1044 - 1287.
Thesis f o r th e Degree o f D octor o f Philosophy p rese n ted to
THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON December, 1955
by
MAHNO THAN TUN.
School o f O rie n ta l and A frican S tu d ie s .
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Buddhism as in tro d u ce d from Ramai&iadesa to Pagan a f t e r Aniruddha/ s conquest o f low er Burma, in A.B.1057 irns been b eliev ed to be a pure Therava&a form . . Using la r g e ly ep ig rap h ic s o u rc e s , t h i s th e s is proves t h a t th e o ry false® I t also produces some evidences as to th e presence o f bhilttehm l - fem ale a s d e tie s - in th e Order r ig h t up to th e end of th e Pagan d y n asty whereas th e t r a d i t i o n in Burma says t h a t no woman was allow ed in th e Order s in c e A.D.456. I t also t r i e s to solv.e the problem o f the Ari whom the c h ro n ic le s a lle g e to p r a c t is e .ius primae n o c t i s .
Dr. 0. B u ro is e lle connects them w ith f a n t r i c Buddhism. The Ari s e c t o r Arahiiavasi came in to e x iste n c e only in th e second q u a rte r of th e t h i r t e e n t h cen tu ry and i t was n ev e r o f f i c i a l l y su p p ressed . In f a c t i t g ain ed pop u lar su p p o rt l i g h t t i l l th e end of the Pagan dynasty® The
orthodox group sought a s s is ta n c e from Ceylon to a r r e s t th e sweeping success of Mahateaaaaoa and h is ArahftavSsi moiifcs• This th e s is a lso g iv e s th e a r c h i t e c t u r a l s ty l e of th e p erio d as d esc rib e d in th e in s c r i p t i o n s . Slaves fig u re d as an im portant s o c ia l group in th o s e days and th e r e f o r e a c h a p te r i s e n t ir e ly devoted to them. On th e p o l i t i c a l asp ect o f th e p e rio d , an alm ost com pletely new p ic tu re o f the Pagan monarchy i s given h e re . The names of th e Rings are in Old Burmese forms b u t i d e n t i f i e d .
The a d m in is tra tiv e system o f the p erio d i s d e s c rib e d as f u lly as p o s s ib le . These form ch a p te rs one, two and th r e e .
v x t
32 86 117 145 175 205 258 288 316 360
363 368 394
i i .ii 32 72
86 IimiODUCTION
HISTORY OP BURMA 1044-1174 HISTORY OF BURMA 1174-1287
SHE BURMESE ADMINIS TRATIOil 1044-1287 SASANA
PUBHl TRYA
3ANGHA
SANGHA (Continued) RELIGIOUS BUILDINGS.
KYWAN - THE SLATES OF MEDIEVAL BURMA APPENDICES
PAY - THE MED MEASURE
T W T T SIGHT BUDDHAS AND THEIR BODHI TREES BIBLIOGRAPHY
MAPS, TABLES and LISTS ABBREVIATIONS
T R A N SIjITRRATICOST TABLE
KINGS OF PAGAN 1044 - 1287
MONGOL INVASION - 1 3 th Oentury (Between) GENEALOGICAL TABLE OF THIS LATTER HALF OF THE PAGAN DYNASTY ( a f t e r P ro fe ss o r G.H.Luoe)
V I. MAP OP KXAUK3E DISTRICT SHOWING
"THE ELEVEN VII/LAGES" (between)
V II. FLORAE DEIGN (between)
VXII. CONJECTURAL PUN OP ANAHTASURA* S MONASTERY AT BlANA, PAGAN, BUILT IN A.D.1223
IX. LIST OP SOME IMPORTANT PAGODAS OP PAGAN (betw een) X. MAP OF PAGAN TOWNSHIP SHOWING SOME
IMPORTANT PAGODAS OF PAGAN (between)
88 - 89 292 — 293
303
316 - 317
316 - 317
A
ASB
AS I
B I & XI
BEEEO Up. Birm.
Up. Ind*
GPC GUBSS
Riiaman
\
IA JA JBRS JRAS L i s t . PI*
O rig in a l In s c r ip tio n s C o llected Toy King Bodawpaya i n Upper Burma and now p laced n e a r th e Patodawgyi Pagoda 9 Amarapura.
Annual Repo i t of the S uperintendent 9 A rchaeological Survey9 Burma.
Annual Report,, A rchaeological Survey of In d ia . I n s c r ip tio n s copied from th e Stones c o lle c te d "by King Bodawpaya and placed n e a r th e Arahan Pagoda.
Volumes I and I I .
B u lle tin de l 1 Boole F rsn p aise d ’Ibrbr&me O rie n t.
E pigraph!a Bixmanica*
Epigra-phia Indi ca * G lass Palace C hronicle.
G a z e tte e r of Upper Buima and Shan S ta te s P art I , To tones 1 and £; P a rt Volumes l 9g and S.
The Bnamnan Yazawin compiled in 1829.
In d i an A ntiq u ary . Jo u rn a l A s ia tiq u a .
J o u rn a l of th e Burma Research S o c ie ty . J o u rn a l of the Royal A s ia tic S o c ie ty . A L is t o f I n s c r ip tio n s found in Burma•
P la te in fiv e p o r tf o lio s of In s c ri ptions of Burma.
Pl.lOO1^ means P la te Number 100 of P o r tf o lio I„
In.se r ip tio n s of Burma, lin e 10.
PPA I n a c r ip tio n s of Pagan, Pinya and Ava*
PTS P a li P est S o c ie ty ,
BUO Bevue de I'libctr^me- O rie n t,
SIP S e le c tio n s from th e Ins c r i p tio n s o f Pagan,
!BT U Inn Byein*s T ra n s la tio n of PPA.
UB I & I I I n s c r ip tio n s c o lle c te d in Upper Buima, Volumes 1 and 2*
m m i m m o i j t a b l e. 1
1* Consonants*
OQ lea 0 oa % ta 00 t a O pa 0 0 ya 00 sa
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1 . See a l s o JB S3. 3 3 r ,ii,p .l3 6 ; J m 3 .V l,li,P P .8 1 " S 0 and E p .B lsn
1 t i * p p • 6 —1 2 *
Attem pts had been made to cheek Burmese h is to r y by means o f
in s c r i p tio n s as e a rly as th e eig h te e n th c e n tu ry , U K ala when com piling th e G reat C hronicle soon a f t e r th e ac ce ssio n of King faninganwe
(1714-17 53} was the f i r s t to use them and Twin th in M ahasithu follow ed s u i t , IHvinthin prodixced th e Kew G hronicle in th e l a t e e ig h te e n th c e n tu ry . In 1829, a committee o f sc h o la rs com piled th e Glass P alace G hronicle and eleven in s c r ip tio n s are m entioned in co n n ectio n w ith o u r p e rio d , ffixeir u se o f ep ig rap h ic evidence, however, was so meagre th a t i t was alm ost n e g l i g i b l e . Mien Silavamsa w rote th e C elebrated
C hronicle in ? 1520, he had only a few se n ten c es on th e Pagan d ynasty b u t U k a l a w rote n e a rly two hundred pages on i t and th e Glass Palace
Ghronicle was alm ost a copy of TJ Kala*s c h r o n ic le . Of course th e y used lo c a l legends known as “thamaing" and many s t o r i e s from J a ta k a to e n larg e Silavafisa.1 s account on Pagan, K a tu ra lly th e se in c o rp o rate d s t o r i e s have l i t t l e o r no v a lu e as h is t o r y . Perhaps, th e reason f o r such in c o rp o ra tio n was the d e s ire to d e s c rib e a, g iv en episode w ith a s im ila r and b e t t e r known s to r y from the J a ta k a o r th e m is in te r p r e ta tio n o f th e old re c o rd s, Por example, when a s on of a ju n i o r queen was given th e throne superseding th e sons of se n io r queens, p a r t o f th e Esmayana where E a sa ra th a appointed a ju n io r son as h e i r to th e th ro n e was r e to ld m u ta tis m u tan d is, When they m isread o r m is in te rp r e te d old re c o rd s ,
th e y in v en ted new s t o r i e s to ex p lain them, fhe name of a k in g
ffhaktawshe - Long L ife - was misread, Ghaktawshe - Long Pavel Cord - and as a r e s u l t th e s to r y t h a t th e k in g when young c rie d in c e s s a n tly so as
to cause inflam m ation of th e navel cord and thus acquired th e nickname o f Long Kovel Oord. As a l l i n t e r p r e t e r s could n o t agree on a l l p o in ts o f th e se s t o r i e s , th e re were many s to r ie s w ith v a rio u s v e rsio n s so th a t as the p o p u la r saying g o e s , i t becomes expedient to have a Mg s t i c k n e a r a t hand when d is c u s s in g Pagan h is t o r y ; se rio u s d is p u te s and q u a rre ls are bound to a r is e which o f te n end in fig h ts * Thus a new approach to m edieval
Burmese h i s t o r y i s a long f e l t need*
The tendency o f a modern s c h o la r is to base ev e ry th in g on ep ig rap h ic evidence and to re c o n s tru c t th e h is to ry of Burma 1044-1287 e n t i r e l y on th e s tr e n g th o f t h i s evidence and in th e course of t h i s endeavour, to ig n o re , r e f u te o r su p p o rt the time ch e rish ed s t o r i e s to ld by th e
c h ro n ic le r s w herever and whenever necessary* The wisdom o f e n t i r e l y re ly in g on epigraphy m ight be ch allen g ed as epigraphs d e a l la r g e ly w ith r e lig i o u s m a tte rs and th e y only co n tain chance re fe re n c e s to p o l i t i c a l * s o c ia l and economic sid e s o f l i f e in th o se days* One should remember, however, th a t th e se s tr a y re fere n ce s are contemporary and th e re fo re much more r e l i a b l e th an th e s to r ie s th a t come down to us through th e ages by word o f mouth u n t i l th ey were committed to w ritin g in
co m p arativ ely recent tim es. Thu3 th e re i s the need o f w ritin g th e h is to r y o f m edieval Burma in th e l i g h t of ep ig ra p h ic ev id en ce.
