| Kalyani Ordination Hall | |
|---|---|
ကလျာဏီသိမ် | |
 The Kalyani Ordination Hall in 1907 | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Buddhism |
| Sect | Theravada Buddhism |
| Region | Bago Region |
| Year consecrated | 24 November 1476 9th waxing ofNadaw 838ME |
| Location | |
| Municipality | Bago |
| Country | Myanmar |
  Shown within Myanmar | |
| Coordinates | 17°19′59″N96°27′52″E / 17.333145°N 96.464378°E /17.333145; 96.464378 |
| Architecture | |
| Founder | Dhammazedi |
| Completed | 22 November 1476[note 1] 7th waxing of Nadaw 838 ME |
Kalyāṇī Ordination Hall (Burmese:ကလျာဏီသိမ်,Pali:Kalyāṇī Sīmā) is a Buddhistordination hall located inBago, Myanmar. The ordination hall is a major pilgrimage site,[1] and houses theKalyani Inscriptions, a set of 10 sandstone pillars inscribed inPali andMon in 1480.[2][3] Theinscriptions are important records ofTheravadahistory of Buddhism and of that era.[3]
Theordination hall was first built by KingDhammazedi of theHanthawaddy kingdom in 1476 to re-ordain the kingdom's Buddhist monks, in an effort to purify the kingdom'sSangha, which had undergone several internalschisms.[4] To this end, in 1476,Dhammazedi sent 22 senior monks and their disciples toSri Lanka, where they were re-ordained at theKelaniya Raja Maha Vihara.[4] After the monks had returned, Dhammazedi built the Kalyani Ordination Hall, which derives its name from theKelani River in Sri Lanka.[5][4] The construction of the first Kalyani Ordination Hall spurred construction of similarly-named Kalyani Ordination Halls; throughout the Hanthawaddy Kingdom, 9 large ones and 107 small ones were constructed.[5]
The ordination hall was destroyed several times.Portuguese explorers burnt the structure in 1599, and KingAlaungpaya destroyed the hall during his invasion of Bago in 1757.[4][6] The ordination hall was also destroyed by fires and earthquakes, including an earthquake in 1930 that levelled the structure completely.[6] The extant ordination hall was reconstructed in 1954.[4]
