The Nathlaung Kyaung Temple is a Hindu

Hindu

Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...

 temple dedicated to Vishnu

Vishnu

Vishnu is the Supreme god in the Vaishnavite tradition of Hinduism. Smarta followers of Adi Shankara, among others, venerate Vishnu as one of the five primary forms of God....

, located in Bagan

Bagan

Bagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Region of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...

, Burma. It is located west of the Thatbyinnyu Temple

Thatbyinnyu Temple

Thatbyinnyu Temple is a famous temple located in Bagan , built in the mid-12th century during the reign of King Alaungsithu. It is adjacent to Ananda Temple. Thatbyinnyu Temple is shaped like a cross, but is not symmetrical. The temple has two primary storeys, with the seated Buddha image located...

, and is the only remaining Hindu

Hinduism

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...

 temple in Bagan. The temple is one of the oldest temples in Bagan, and was built in the 11th century, during the reign of King Anawratha. However, some historians believe the temple may have been built in the 10th century, during the reign of King Nyaung-u Sawrahan

Nyaung-u Sawrahan

Nyaung-u Sawrahan was a king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma . Although Burmese chronicles state that he reigned from 931 to 964, his actual reign, deduced from King Anawrahta's year of ascension, 1044, was likely between 959 and 992...

 (also known as Taungthugyi). The temple was originally built for Hindu Burmese Indians

Burmese Indians

Burmese Indians are a group of people of Indian subcontinental ethnicity who live in Myanmar . While Indians have lived in Burma for many centuries, most of the ancestors of the current Burmese Indian community emigrated to Burma from the start of British rule in the mid 19th century to the...

, including merchants and Brahmin

Brahmin

Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...

s. Many structures of the original temple have disappeared, although the main hall remains. Originally, the temple contained statues of the 10 Avatar

Avatar

In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....

s of Vishnu, including Gautama Buddha

Gautama Buddha

Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...

; however, today, only seven remain. The temple was isolated and unrepaired for many years, as it was not Buddhist in origin.