The purpose o f th is th e s is is to f u l f i l , i n a sm all way, p a r t o f th a t taste* The f i r s t th r e e c h a p te rs deal w ith the p o l i t i c a l h i s t o r y where an
e n t i r e l y new p ic tu re of the Pagan monarchy i s g iv e n . Barly in h is re ig n King Aniruddha conquered low er Burma and opened h is country to a d i r e c t
c o n ta c t by sea w ith I n d ia . Mon c u ltu r e was copied more o r le s s s la v is h ly
were m asters a t Pagan, T heir language was th e o f f i c i a l language a t th e Burmese courb, Burmans must have been Buddhists long b e fo re liiiru d d h a* a conquest of the d e l t a but t h i s conquest re s u lte d i n th e im port o f
Buddhism as p r a c tis e d in lower Burma, i t i s , how ever, very im portant to beau- in mind th a t Buddhism th u s im ported was not e x a c tly the Therava&a Buddhism as p o p u la rly a lle g e d . I t was f a r from pu re. As Buddhism has n o th in g comparable w ith Brahmanical r i t u a l s f o r such o ccasions as co ro n atio n and p a lac e c o n s tru c tio n , Burmans f e l t i t n e c e ss a iy to adopt som© Brahmanical i l t e s thx*ough the Ivlons. T h eir monks t o le r a te d t h i s a d o p tio n . There is no t r u t h in the s to ry t h a t th e O rder was a l l f o r orthodoxy and th a t th e king h elp ed them by su p p ressin g th e h e r e t i c s c a lle d A ri, As a m a tte r o f f a c t , the Ari s e c t appeared only in th e
l a t t e r h a l f o f the Pagan dynasty and i t was n ev e r o f f i c i a l l y su p p ressed ,’
To c o u n te ra c t t h e i r growing p o p u la rity , th e orthodox monks a l l i e d
them selves w ith the S inhalese Order and stro v e to p u rify the R e lig io n on S in h ale se l i n e s which had n a tu r a lly a very slow p ro g re ss a t f i r s t so t h a t th ey achieved success only towards th e end o f th e f i f t e e n t h c e n tu ry . The Ari s e c t was n o t as debased as d escrib ed in the c h ro n ic le s and i t had n o th in g to do w ith T a n tric Buddhism, Perhaps 9 i t is to o f f s e t t h e p u r ity o f
orthodoxy t h a t the Ari were d ep icted as b lack as b lack can b e, E arly in th e re ig n o f K y a n ^ itth a 9 th e Mono made a f u t i l e attem pt to regain
independence. The wise king o ffe re d a compromise by maiTying h is
d au g h ter to a sc io n of the f a lle n Mon ro y a l fam ily prom ising to make an h e i r o f t h e o f f - s p r in g of th a t u n io n . A fte r K yanaittha* Mon in flu e n c e waned. A burmanimation movement s e t in and by th e re ig n o f Ca&su I I
(H a x a p a tisith u , 1174-1211) Buimese "became the o f f i c i a l language o f th e c o u n try . A r c h ite c tu r a l s ty le also changed, Mon type of pagodas have c a v e -lik e h o llo w s, dark and gloomy, Buimaaas put up wide windows, t a l l doors and shortened the passage le ad in g to th e i n t e r i o r so t h a t th e
b u ild in g s had better* l i g h t and s a n i t a t i o n . The Pagan fhipire was a t i t s z e n ith u n d e r Gansu I I , I t extended from Egachaunggyan in th e n o rth to Tavoy in th e so u th and from the Salween K iv e r In the e a st to th e Ghin H i l l s in th e w e st. I t had a w ell o ig an ized foxra o f government under f iv e ministex*s who had to perform both c i v i l said m i l i t a r y d u t i e s . I t seems th a t th e Mons o f the so u th wei^e q u ite co n ten te d under th e Buimese r u le a t l e a s t u n t i l th e tim e of Tarukoliy (Tayokpy emin). The dangers o f th e empire always came from the n o rth and th e r e f o r e th e c h ie f
m in i s te r h im self had to look a f t e r the n o rth e rn f r o n t i e r . Ca&su I I was succeeded by Hatohmva (Eandaungmya} who was d e f i n i t e l y n o t th e youngest son of th e king m mentioned in the c h ro n ic les*
K arasihaha-U ccana (E aratheinhka) was th e next k in g . He was placed by the c h ro n ic le s about s ix ty y ears e a r l i e r th a n h is a c tu a l re ig n as
p red ecesso r o f Gansu I I . A fte r him, h is b r o th e r Klanwa (Kyaswa) became k ix g . He was not a w eakling as suggested in th e c h ro n ic le s . He made a unique attem p t to suppress crim es in h is realm by is s u in g an e d ic t a g a in s t th ie v e s* and to in c re a se h is revenue he c o n fis c a te d much o f the r e lig io u s lan d s In h is co u n try . His su c c esso r Hoc ana (Ifzana) was not M s son b u t h is nephew* Uccana d ie d a t B a la , probably he was a s s a s s in a te d . His e ld e r son end su c c e s so r Man Yen (Min Yin) a lso met th e same f a t e . T aro k o liv . h is h a l f - b r o t h e r f i n a l l y became k in g .
When the Mongols came, he took refuge in th e h i l l s west of Prome.
Svah Bisanramuk (Shin Dithapamauk) , a reverend monk was sen t on a peace m issio n to Peking in 1285. Disapramuk was ab le to persuade th e Great Khan to w ithdraw th e invading army and so the k in g re tu rn e d to Pagan b u t was k i l l e d on th e way. This i s th e p o l i t i c a l a sp ect of Burma d u rin g 1044-1287 in th e lig h t o f ep ig rap h ic evidence*
The Buddhism as p ra c tis e d in th o se days was in gene m l v ery
s im ila r to th e one as p r a c tis e d in Burma to -d a y w ith th e ex cep tio n th a t th e Brahmanical in flu e n c e was more f e l t than a t th e p re se n t day. When tr a c in g th e r i s e and development of the Buddhist c h u rch , some f a c t s have been observed which u p se t some o f th e t r a d i t i o n a l b e l ie f s o f Burma* As m entioned above, th e Ari s e c t appeared only in th e l a t t e r h a l f of th e dynasty and i t was not a very debased foxm of r e lig i o n as a lle g e d . Another p o in t o f g r e a t i n t e r e s t i s th e presence of
bhikkhuni - fem ale a s c e t ic s - in th e Order in th o se days. Most Barmans to -d a y m a in ta in t h a t women were n o t allowed i n th e Order sin c e A.D.456.
The t h e s is ends w ith the a r c h i te c tu r a l and s o c ia l a sp ects o f th e p erio d under survey in c h a p te rs n in e and te n which are a ls o o f much im portance
as they aid th e b e t t e r u n d erstan d in g of th e R e lig io n in th o se d a y s.
