Situated north of Minnanthu Village Completed 1224. Merit of nobles Min Mainma and Thanmyin Thamanta Kuntha, Winihto Pagoda Complex will worth a short visit in your Bagan day tour.
There are three medium-size temples all single storey. Temple number 653 has good murals of Bodhisattvas, and of the two monks Shin Sariputta and Shin Moggallana, who were the closest disciples of Buddha.
Temple number 657 has an inscription giving the date of completion as 1224. There are sixteen niches but only five have large terracotta plaques with Buddha images in the Bhumispasa Mudra, earth-touching pose.
The best paintings are in temple number 659. The woman donor Min Mainma, meaning either ‘official’s wife’ or ‘woman officer’, was recorded in the stone inscription as ‘sister of the great donor’ and Thanmyin Thamanta Kuntha. There was an uncle to King Uzana (r. 1250-1254) of the same name so it could be that the donors were siblings of Uzana’s father King Kya Swar (r. 1235-1250).
The wall paintings are ornate and beautifully done such as the Buddha’s footprint, figures of Brahma and Indra, celestials, scenes of the attack and defeat of Mara, etc. Some show the same demons seen in the famous half-oval sections at the’ Wetkyi In’ Gubyauk Gyi Temple and most likely done by the same artist.