The Royal Pagoda popularly known as the Kuthodaw, was given the official title Maha Lawka Marazein. It was modelled on the Shwezigon Pagoda at Bagan. This pagoda is often called "the largest library in the world" because it is surrounded by 729 small stupas each protecting a stone slab inscriptions comprising the whole of the Buddhist canon, the Tipitaka as checked and approved by the Fifth Great Synod which King Mindon convened to mark the 2400 years of the Buddhist Era. This unique collection is often consulted by Buddhist scholars from all over the world.