QHftEESR 1
HI83?CRY OF BURMA 1Q44~1174.
I^agan is tile f i r s t o f th e Burmese c a p ita ls i f we a c c e p t t h a t C rilcaotra belongs to t h e ly u sad Sant wav Pran o r 9?agaung to th e Saw Kantu (Tiislcs)^ p e o p le s, th e r e f o r e i t i s o f g r e a t im portance and i n t e r e s t , to t r a c e th e h i s t o r y o f i t s e x is te n c e . She c ity w all o f Pagan i s assumed to be th e o ld e s t e x ta n t monument o f Pagan and M r. 0* D u ro is e lle d ated i t a t A.D.850# He s a i d s -
w.»* th e d ate o f th is w all i s about 850 A .D ., the y e a r o f th e fo u n d atio n o f Pagan, i t i s s t i l l c le a r ly v i s i b l e , to g e th e r' w ith the m oat, on th r e e s id e s o f th e
a n c ie n t c i t y ; th e fo u rth 3 id e , which ran along th e r i v e r baific, has d isap p eared owing t o th e encroachment o f th e r i v e r ; on t h i s s id e , a h in d o f b a s tio n can be seen q u ite near' to th e C ir c u it House, and a few tr a c e s o f th e w a ll are seen h ere and the re * Shin Mahafcassapa,
a c e le b ra te d t h e r a . i n th e t h i r t y s ta n z a s concluding
M s S a h a s sa ra n is i T iha, a commentary on th e Mahabodhivamsa, which he w rote i n 1174 A .H ., g iv e s a g ra p h ic d e s c r ip tio n o f Pagan; among o th e r th in g s he m entions t h a t the
w a lls had tw elve g a t e s , only one o f th e s e , th e Sarabha
1* i l l o ld Burmese words from th e i n s c r i p t i o n s a re s p e l t in accordance w ith th e ru le s o f t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n g iv en in page i i i and u n d e rlin e d . Z 9 d.H.Iiuces 11 She P eoples o f Burma 1 2 th , 1 3 th Century A.X>.,! Census o f
In d i a 0 1931 , VoX.XI, 1, App. F . pp.296-306.
gat© i s now e x ta n te 11^
9?here i s a ls o evidence of r e lig i o u s b u ild in g s b e fo re A.1) ,1044*
Ifeny o f t h e pagodas a t Bhgan are o b v io u sly n o s t^ M im id h a b u t th e re c e r t a i n l y were monuments Q e t c , which had been i n e x iste n c e
s in c e th e fo u n d atio n o f th e city® Ik c av a tio n s a t th e P a t! a He pagoda®
which i s g e n e ra lly a t t r i b u t e d to Anlruddha re v e a le d some mouldings o f o ld e r s tr u c t u r e b en eath , l a t h i s r e s p e c t3 S i r John M arshall remaxteed t
fJ3?his f a c t i s o f some in te re s t® because i t confirm s a su p p o sitio n a lre a d y formed on o th e r and s tro n g e r grounds t h a t Buddhist b u ild in g s e x is te d a t Pagan b efo re th e re ig n o f Anawrata and t h a t t h a t monarch was i>esponsible n o t f o r th e in tr o d u c tio n b u t fo r the
development o f t h a t r e lig io n i n Upper
Pagan i s s a id to have be ox q u ite a n c ie n t even b efo re th e advent o f Anirnddha.
She sta te m en t th a t Pagan was stan d in g two c e n tu r ie s b efo re th e appearance o f Animddha. e n t i r e l y depaids on th e c h ro n ic le s* Kb
i n s c r i p t i o n in Bum a. has been found y e t to t e l l o f th e fo u n d atio n o f Pagan, Phe Haaattan Yazawin s t a t e s t h a t Zing Pyinbya (A.D, 846**378) b u i l t Pagan i n A.P,849 3 but Z ing Thamod&arit s e t t l e d as e a r ly as
1 9 Ohas. Bur oi s e l l os 54Eie Hat HLaung Kyaung® Pagan®1*
ASI.1912-13, p ,1 3 6 t n®3.
2 , J,H .M a rsh a ll: tf3S£ploration and R esearch", ASjC, 1906-7 # pp,38-9®
3* B m n a n p a r a „ 124; U,B.G»p,55»
’'i d e n t i f i e d w ith a s i t e , now covex^ed w ith c u l t i v a t i o n , to th e south of Taywin&axmg h i l l
and about tw elve m iles to th e so u th e a s t o f Pagan11P He in c o rp o ra te d n in e te e n v i l l a g e s in th e neighbourhood in to h is
se ttle m e n t* U nfo rtu n ately ,, except f o r th e v i l l a g e o f Uyauogwu we fin d no m ention of th e names o f the o th e r eig h te e n v i l l a g e s in th e
in s c r ip tio n s * lhe f i f t e e n t h c e n tu ry C eleb rated Q hroniole o f Silavsm sa 3ms a d i f f e r e n t sto ry * According to him Burma was d iv id e d in to two p a r t s , vi£3e ( i) Bimaoaranta being la n d s no rfeh o f th e In*av/addy and
( i i ) Tambadipa. south o f th e Irrawaddy*^ Buddha in h is l i f e time v i s i t e d Sunauaranta and sta y ed a t a sandalwood m onastery f o r seven d a y s 0 During th e s e seven days* so jo u rn he succeeded in c o n v e rtin g 84,000 people*
H enceforth Buddhism f lo u ris h e d in Burma*
1 o Hnaanan p a r a ,112; UPC, p ,28.
2* ABB. 1915, p .1 2 .
5 0 '■Sariaparanta i s probably id e n tic a l w ith A paranta; th e Bunnese, however id e n tif y i t w ith th e country on th e r ig h t bank o f th e Irrawaddy H iv e r, n e a r Pagan f Saaaaxavamsa. In tro d * p * ix )u*
M a lalasek era : D ic tio n ary o f P a li Proper Names. XI, (1 9 2 8 ),p . 1211, 4 . This norbh and so u th d iv is io n i s due to th e f a c t t h a t th e Irraw addy
r i v e r , though i t s g e n e ra l course i s from n o r th to so u th , flows from o a st to w est i n t h e m iddle o f Burma# Horth o f th e Irrawaddy
a p p a re n tly means tlxe r ig h t bank of th e g r e a t r i v e r , whereas th e so u th i s the l e f t baxfc*
The c i t y o f S rik a e tr a was founded in 444 B.C. and i t stood f o r s ix hundred y e a rs having tw en ty fiv e Icings, ilhen in A.D.156, Aritaaddana
(Pagan) was founded and i t stood f o r one thousand one hundred and tw en ty eig h t y e a r s , i . e . u n t i l A.D.1284 and i t had f i f t y Icings b e fo re th e Chinese in v a sio n and f iv e k in g s a f t e r i t , l This sto ry i n v it e s much c r i t i c i s m . The fo u n d atio n o f Pagan a f t e r th e f a l l o f
✓ —
S riksetva. in A.P.X56 i s too e a r l y . The G-r e a t Shwezigon I n s c r ip tio n (AJD.1186) m entions t h a t J ^ k s e t r a was founded soon a f t e r th e Lord* a a ttain m en t o f H irvana and i t stood u n t i l A#D*656,^ S t i l l , t h i s d a te f o r th e f a l l o f S rik a e tr a and th e r i s e o f i^agan Is e a r l y •
According to th e f i v e - u m - i n s c r i p t i o n , a Vikrama d ynasty was ru lin g % a *fc S rik a e tr a os l a t e as A.D.718 ( i f we assume t h a t S .80 mentioned
th e re i s o f th e e ra th a t s t a r t s in A.D.638) . Three names, Suriy&vikrama.
Bari vikram a and Sihavikrama, a re m entioned s u c c e s s iv e ly as i f to denote t h a t th ey were g r a n d f a th e r , f a t h e r and son occupying th e th ro n e o f S rik a e tr a in l i n e a l d e s c e n t. U nless they were lo c a l c h ie fs and j u s t v a s s a ls o f Pagan, as some m ight su g g e st, Pagan could n o t have been in e x iste n c e i n A .D .7I8. Iftren as l a t e as A.D,801»*2 a f o m s l embassy to China v i a Han-chao was se n t by th e Fyu k in g .^ A ccordingly we may
1 . Silavam sas Yazawlngyaw (C eleb rated G h ro n ic le ), p p ,75-87•
2 . "The Ur e a t Shwezigon I n s c r ip tio n " : Ep. B ia a .l . i i .
