"A golden Theravada temple rising above the Chittagong Hill Tracts, housing a Buddha relic from Myanmar"
Buddha Dhatu Jadi
Bandarban, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh
On a sixty-metre hill above Bandarban, a golden temple rises from the green canopy of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Buddha Dhatu Jadi is the largest Theravada Buddhist temple in Bangladesh, built by a monk of the royal Bohmong family to enshrine a genuine Buddha relic received from Myanmar. The Marma people, whose Arakanese roots span the border between Bangladesh and Myanmar, gather here for worship that connects them to a lineage stretching back to the historical Buddha.
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Quick Facts
Location
Bandarban, Chittagong Division, Bangladesh
Tradition
Site Type
Year Built
2000
Coordinates
22.2227, 92.1975
Last Updated
Mar 9, 2026
Learn More
The temple was founded by a monk from the Bohmong royal family to enshrine a Buddha relic from Myanmar, serving the Theravada Buddhist Marma community of the Chittagong Hill Tracts.
Origin Story
In 1994, Ven. U Pannya Jota Mahathera received a Buddha relic from the State Sangha Maha Nayaka Committee of Myanmar. The monk, who had renounced his position in the Bohmong royal family to take ordination in 1991, began construction of a temple to house the relic in 1995. The temple was completed in 2000, built in the Arakanese architectural style that reflects the Marma community's cultural roots.
Key Figures
Ven. U Pannya Jota Mahathera
Founder and chief priest. Member of the royal Bohmong family who became a Theravada monk in 1991.
Spiritual Lineage
The temple connects the Marma community's Theravada practice to the broader Theravada world, particularly Myanmar's Buddhist institutions. The Bohmong royal family has historically served as patrons of Buddhist practice in the southern Hill Tracts.
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