Tathagata is the Sanskrit term for the ‘highest epithet of Buddha’, which is used to refer to Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism who is also known as Sakyamuni. The pagoda was originally 15-storeys tall when it was first built in 1937, before it was reduced to four storeys when Aw Boon Haw instructed his craftsmen to replace the upper storeys with a statue of the seated Sakyamuni. Originally called Tiger Balm Gardens, Haw Par Villa was built in 1937 by Aw, a prominent businessman and philanthropist whose name became synonymous with Tiger Balm, the renowned analgesic ointment that was successfully marketed in Singapore and around the Southeast Asian region.