3 . 0 . 0.B lagdens "She " F y u " I n s c r ip tio n s " , JBE3. V I I , i i ,p p 3 7 -4 4 . 4 . l i n and I*uce: "Bunn a down to th e f a l l of Bagan"s
JBR3■ XXK, 111, pp.2 6 4 -2 8 2 .
i n f e r t h a t w hether th e Pyus weve by t h a t time c e n tre d e i t h e r a t Hnawza o r a t H a lin g y i, they were s t i l l v ery im p o rta n t and had n o t been overshadowed by the Pagan kingdom* 5?he Chinese re fe re n c e s to th e Fyu a re la r g e ly about t h is embassy of A.P.SOX-iS. She fyu c a p ita l i s d e sc rib e d in d e t a i l save one im portant p o in t « t h a t o f i t s location®
Probably t h i s fyu c a p i t a l was n o t Haawza b u t f u r t h e r n o rth in th e d ry zone® Phis c a p ita l and kingdom was d e stro y e d in A.D.832 by M&lan r e b e l s ” who could be Han-chao people them selves o r some t r i b e under 2Tan»*chao*
There were f u r t h e r ra id s by th e s e people in to low er Burma in A.I) .835.
P ro fe s s o r G-.H.Iiuce says t h a t in a l i s t of I-yu to m s and s e ttle m e n ts i n A.D.802 (given by th e Chinese) Pagan i s n o t mentioned®3,
th e r e f o r e i t i s p robable th a t Pagan was e s ta b lis h e d sometime a f t e r th e ETan-ohao r a id s o f A*D.Q32**>5® Thus, u n t i l we have evidence to prove th e c o n tra ry , we may acce p t th e t r a d i t i o n a l d a te o f A.D®849-80 as th e y e a r i n which Pagan was b u i l t » I t i s p o s s ib l e t h a t Pagan was known to h e r © astern neighbours oven in th o se f a r o f f da,ys0 A Gaines©
account ( Ghf ie n Han Shu) o f th e f i r s t .century A*D. according to
G ab riel P er rand m entioned a p lace c a lle d ^Fu-kan-tu^lxa11 which he th ih k s i s Pagan. He e x p la in s t h a t ifjS?u-kanf' i s the p h o n etic e q u iv a la it o f th e f,Pt u^kan1t i n th e l a t e r Chinese accounts l i k e th e Mug wai tal_ ta«
th e Ghu fan ch lh and th e Suna? afcih. But w© must a lso b e a r in mind t h a t th e tex1? speaks o f th e kingdom of ^P u -k an ^tu -lu 1* (not "Pu-kan” ) and
1 . JBftS-. XXIX, l i i , pp.264-S82$
JBRS. XIV, i i , pp®9?*«99, E n g lish t r a n s l a t i o n o f th e t e x t .
t h a t th e kingdom was in c o n ta c t by se a w ith Ghina* On t h i s p o i n t g Pro f e a s o r Ira.ce s a y s :
!!I t woxild remove one o f P e r M id ’ s d i f f i c u l t i e s in t h i s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n i f fox* Ifri~ksn**tra-lu kingdom we read 1 th e kingdoms o f Pu4cam and T u -lu 1•
Indeed Shikoku* s g lo s s seems to in d ic a te t h a t he regarded then as two d i s t i n c t p la c e s « On th e o th e r hand the th e o ry has a g a in s t i t w hatever w eight we choose to a t t r i b u t e to th e Burmese
c h ro n ic le s 3 which p la c e th e foun d in g o f Pagan9 by King Pyinbya, in 849 A.D.”1
0?wo Oham i n s c r i p t i o n s , which can he s a fe ly d ated a n t e r i o r to A.DJ.050 m ention ^Pufcam” (?) s la v e s *> The Po^iTagar I n s c r ip tio n ^ says th a t
sie v e s o f such n a t i o n a l i t i e s as Cham, Khmer, C hinese, and Siamese, t o t a l l i n g f i f t y f iv e were d e d ic a te d to th e Goddess Ka%a*
Q?he f i r s t fo u r lin e s o f th e Ikmmgoeu I n s c r ip tio n " r e f e r to th e 3 d onations made to a tem ple, viz® 9 u t e n s i l s and C hinese, Siamese and Paganese sla v e s •** ~ Border ra id s were fre q u e n t i n th o s e days and
1® GJLItUcos "I^ u -k an -tu -lu "9 JBHS* XX?, ii,p .9 4 *
2© Aymoniers "P r emigre dtu&e s u r le s I n s c r ip tio n s Tohames", JXA® jan»-~fdv® 1891, ppa28»9; F in o ts nKotes d*Jspig,ra p h io H#
B1FE0. n i,p .6 3 3 ®
3 0 F in o ts Op®oit®a p«634a
4® B o0*Msjumdars Champa XXI9p c209*
probably some Busmans were ca p tu red and taken away to Ghampa to become s la v e s t h e r e . This evidence t e l l s u s , a t l e a s t , t h a t even i n tim es a n t e r i o r to A.I)*l050f th e name of Pagan was known to i t s
© astern n eig h b o u rs. I t is o f i n t e r e s t to know th e v a rio u s names u n d er v h ic h Pagan was known*
The v a r i e t y o f names f o r Pagan in th e in s c r i p tio n s g iv e an i n t e r e s t i n g p ic tu r e o f Pagan and th e la n d s im m ediately suinm m ding i t * The c l a s s i c a l name fo r Pagan i s Ar im addanam ra - The C ity of th e Jhemy Crush ex' and e a rly Mon and Burmese I n s c r ip tio n s f equently r e f e r to th e c i t y by t h i s name. I t i s also c a lle d by i t s n a tiv e name which th e Mbns mentioned as Bokam^ o r Bukarn^ o r Bukam. The
Burmese way of s p e llin g t h i s name i s e i th e r ink am ox' Phkara. The e a r l i e s t m ention o f th e name was i n A.D.1093 in co n n ectio n w ith T h ilu iii Man.
ffHe s h a l l become King of the Law in th e c i t y o f lokam t h a t i s (otherw ise) named Arimaddanapur
i i 4
25 P
1 . B p .B in n .I . i i , VI 9 t x 1 5 0 , t r .1 5 1 ; V III A f t x 1 5 6 , t r .1 6 3 ; Y1IIA , t e . 1 5 ? , t r . 164; V I I I B1 4 , t x .1 6 1 , t r .1 6 7 ; ¥111 B20, tx * 1 6 2 # tr .lG 8 *
2 . I b i d . . I l l , i , IS F , tac.19, t r . 5 1 ; IS G1 9 , t x . 2 2 , t r . 5 4 . 3 . I b id . . S I4 , t x . 7 1 f t r . 7 2 .
4 . I b i d . . I , i i , TI2 5 , t x .1 5 0 , t r . 1 5 1 .
Of the land t h a t surrounds Pagan, th e Ivlons gave i t th e name o f P a tta d e a a - the Parched la n d , which is tile P ry Son© of Upper Burma o r tfa t l e a s t th e p a r t th e r e o f in which Pagan sta n d s *st^ 'Phis name su g g e sts th a t Pagan and i t s neighbourhood w ers, j u s t as th e y a r e today , semi d e s e r t lan d o f thorny scrub* Phis r a in shadow a re a in th e m iddle of Burma cannot have been a wet f o r e s t la n d th ic k w ith undergrow th u n t i l th e g r e a t tem ple b u ild e r s appeared in th e 1 1 th and 1 2 th c e n tu r ie s who
com pletely d e fo re s te d th e a re a as t h e i r b ric k k i l n s demanded ©noxmous s u p p lie s of firew ood and tu rn ed i t in to a semi d e s e r t w aste* fhe monk Xdsaoramok who le d th e peace m issio n to China frcm Pagan in A.D.1203 c a lle d h is co u n try kxs s s s n tr y PambadiBa - la n d of C o p p e r # ^ Pagan u ltim a te ly became th e co re of th e Burmese empire*
3h th e time of i t s power and splendour d u rin g the re ig n o f Oan.su i i 5 {1174«121l) th© empire was reco rd ed to extend as f a r as th e R iv e r Salween in th© e a s t , Mount M acchakiri (Chin H i l l s ) i n th e w e s t, Pakoh
(Pagaung) and ¥ a Chon Khvam (Igasaunggyan) i n th© n o r th and
1 . jfr>. B lim . . I , i i , I E1 6 , tx .1 0 6 , tr .1 2 5 ; I E8 1 , t r .1 2 5 ; I B’S 4, tr .l2 B -.6 ; I a25, t r .1 2 7 ; H2, t r .1 2 8 .
