Shin Upagutta is a Buddhist arahant

Arhat (Buddhism)

Arhat , in Buddhism, signifies a spiritual practitioner who has realized certain high stages of attainment. The implications of the term vary based on the respective schools and traditions.-Etymology:...

 commonly venerated by Buddhists in Burma, as he is believed to protect worshipers from danger, including floods and storms. He is also venerated in Northern Thailand

Northern Thailand

Thailand's northern region is geographically characterised by multiple mountain ranges which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar and Laos, and the river valleys which cut through them...

 and Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, where he is known as Upakhut. He is commonly depicted sitting cross-legged, dressed in monk's robes and with a hand tilted into an alms bowl called a thabeik, and is associated with nāga

Naga

Naga or NAGA may refer to:* Nāga, a group of serpent deities in Hindu and Buddhist mythology.-People:* Nayan / Nayar/Nair people of Kerala Society* Naga people, a diverse ethnic identity in Northeast India...

, water serpents. He is believed to be either Moggaliputta-Tissa

Moggaliputta-Tissa

Moggaliputta-Tissa , Moggaliputta-Tissa (ca. 327 BC – 247 BC), Moggaliputta-Tissa (ca. 327 BC – 247 BC), (born in Pataliputra, Magadha (now Patna, India) was a Buddhist monk and scholar who lived in the 3rd century BC...

, a Buddhist monk who presided the Third Buddhist Council

Third Buddhist council

The Third Buddhist council was convened in about 250 BCE at Asokarama in Pataliputra, supposedly under the patronage of Emperor Asoka. The reason for convening the Third Buddhist Council is reported to have been to rid the Sangha of corruption and bogus monks who held heretical views...

, Upagupta

Upagupta

Upagupta [circa. 3rd Century B.C.] was a Buddhist monk. According to some stories in the Sanskrit Avadana he was the spiritual teacher of Asoka the great Mauryan emperor. Upagupta's teacher was Sanavasi who was a disciple of Ananda, the Buddha's attendant. Due to the absence of his name in...

, a Mahayana arhat, or a creation of Mahayana Buddhism, because he is not described in the Tipitaka, the Pali Canon, and only mentioned in the Burmese historical chronicle, Maha Yazawindawgyi. Some Burmese believe that Shin Upagutta is still living, in a floating brass palace in the southern ocean, and that he can be invoked through a special Pali incantation, and that his mere invisible presence will prevent storms and floods. Shin Upagutta is commonly venerated by people in the Ayeyarwady delta region. A major festival dedicated to Shin Upagutta is in Shwekyin, near Bago

Bago

Bago may refer to:*Denmark** Bago, Denmark, the island of Bågø*Myanmar**Bago, Burma a city**Bago Region an administrative region*Philippines**Bago City, Negros Oriental**Bago **Bago...

, during the Burmese month

Traditional Burmese calendar

The traditional Burmese calendar is a lunisolar calendar based on both the phases of the moon and the motion of the sun. Within each month of the Burmese calendar, a major festival, often Burmese Buddhist in nature, is held...

 of Thadingyut. Another, called the Ye Hmyaw Pwe , is held in Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

's Chinatown in October and involves a Chinese-style procession and ceremonial dispersal of ashes into the Yangon River.