Merit of Abeyadana, chief queen of King Kyansittha (r. 1084-1112)
Abeyadana is the 11th-century Buddhist temple in Bagan. The temple is elegant. The interior has magnificent wall paintings of Theravada Buddhist scenes incorporated with Mahayana and Hindu icons: there are Brahmas, Bodhisattvas, Shiva, Vishnu, Indra, Rama, etc. The painting styles differ so more than one artist would have worked here.
According to chronicles, she was of Mahayana faith. Her name means Beloved Treasure and she was the mother of Shwe Einthi, the favorite daughter of Kyansittha whose son was Alaung Sithu.
An undated inscription on one wall of four lines in Bamar states that this temple was built by ‘a great queen, beloved wife of Kyansittha who was also Lord of Hti Hlaing’.