2 , stbid. I , i i , p3§5 n , 7 .
3 , G.EJ.Harvey! H isto ry o f Bnrma-. p . l 6 . Sea tf.O.M aelcensies "CLimate
i n Buumsse H isto ry " JHRB.I I I .p p .4 0 -6 . and alao JHSS.XXiC. i / p . 289-90, n ,3 3 on p .3 0 7 -8 .
4 . P1.27187* 30. (1285),
5 * U a ra p a tis ith u o f the ch ro n icles*
S alan Kre ( ? ) , S a c c h lta n i ( ? ) , etc# in th e south.'** Probably th e o u tly in g d i s t r i c t s of th e empire broke away as th e c e n tr a l
govoi'nmmt l o s t g r ip fox* Pisanraraok to ld th e ffaruk king? (?) K ublal Khan t h a t h is count ry Tambadxpa^ was sm all and the r e f0 x0 o f l i t t l e
im portance save t h a t Buddhism flo u ris h e d th e re # 2 I t i s o f im portance to n o te t h a t th e Pagan expansion s t a r t e d only in th e e lev e n th c e n tu ry *
Phe em pire grew in t h i s way* At f i r s t lo c a l c h ie f s ru le d th e neighbouring v i l l a g e s o f Pagan and were addressed as man (icing)*tr
Kyanssittha befoxe he became Icing o f Pagan was man of ffh ilu in .a v i l l a g e in Wundwin township* From among th e se mail* i t seems t h a t
th e man., o f Pagan ro se to ppwer and made a l l o th e r man s u b je c t to h i s c o n tr o l. 3?hus he became mahkxd The Supreme King. A fte r th e
s u b ju g a tio n o f th e immediate su rro u n d in g s, i t was but n a tu ra l f o r manic r i o f Pagan to expand and a c q u ire a nuinnam « th e la n d s o f co n q u est, The f i r s t manicxd who s t a r t e d t h e programme o f expansion was Anlraddha* There a re no in s c r ip tio n s of Pagan d ated a n t e r i o r to
Anlruddha and th e r e f o r e i t would n o t be f a r to o wrong to begin th e d y n a s tic h i s t o r y w ith him*4
1 . P1.19a®""® (1196). I t is very xaifortm iate t h a t p la c e s in th e so u th cannot be i d e n t i f i e d yet#
a . a . 2 7 1 30"51 (1285).
S . a . 1 4 3 a .
4* The only k in g b efo re Anlruddha m entioned in th e sto n e in s c r ip tio n s was Caw Rahan whom P ro fe sso r Luce i d e n t i f i e d w ith Taungthugyimin ox*
Hyaungu Saw rahan of th e C h ro n icles. He does n o t seem to have been a h e r e t i c , as he m s la b e ll e d in th e c h r o n ic le s ; he b u i l t a Saha on I l t . T urah P1.56-1 (1212).
ihrlm&dha (?X0A1~?L077 J a l ’biao ugii he m s p o p u la rly known as
Anawrathaminsaw gave liis regoal t i t l e in pure S an sk rit form MaharlLi a ^ r i Anxruddlaadeva* •j S e als of Aniruddha on te r x a - c o t t a v o tiv e t a t l e b s found in a wide range o f area throughout Burma g iv e a sough, id e a o f th e ex te n t o f M s power* th e re fo re i t is o f no mean impo x tan ces to go in to a clo se
study of fee se s e a ls here'i
A g r e a t number of s e a ls w ere unearthed and vexy roughly th ey f a l l in to fee c a te g o r ie s ; ( i ) s e a ls having S a n s k rit in s c x 'ip tio u s w ith o u t m ention o f Anlruddha and ( i i ) s e a ls b earix g t h e name of Anlruddha, If he r e i s a stro n g su g g e stio n t h a t group one se a ls were im ported from I n d ia and group two s e a ls were made lo c a lly * R egarding t h i s Dr* Sten Konow*s views^ are worthy o f n o te *
19Some v o tiv e ta b le t s w ith a b i li n g u a l i n s c r i p t i o n
< <
in S a n sk rit a ml P a li w ere also b ro u g h t to lig h t*
£hey are e v id e n tly im ita tio n s of s i m i l a r t a b l e t s d e p o site d in Buddhist temples in In d ia , e s p e c ia lly
1 . P I.5 6 3 a 1 "2 ,
2 * A5B* 1915, p*16, p ara 43*
3* %m F in o t however re fu se d to a c ce p t t h i s view and explained th e im p ro b a b ility o f the moulds h av in g been im ported from India*
F in o t: (,Un louveau Document su r l e Bouddhisme Birman**, JA, j u i l l e t - a o u t , 1912, p *130,11.1,
in Bodh Gaya* Bie Bumese t a b l e t s a re c a s te from a mould and t h e S a n s k rit le g e n d , which s t a t e s t h a t th e
t a b l e t has been pib pared by King Anlruddha must have been in c is e d on th e mould® On th e low er rim o f th e
t a b l e t a P a li legend to the same e f f e c t has been in c is e d by hand® ffhe whole arrangem ent le a d s u s to i n f e r t h a t th e moulds have been pr© pared, w ith th e S a n sk rit le g e n d , in In d ia and th a t th e P a li in s c r i p t i o n has been
su b seq u en tly added because S a n sk rit was not understood*
™he t a b l e t s c a n n o t, at any r a t e , be used to prove th a t S a n s k r it was th e language o f th e Buddhist Church in Burnaa b e fo re P a li was introduced* I t has been usged t h a t th e form o f the name Anlruddha in s te a d o f the u su a l P a li Amirud&ha p o in ts in th a t d ir e c tio n * But supposing t h a t th e mould f o r th e ta b l e t s was executed in I n d ia , Aaiiruddha would be th e only p o s s ib le f o im and th e k in g 1 s name, Anawrata, w hich can only be d e riv e d from
Anurud&ha and not from A nim ddha, p ro v e s, i f a n y th in g , t h a t th e knowledge o f P a li had p e n e tra te d s u f f i c i e n t l y t o in flu e n c e th e coin in g of p e rso n a l names ©tf
She n e x t p o in t o f d is c u s s io n would be th e d e s c r ip tio n o f th e s e seals®
1 , Sten Konows “Epigraphy*1 s ASI* 1905-6, p*170*
She s e a l h a s , g e n e ra lly a
"Buddha s e a te d c ro s s -le g g e d w ith th e r ig h t hand in th e bhumisoar^a-mudra and th e o th e r ly in g in th e l a p s , palm upwards, on a lo tu s -th r o n e u n d er a f o l i a t e d arch supported on p i l l a r s and surmounted By a h t i *
Some le a v e s , p ic tu r in g th e B o -tre e , may be seen on each sid e on th e crown o f th e a rc h beneath th e h ti.;
th e re are a ls o , on each s id e o f th e Buddha, two stu p a s w ith an elongated ringed f i n i a l , *«* which has become th© d i s t i n c t i v e f i n i a l o f Burmese pagodas f o r w e ll n ig h a thousand y e a r s ." 1
Below t h i s , i s a S a n s k rit (sometimes a mixed P a li and S a n s k rit) i n s c r i p tio n which ru n s : -
"Me - iniruddhadevena fcritam S ugatasa(n) ohchakam.
te n a M aitreva sambodho 1 ebhe.vam ivri11o padaih"*
"By me, Kinse Anlruddha* t h i s mould of Sugata (Buddha) has been made; through t h i s (good deed] may I o b ta in i
th e p a th to N irvana, when M aitrev a i s ( fu lly ) e n lig h te n e d ,"
ffh e re a re also some t e r r a - c o t t a v o tiv e t a b l e t s w ith th e s e a l o f Aniruddha and th e r e l i e f f ig u re of Buddha flan k ed on e i t h e r s id e by A v a lo k ite y ra ra
1 , Ohas* B u r o is e lle : "E xcavations a t Pagan", ASI, 1926-7,p p ,162-3*
and M a itre y a , 1 Shese s e a l s 9 v a ry s l i g h t l y in sis© and some d e t a i l s 'but a l l "bear the name of Anirudciha«» 0?hey are fom d i n and around Pagan^ and in p la c e s as f a r north, a s Mwa«te-lb Rwaso o f Hongmit S ta te and as f a r so u th as ^toant'bo^ 3?hey ax'© a,Iso found at Tagaung^ H e ilc tila g 5 Minbu^ and
Prome^« A t a b l e t foimd in th e r e l i c chamber of th e Shwesandaw pagoda has an in sc x d p tio n in Pyu in a d d itio n to th e nsme o f Aniraddim and therefor*© i t i s thought th a t when Pagan power sp read o v er I*ower Buxma, Ani mddha. removed th e x^elxcs f r m some o ld pagodas o f ^ r ik s e t r a to be reen sh rin e d in h is new pagodas, Anyhow, th e wide e x te n t o f the
fin& ^spots o f tfaese s e a ls o f Anlruddha s tro n g ly su p p o rts t h e f a c t t h a t he was a k in g o f g r e a t i m p e r i a l i s t i c desig n s and M s power extended from p la c e s as f a r n o rth as Mongnit t o th e mouth of th e 3rrawadby0 Si an i n s c r i p tio n d ated A,D.1207, he m s m entioned as Oalckrawativ Anuradha^
th e U niversal Monarch Amrnddha, which a lso shows t h a t even in th e
lo fa /b le ts a t Sameikshe, M eaktila? ASX, 1921*2, pp*90«l.
