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Yangon, May 29 (IANS) The gold-plated Shwedagon Pagoda, which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visited Tuesday, is a sight to behold as over 4,500 diamonds dazzle in the sun. And at its very tip is a massive 72 carat diamond. The pagoda, which has Buddha's relics, towers at over 100 metres, dominating the city skyline. The majestic structure is covered with hundreds of gold plates. The top of the stupa is encrusted with 4,531 diamonds, the largest of which is a 72 carat diamond, said shwedagonpagoda.com The secret of the pagoda's golden glow are 8,688 gold bars in the lower part of the stupa and another 13,153 gold bars in the upper part. Besides, there are 2,317 rubies, sapphires and other gems and 1,065 gold bells, the website said. According to another account, the pagoda is gilded using some 28,000 packets of gold leaf - the upper section is sheathed by 13,153 pure gold plates. Legend has it that the Shwedagon Pagoda is 2,500 years old. The 321.5 feet Shwedagon pagoda shelters Buddha's hair, given by Buddha himself to two merchant brothers from Asitanjana, as Myanmar was called in the ancient period, in return for honey cake they offered him. Manmohan Singh's three-day visit to Myanmar ended Tuesday.
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