science

Pyatthat

Pyatthat is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pyatthat rather than just read about it. In short: Pyatthat (Burmese: ပြာသာဒ်, IPA: [pjaʔθaʔ]; from Sanskrit prāsāda; Mon: တန်ဆံၚ် IPA: [tan.cʰi̤ŋ]; also spelt pyathat) is the name of a multistaged roof, with an odd number of tiers (from three to seven). The pyatthat is commonly incorporated into Burmese Buddhist and royal architecture (e.g., kyaungs, palace buildings, pagodas) and towers above the image of the Buddha or other sacred places (e.g., royal thrones and…

Key takeaways

Pyatthat belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pyatthat to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pyatthat from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Pyatthat (Burmese: ပြာသာဒ်, IPA: [pjaʔθaʔ]; from Sanskrit prāsāda; Mon: တန်ဆံၚ် IPA: [tan.cʰi̤ŋ]; also spelt pyathat) is the name of a multistaged roof, with an odd number of tiers (from three to seven). The pyatthat is commonly incorporated into Burmese Buddhist and royal architecture (e.g., kyaungs, palace buildings, pagodas) and towers above the image of the Buddha or other sacred places (e.g., royal thrones and city gates).

Construction The pyatthat is made of successive gabled rectangular roofs in an exaggerated pyramidal shape, with an intervening box-like structure called the lebaw (လည်ပေါ်) between each roof. The pyatthat is crowned with a wooden spire called the taing bu (တိုင်ဖူး) or kun bu (ကွန်းဖူး) depending on its shape, similar to the hti, an umbrella ornament that crowns Burmese pagodas. The edges of each tier are gold-gilded decorative designs made of metal sheet, with decorative ornaments called du yin (တုရင်) at the corners (analogous to the Thai chofah). There are three primary kinds of pyatthat, with the variation being the number of tiers called boun (ဘုံ, from Pali bhumi). Three-tiered, five-tiered and seven-tiered roofs are called yahma, thooba, and thooyahma, respectively.

History

The usage of the pyatthat began early in Burmese architecture, with examples dating to the Pagan period. Prominent examples from this era that feature the pyatthat include the Ananda Temple and Gawdawpalin Temple In pre-colonial Burma, the pyatthat was a prominent feature in the royal buildings, which itself symbolized Tavatimsa, a Buddhist heaven. Above the main throne in the king's primary audience hall was a nine-tiered pyatthat, with the tip representing Mount Meru (မြင်းမိုရ်) and the lower six tiers representing the six abodes of the devas and of humans. Furthermore, the 12 city gates of Burmese royal capitals were crowned with pyatthats, with the main ones used by royalty possessing five tiers, and the others possessing five tiers. In pre-colonial Burma, sumptuary laws restricted the usage of pyatthats to royal and religious buildings, and regulated the number of tiers appertaining to each grade of official rank, The nine-tiered pyatthat was reserved solely for the kingdom's sovereign, while the sawbwas of important tributary states were entitled to seven-tiered pyatthats.

Gallery

References

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pyatthat

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pyatthat claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pyatthat before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pyatthat ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pyatthat

In research: Pyatthat appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pyatthat in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pyatthat is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Burmese Buddhist architecture, Roofs, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pyatthat outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pyatthat in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pyatthat means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pyatthat out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pyatthat in simple terms?

Why does Pyatthat matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pyatthat?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pyatthat.