AS1 1912*3f p*89; ASB, 1913, p .1 6 ; ABB, 1922, p«44- ASX, 1926*7, pp*l62*3, 169? A gl, 1928*9, p.XXl; ASI, 1930-34, pp81779 178, 188;
ASB. 1940-1, p#32, 3 , ASB 1915, pp. 1 4 -7 ,
4 , ABB 1916 2 pp*37-40; ABI 1927, pp62~3.
So ASB 1920, pp. 23—4* ASB 1922, p.lO ; AS I 1936-7, p . 165.
6. ABB 1905^6.PolO; ASB 19 1 1 .p„27; ASB. 1912,p .1 9 % ASB. 1 9 1 3 ,p,X6«
7 « AS2 1907-8 , pp»38-42; A31 1911-2, p.144; ASB 1 9 1 2 ,^.1 3 ; ASB 1913,p ,1 6 , 8 . P I. 160a .
esteem of th e Busmans who liv e d in about a cen tu ry a f t e r h is d e a th he was a lro a d y a g r e a t conqueror. But M s conquest o f th e d e l t a is r e a l l y
a problem o f much debate.-*-
We have th e s t o i y o f Aniruddha^ conquest o f Thaton i n 1057 th u s s - r,In 1601 A.B. and 419 6. (A*D. 1057 }# King Anuruddha, tile lo id of Arimaddanapuia, b ro u g h t a community of p r i e s t s to g e th e r w ith th e Tip i t aka (from Baraa&nadesa) and e s ta b lis h e d the BeligLon in Arimaddanapura,
o th e rw ise c a lle d Pugima."
So says th e K slvani I n s c r i p t i a i of Bamadhioati (Bhammazedi A.D.1480) * I t a ls o g iv e s a h in t th a t t h i s was p o s s ib le only because th e Mon k in g Makuta
1 , 11 The Siamese c h ro n ic le s a s s e r t t h a t he a tta c k e d Osmbodia and ru le d over most of what is now S ia n , o b ta in in g t h e Hinayana Buddhism, which he
e s ta b lis h e d as th e o f f i c i a l r e l i g i o n o f Pagan, from Mateo ra , P a t, om. But th e re would seem to be no h i s t o r i c a l b asis fo r such assu m p tio n s."
P ro f e s s o r D .G .K H all: A B jato rv of South-B ast A sia p. 124. See also
H.G-.Q* Wales: "Anuruddha and th e That on T ra d itio n " , JBAS, 1947 , pp. 152-15 6*
2 , Taw Sein Ko: The K alvani I n s c r ip tio n , (1892) - p»49.
5 39
3 , EL358 * . P ro fe s s o r Luce sa y s: "In o ld Mon in s c r i p tio n s and th e o ld e s t o f o ld B um ese, th e sig n fo r - u - was u s u a lly hung from th e middle v e r t i c a l o f fe and n o t (as always s in c e ) from th e ■vertical on th e rig h t* I t seems t h a t a rc h a ic -hu— was l a t e r m isread as - n o - and k in g MAKUTA as k in g MAKOBA, a name a fte rw a rd s c o rru p te d , n a t u r a lly
enough, in to Manohari and MAMJIIA". See also JBBS. 2QQCX1, i , p .8 9 .
(Manohari o r Hantiim} was v e ry weak a t t h a t tim e . Unf o rtu n a -te ly , no contem porary reco rd i s found r e l a t i n g to th is memorable ep iso d e. The m otive o f th a t co n q u e st, th e t r a d i t i o n sa y s, was p u re ly r e l i g i o u s . But
i t i s also p o s s ib le th a t Aniruddha o r i g i m l l y marched a g a in s t some tra d in g s e ttle m e n ts (In d ia n ? ) in th e d e lta and "the sack o f Thaton was an
a f t e iMi ho tight A nother pos s ib le reason was t h a t th e Shan Tuns were const ant ly annoying th e Mon country and th e Moils had in v ite d h is
in te r v e n tio n . I t seems th a t he had
"played th e ro le o f th e lio n who, c a lle d to in te rv e n e between two w arrin g j a c k a l s , so lv e d th e d i f f i c u l t y by devouring b o th ."^
A fte r th is conquest, a d e l ib e r a te e f f o r t was made to tr a n s p la n t a c u l tu r e th a t was. Mon in to th e c e n tre o f a new and vigorolls b u t somewhat raw e th n ic group t h a t was Burmese« .As such, th e r e s u lt s o f t h i s conquest were
momentous f o r the Bumese*
The in tr o d u c tio n of Mon c i v i l i z a t i o n had a long term effect®
0 u ltu r a l3 y th e conquerors were conquered. H isto ry a ffo rd s many p a r a l l e l s of such, happy r e s u l t s . A la rg e number of i n s c r i p tio n s belonging to th e
X# Bp. B irn . I 9 i , p . 6 ; O.O.Blsgden suggests th e e x iste n c e o f " f lo u r is h in g , - In d ian S ettlem e n ts^ in the d e l t a . In v i m o f th e f a c t t h a t th e re i s
no d i r e c t evidence to su p p o rt t h i s , i t i s v ery u n lik e ly t h a t th e re
! e x is te d Indian s e ttle m e n ts in th e Irrawaddy d e l t a . The presence o f an In d ian tra d in g community in some towns i s however p o s s ib le .
Zo G-. H. Luce: "A Chmbodisn? Invasion o f Lower Burma"; J g l S .X lIQ 1 .p p .59-45a
p e rio d , im m ediately a f t e r Atiiruddfaa,. a re in th e lion language* I t is
n e e d le s s to say t h a t the Biumans l e a r n t th e a r t o f w ritin g from the Mons*1 In a r c h i t e c t u r e too* pagodas of th a t time lik e t h e Patotham ya, Eagayon, Abeyadana, Gubyaukgyi, and Han pay a are a l l o f Mon type® p Thus i t w i l l n o t he v e ry f a r from t h e t r u t h to say th a t a f t e r A*r>*l05Y9 f o r a c e r t a in p erio d u n t i l th e tim e o f Oansu I I {A*D„X1?4) ox* u n t i l the death o f T h ilu ln Man
(A,D*1X137) , allo w in g t h e tim e between 1115 and 1174- as th e p erio d o f 5 t i 's n s i t i o n , t h e Burmese c u ltu r e was more o r le s s a copy of th e Mon, In o th e r woxds, 1057-1113 i s t h e Mon p erio d o f Pagan c u l t u r e , A part from th is Mon c u l t u r e , th e r e i s a n o th e r im p o rtan t r e s u l t o f t h i s conquest o f th e
1, G.H.lAice: ,JThe People o f Burma 1 2 th - 1 3 th c e n tu ry A.B,**, Census o f Indian 1931, XX9 i , App, 3?, pp,296»306,
2 , H. luces '‘Bums,* a Bebt to Pagan ws JBRS XXII„ i i i 9 p ,1 2 1 s n ,3 , 3® Ba.isfcumar (Myaze&i) I n s c r ip tio n says t h a t in A,B*1628, T h ilu in Man
he came k in g o f Pagan and a f t e r a reig n o f 28 years® he was sic k unto death* I t seems t h a t he n ev e r su rv iv e d t h a t s ic k n e s s . This g iv es us A.B.X656 o r A.D,1112 as th e l a s t y e a r o f h i s r e ig n . But nX*ist 75
i n s c r i p t i o n '1 t e l l s d if f e r e n tly * I t says t h a t in 3,513 Gansu I (T h iln in fepV a su ccesso r} was 63 yeax*s o ld and was on th e throne for- 37 years*
Thus, 3,450 was th e y e a r o f h i s b i r t h and 3,476 (A.B.1174) h is
a c c e ssio n o r th e end of h is p re d e c e ss o r, Professox1 Luce s p l i t s th e d if f e r e n c e and d ates h is death p r o v is io n a lly in A*D,XX13»
d e l t a by For th e f i ast tim e i t g iv e s th e Burmese an
o p p o rtu n ity to have a d i r e c t overseas c o n ta c t w ith Ceylon and p o ssib ly India*
These c o n ta c ts a re only m entioned i n th e c h r o n ic le s . D esirin g to have a t o o t h - r e l i c to be en sh rin ed in th e Shwesigon pagoda, M im d d h a s e n t a m issio n to Ceylon to ash f o r i t . 3, The c h ro n ic le s o f Ceylon make no
m ention o f t h i s m is sio n . But a r e la tio n s h ip o f com pletely a n o th e r n a tu re i s m entioned in th e (ELavamaa.^ The k in g of Ceylon, V iia v a Baim
(1065-1120) ^ Siri& inahaboahi'] was engaged in a s e r ie s o f wars w ith th e 06lss o f South In d ia and so he se n t a f l e e t w ith many p re se n ts to ask f o r h e lp from th e k in g o f Baraanna. But by v i r t u e of co n q u est, Animddlia was a lre a d y th e lo r d o f Blmamia and th e r e f o r e th e k in g from whom Vi .lava Balm expected h e lp was f e ir u d d h a .5 There i s no m ention o f th e d a te o f t h i s m issio n o r th e fu lfilm e n t o f th e request* But i t m ight be sometime between 1060 and 1063 when Vi.1 a r a Bahu was j u s t a m inor k in g tr y in g to
exp€. th e Ofta encroachments*4 A nother m is s io n , t h i s tim e f o r r e lig io u s
1 . Btiannan. para,.135a; CPC* p p .88-91*
P . W ijd sin h a: Mahavamaa I I ,p .81 (1909) and Wilhelm G eigers Cdlavamsa I,p * 2 0 2 . 3 . ASB 1920T p . 17, paxa.34.
