa Township, Yangon, Myanmar

local_phone Phone: 01-661285

email Email: n.a.

public Website: n.a.

local_taxi Estimated taxi fare: n.a.

directions_bus Bus directions: n.a.

directions_railway Nearest train station: Kyauk Yae Twin Railway Station

map See map below:

help_outline Get a free quotation for a Myanmar tour to visit this place.

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