ABSTRACT

Myanmar Ramayana can be read as a narrative tale in poetry and prose, as a royal court drama, and there are also portrayals as painted frescos, wooden carvings and stone sculptures, and other depictions. One of the main reasons why the Ramayana stone carvings are not much known even in Myanmar is because they are located in a remote region, an area far away from the main populated cities and towns. The stone inscriptions from the pagoda do not mention the donation of the Ramayana plaques; they give details of the construction of the pagoda and about the donor. Over many decades, the Thiri Rama has come down to us mainly as a Myanmar literary heritage, though based on the Siamese and ultimately the Indian epic of Valmiki. The carvings of the Ramayana scenes were made on Taung-Oo sandstone using the four basic Myanmar traditional portrayals in carvings are: kanoke, nari, kapi, and gaza.