4* W ijdsisihas O p .c ,it.pp»89-90. The d a te 1071 i s fix e d on th e a u th o rity o f Ancient I n s c r ip tio n s i n Ceylon-8 e d ite d by M u lle r ,p .6 1 , See a lso
B pjgraphia g e v la n ic a IX. p p .24-6%* 253-4; B^sandyagan M udaliy£r:
“Y ijay a Baim* s ^ In sc rip tio n a t Polannainiwa11, Jo u rn a l o f th e Qevlon Branch o f th e B o ral A s ia tic S o c ie ty .XXIX. 1924, p . 274; Wije^ijnhas Op. c i t . , p p .8 9 -9 0 and G eig er, O p .c i t ., p ,2 1 4 .
p u rp o ses9 was se n t in 1071 when Vi .1 a/m Bahu asked M iruddha to send monks to carzy o u t a r e lig io u s refo rm a tio n in Ceylon ‘Jh is i s worthy o f n o tic e es i t opens f o r th e f i r s t tim e a c lo se r e lig i o u s a l lia n c e 'between
.Burma, and Gey Ion which was to he come more im p o rtan t towards th e end o f th e Pagan d y n a sty . King M l rad dim was succeeded By h is son Man Bulan
i . e . Sawlu in A.D.1C777-1084.
8awln o f th e c h ro n ic le s i s recorded in th e i n s c r i p tio n s as
Man Pul an ~ th e Young K ing. An in s c r ip tio n d ated S.573* Waxing 9 o f
— 2
Kamka* Tuesday ( 2 1 J u ly 1211) m entions Man Bulan o rd e rin g an enquiry in to a r e lig io ris d e d ic a tio n . M o th e r P a li in s c r i p tio n n o t dated^
found a t Meigui 9 h e a rs th e name of a k in g o f Pagan and ju d g in g from 3 th e type of sci’i p t 9 i t Belongs to th e e a rly p e rio d of Pagan* The reg n al t i t l e o f t h e donor m entioned in i t i s e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t from th e form o f t i t l e s adopted By ffh ilu in Man and h is su c c e s so rs . © ius9 a su g g e stio n a r i s e s t h a t t h i s t i t l e f e i B airaB h aran trlB h n p ati - Phe V icto rio u s B earer o f th e 'IhmiderBolt £ lo rd of th e Three Worlds? m ight Belong to Man, Xiilan.
I t was i n th e time of h is re ig n t h a t th e Mons whom h is f a th e r proBaBly
pp.89-90
1 . W ije'sinhas On. G it. / See fo o tn o te 4k on page 17 e
2 . H *60as . .411 d a te s in th e C h ris tia n Bra (J u lia n ) a re worked o ut from the taB les By S i r A. Irw ins Jf$he Hem ents o f the Burmese C alender from A.D.639-17527 In d ian Anticfuarva 1910? p p .289-315.
3 . P I . 548a10
su b ju g a te d , tid e d f o r the f i i s t time t u t u n s u c c e s s fu lly to f r e e them selves fra n th e Buxinese r u l e . I t was probably the Hgayamankan
• • 2
re b e llio n * ® iis Man Lulan was succeeded by T h ilu ln Man in 1084*
A g r e a t d e a l about th is g re a t k in g is known from in s c r ip tio n s belonging ‘bo h is re ig n which are i n th e Mon lan g u ag e. The name
K y a n sitth a seetns to be th e m odernised form of K alancaosa - th e W arrior3 K alan*^ But in t h e i n s c r i p tio n s he is T h ilu in Man - th e Zing o f
T h ilu in or T h ilu in Syah - The L ori of T h ilu in . His reg n al t i t l e i s
d ri TribhxivanMitvadhatmnarlLia - The V ic to r!o u s Buddhist K ing, Sun of th e Three Worlds* The Great Shwezigon I n s c r ip tio n says th a t in A.B. 1630,5 S ri f ribhuvanaditvadhaim ara.i a became k in g in Arimaddanapura and upheld th e Buddhist r e lig io n to i t s utm ost b e n e f i t . That g r e a t personage,
1 . Do. Bixm. I , i i , p . l l 6 , n , l l . I t i s only a vague in fo rm a tio n but as th e r e was no in s ta n c e of enemies th re a te n in g th e peace o f th e c i t y
(Hagan) d u rin g th e re ig n in g y e a rs of f h i l u i n Man. i t must have occurred b efo re h is a c c e ssio n .
2* The Bedalcumar (Mvazedi) I n s c r ip tio n 1-2• Ep.Birm . I ,i i ,B ,p p .9 6 and 115.
The Great Shwezigon in s c r i p t i o n g iv es A.B.1628 as th e beginning o f K y a n z itth a 1 s reign* The d if fe re n c e is ex p lain ed as A.B.1628 (A.D.1084) bein g th e y e a r o f a c c e ssio n and A.B.1630 (A.B.1086) b ein g th e y e a r o f Abhiseka (c o ro n a tio n ).
3. L is t 33 (B I I 903) and L is t 50 (A 1 9 ) .
4 . The t i t l e o f an o f f i c e r probably d eriv ed from Mon. See "Economic L ife of th e E arly Bur man’^ JBHS. XXX, i , p*305, n*25.
5 . Ep. Birm. I , i i , p p . 90-129,
"before he was king a t Pagan, was in a p rev io u s e x is te n c e a lso th e fo u n d er o f th e e x a lte d c i t y o f ^ rlfc s e tra . He was a t t h a t tim e known as Bisriu {Vishnu), th e sage and he received h e lp from Gavamoati. B id ra.
Bissukarama and Kathkarmma in b u ild i r g t h a t c i t y . In th e words o f Gawamrnti, th e i n s c r i p t i o n $ v e s a len g th y account in p r a is e o f th e achievem ents o f King £>ri T rib h u v an ad itv a. th e re in c a rn a te d Vishnu* This i s th e royal propaganda, w herein we f in d some vague su g g e stio n s o f an in s u rre c tio n ., i t s su p p re ss io n , and re c o n s tru c tio n and r e h a b i l i t a t i o n wo sics c a r r ie d out by th e k in g a f t e r th e tro u b le* P ro b ab ly , t h i s i s about th e Hgayaraankan B ebellion* The M ahathera w ith Sail A riy - th e O rder, h elp ed and ad v ised th e king in th e a d m in is tra tio n o f j u s t i c e and th e e x t ir p a tio n o f h e re s y . But th e p anegyric o f the k in g i s so h ig h t h a t he alm o st becomes a m y th ic a l h e ro . The i n s c r i p t i o n th e n c o n tin u es t o g iv e th e prom ises o f Bisnu* He s a id t h a t i f he ev er
were to become a k in g a t Pagan, he would ru le r ig h te o u s ly , c o n s c ie n tio u sly * That k in g would a c t as th e c h ie f b u ll ever le a d in g th e h erd to b e t t e r
and sw e e ter p astu re s* He would a ls o reco g n ise th e a n c ie n t r ig h ts o f a l l l o c a l c h i e f s . Here s g a in , i n the words o f B isn u , we fin d T h ilu in Man
prom isirg h i s beloved people t h a t he would be j u s t and humane and he would b rin g p ro s p e rity to a ll* The Myagan I n s c r ip tio n g iv e s an a d d itio n to T h i s re g n a l t i t l e * I t becomes £ r i Tribhuvanaditvadhammara.1 ara.iadM ra.ia- param isvarabalaoakkaw ar - The Fo rtu n a te Buddhist K ing, Sun of th e
Three Wo fid s o f Men, Dev as and Brahmans, King o f law, E x ce llen t King o f K in g s, lo r d Supreme, Mighty U n iv ersa l Monarch. This ro y al bombast i s
Birm. I , i i , pp. 131-145*
supported, ty more la u d a to ry p h rases than in th e p re v io u s in s c rip tio n s * The Prome Shwezandaw I n s c r ip tio n ( l ) 3- dated 3.455 waxing oe o f Srawan?
(3 June 1093} m < n tlais t h a t Tliilnixx Man belongs to th e adicGavamsa — th e s o l a r race in p a te r n a l d escen ts Another I n s c r ip tio n ^ gays t h a t “h is m other (being) horn o f the V ilva l i n e , h is f a th e r o f t h e S o la r ra c e 11 •
i t i s in te n sstin g to n o te t h a t th e Icing n e v e r th o u g h t o f claim ing any r e la tio n s h ip w ith ihxiniddha thoiglx a l l c h ro n ic le s and one post-Pagm i in s c rip tx o n m a in ta in th a t Aniruddha was h i s fa th e r* 3 Let us now d is c u s s h is a c ts of m erit*
The Eyagan I n s c r ip tio n a lre a d y mentioned re c o rd s the c o n s tru c tio n o f a r e s e r v o ir fo r i r r i g a t i o n purposes by o r l e r of T h ilu in Man* I t shows how much th e King was in te n t upon th e w e lfa re of h i s people* Tills reco rd has
also a vague su g g e stio n o f T h ilu in Man* s e f f o r t to b rin g about a re v is e d e d itio n o f th e Buddhist s c rip tu re s * She Alampagan I n s c r i p t i o n i s4
s u b s t a n t i a l l y th e copy of the Myagan in s c r i p tio n ex cep t t h a t i t reco rd s th e digging of a tank: ly o ld e r o f P M luih Main The Ayetthama B i ll I n s c r ip tio n 5 reco rd s th e r e p a i r o f a pagoda in th e Mon co u n try by o rd e r of the king*
1* 33p* Binn* I , i i , pp 143*
2® I b id * p. 167
5* The Hledauk I n s c r ip tio n o f Tamxgpyon, .List. 50 f (A 1 9 ), SIP, p . 4 .1 4 P Ep* BiznuX. i i , p*143
5* I b id * p p .143—7 s see also JBRS XKYI1I. i,p*92* T his i n s c r i p t i o n , now in th e Rangoon U n iv e rs ity L ib rary has been tra c e d as o r ig in a l ly belonging to th e M yatheindan pagoda (Kyalc Talon) a t Ayetthama H ill (2 l / S m ile s
from Mayangon S ta tio n o r Taungsun s t a t i o n on th e Moulmein m ilw ay l i n e . )
I t b e a rs th e d a te of S.460 waiting 13 o f Yalsakha (16 Api’l l 10989 S h id ay ).
Another i n s c r i p t i o n t e l l s us .many i n t e r e s t i n g th in g s done by th e .king such as th e e r e c tio n o f a r e lig io u s b u ild in g , th e r e v is io n o f the Buddhist
canon, th e sen d in g o f a m issio n to Bodh Gaya to e f f e c t r e p a irs a t "flap v aa am T th e s e a t o f Adamant, the o f f e r of th e f o u r n e c e s s i t i e s to the monks, h is frie n d s h ip w ith a Gsila p r in c e 9 h i s re q u e st to a l l h is people to l i v e in accox’dance w iih th e laws o f th e x e lig io n and h is generous tre a tm e n t to b ir d s and beasts® About a decade b efo re h i s d e a th , he b u i l t a new p a la c e , undoubtedly o f wood, as we can f in d no remains of i t now®* P The k in g l e f t an i n s c r i p t i o n g iv in g f u l l d e t a i l s of th e c o n s tru c tio n of h is palaceo
The Tharaba Gate i n s c r i p t i o n o r th e P alace i n s c r i p t i o n g iv e s p r e c is e ly th e tim e and d a te of p la n n in g , b u ild in g and r i t u a l s i n connection w ith th e b u ild log, b u t no y e a r d a te i s given* According to Dx% Sewell
"the end o f th e y e a r 1101 A.XU and th e e a rly p a r t o f 1102 b e s t f i t th e p a r t i c u l a r s given®" ~
1 9 Bp.Bimu I , i i f pp*X53~X68® The Prome Shwesandaw I n s c r ip tio n ( II I) * 2® Pagan had a v e ry dry c lim a te and wooden b u ild in g s m ight have been th e cause o f many fires® Another p alace was c o n s tru c te d in 1204
(P I. 27^)« A g r e a t fix*e t h a t ra&ed th e whole c i t y to ashes occurred i n 1225 (PL*X22a^)# The buildii^g o f p a la c e s in wood i s n o t a p r a c tic e co n fin ed to Burma alone® I t i s spread a l l o v er S.B.Asia*
See 0* Ik iro is e lle s Guide to th e P alace a t Mandalay« p*6®
3* Ip* Bi ;mu I I 1 9 i , pp*l»«68 * 4* I b id * po5 *
Probably i t extended from December o f 1101 to A p ril o f 1102* Two i n te r e s ti n g th in g s in t h i s account a r e , f i r s t l y , th e g r e a t im portance a tta c h e d to V&isnavite r i t u a l s a t th e tim e when Buddhism in i t s pure form m s supposed to be th r iv in g and seco n d ly , M gh p la c e s o f honour given to Mon notables® The Kaga w orship was mentioned, twice® Another 1
p o in t eq u a lly in t e r e s t i n g i s the f i r s t m a itio n i n th e epigraphs o f th e
S aJ
word Minna, (Bunnese) sid e by s id e w ith Btnen (Mon) and T iro u l f?Pyu)*3 U n fo rtu n a te ly none o f th e s e in s c r i p tio n s m ention th e k i r g 's s e rv ic e s as a s e n io r o f f i c e r o f Aniruddha and h is lo v e a f f a i r s which are q u ite p o p u lar w ith the chroniclers®
However th e Ba.iakumar i n s c r i p tio n 4 g iv e s us t h e l a s t scene o f h is Thambula sto x y * I t re v e a ls th e p a th e tic a c t of a d is in h e r ite d son by h i s most beloved w ife approaching h is fath er* s d eath -b ed to re p o r t M s m e rito rio u s deeds done on b e h a lf of th e f a t h e r , who in x’ep ly exclaim ed
th io a t h i e a ^ Well donel Well done I P rin ce Baiakumar o r Jayakhettarea.
a mere g overnor o f Dhannavati (Arakan) was th e son of T h ilu in Man and Thambula o r Tri lo k a v a t am sika — The Omament of t h e Three Worlds* Why Rajakumar was n o t given th e throne a f t e r h is f a t h e r 's d e a th i s a problem
1 . Id. B l m , g # ° p . 5 6 and H15 p.57„
g . a i d . 3X # 2 p ,4 2 .
3* P ro fe ss o r G .H .luces MQhe Peoples o f Burma, - 1 2 th -!3 th . Century A .D .", Census of India* 1931, X I, 1. App* P. p*296®
4® P o p u larly known a s the Myasse&i i n s c r i p t i o n , Bp. B im* I 9 i*
5® The Ra.ialcumar X n scrip ti on Mon f a c e , l i n e 17, Bp_*_ Biim* I , i f p*55®
