The founding villages and early palaces of Bagan- an exploration

of some chronicle and parabaik sources via computer mapping,

field survey and archaeological excavation.

Bob Hudson*
2001 “Texts and Contexts” Conference, Yangon, December.
Bagan is an urban centre in upper Myanmar. It reached its peak in terms of the
construction of religious monuments and political dominance over the upper
Ayeyarwady valley region between the 11th and 13th centuries AD. The origin of the
city, or at least the origin of settlement in the general area that later became Bagan, is
traditionally attributed to a confederation of nineteen villages dated to 107 AD1. The first
part of this paper summarises some recently collected data, ranging from chronicle
descriptions and oral history to archaeological survey and excavation, which has
pinpointed many of the claimants for founding village status2. It must be stressed that
these are contenders whose claims remain to be tested by further historical and
archaeological study.
The chronicles agree that the earliest civilisation in Myanmar was that of the Pyu. Four
chronicles compiled between 1672 and 1829 AD mention the founding of Sri Ksetra,
also called Thayekittaya, and all have it precede Bagan3. The four largest Pyu
settlements, Beikthano, Halin, Mongmao and Sri Ksetra, which all enclose areas of 600
hectares or more within brick walls, have been the subject of extensive archaeological
investigation. Beikthano appears to be the earliest, according to the available
radiocarbon dates, possibly operating between the 2nd century BC and 7th century AD.
Radiocarbon dates have indicated activity at Halin between the 1st and 8th centuries AD.
Mongmao, at the south end of the Kyaukse valley, has been assigned on stylistic
grounds to the 2nd to 6th centuries. Sri Ksetra (Thayekittaya) is considered the latest,
*
Bob Hudson, Archaeology Department, University of Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia.
1
Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce. 1923. (trans) The Glass Palace Chronicle of the Kings of Burma.
Rangoon University Press. (Reprinted 1960). 28-29.
2
A more detailed account of this survey is to appear in Hudson, Bob, U Nyein Lwin and U Win
Maung (Tanpawady) (in press) Digging for Myths: Archaeological Excavations and Surveys of the
Legendary Nineteen Founding Villages of Pagan. In The Silver Gong is Struck: New Research in
the Art and Archaeology of Burma. British Museum, London.
3
Maung Hla. 1923 The Chronological Dates of the Kings of Burma who reigned at Thayekhittaya
(ancient Prome) and at Pagan. Journal of the Burma Research Society 13(2): 82.
 2

between the 4th and 10th centuries AD4. The Pyu are also identified with Waddi5, a
smaller walled site west of Mongmao (Maingmaw), and a cluster of settlements around
Binnaka. The latter, located at E 96.15° N 20.5666° in the Samon River valley, appears
to have been continuously occupied from the Pyu to Konbaung periods6.
The story of Bagan was summarised in 1829 in the Hmannan Yazawin, later translated
as the Glass Palace Chronicle7. The Glass Palace Chronicle says that the Pyu
founded Yon Hlut Kyun, a name with folkloric origins, about fourteen kilometres from
Bagan on the eastern side of Mount Tuyin, in the second century AD8. The local story is
that Pyu soldiers fleeing from a war saw a hunter and his dogs chasing a rabbit. The
rabbit turned on its pursuers and drove them away, and this was taken as an omen that
such a place would be a site worth defending against enemies. Despite such obstacles as
a malicious flying squirrel and other aggressive faunal and floral totems King
Thamoddarit then “began to build a city with the dwellers in nineteen villages”9. The
Glass Palace Chronicle lists the members of this confederation as Nyaung-u, Nagabo,
Nagakyit, Magyigyi, Tuti, Kyaussaga, Kokkethein, Nyaungwun, Anurada, Tazaunggun,
Ywamon, Kyinlo, Kokko, Taungba, Myegedwin, Tharekya, Onmya (with a quibble as
to whether this should actually be Singu), Yonhlut and Ywasaik10.
Collection of data on the sites mentioned in the list of nineteen villages has ranged from a
re-examination of English and Myanmar documentary sources and inch-to-the-mile
4
Aung Thaw. 1968 Report on the excavations at Beikthano. Revolutionary Government of the
Union of Burma, Ministry of Union Culture, Rangoon. Myint Aung. 1970 The excavations at Halin
Journal of the Burma Research Society. 53(2): 55-62. Sein Maung U. 1981 Mongmao, a forgotten
city. The Working People’s Daily. Jan 21 & 23, Feb 3.There is no equivalent monograph in English
for Sri Ksetra, as for Beikthano and Halin, but research dating back to the early 20th century (such
as Archaeological Survey of India.1909-1910 Excavations at Hmawza near Prome. Annual report of
the Archaeological Survey of India. Manager of Publications, Delhi) is neatly summarised in Aung
Thaw 1972 Historical Sites in Burma. Ministry of Union Culture, Rangoon, 16-33. The scientific
evidence for Pyu chronology is discussed in detail in Hudson, Nyein Lwin and Win Maung, in
press, op cit.
5
Aung Myint. 1999 Ancient Myanmar Cities in Aerial Photos. Ministry of Culture, Yangon (in
Burmese).
6
Aung-Thwin, Michael. 1983 Burma before Pagan: The Status of Archaeology Today. Asian
Perspectives 25(2): 1-21. Win Maung (Tanpawady). 1981 Binnaka Myohaung (“Binnaka Ancient
City”). In Burmese. Privately circulated manuscript.
7
Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce. 1923. op cit: ix
8
ibid 28-36.
9
ibid 28
10
ibid 29.
 3

survey maps to interviews with local residents, including the abbots of monasteries, who
are often custodians of local history. The locations of places that may not easily be
found again, such as abandoned habitation sites, were pinpointed with a Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver. All site locations are reported in this paper in
decimal degrees, which is the standard form of longitude and latitude used in computer
mapping11. The sites are listed in the order of their distance from the walled medieval
elite centre now known as “Old Bagan” (Figure 1).

The Nineteen Villages.

Nagabo (E 94.8757° N 21.1767°) is now a palimpsest of Bagan era and later

buildings, located to the east and southeast of modern Taungbi village.
Nagakyit (E 94.8946° N 21.1929°) was located between the Wetkyi-in stream and
the Shwezigon Pagoda, according to an inscription in the Shwezigon that mentions a
village called Naga Kyitmaw.
Anurada (E 94.8654° N 21.1552°) is today called Myinkaba, and is the only Pali
name found among the nineteen villages.
Ywasaik (E 94.8918° N 21.15°) is estimated to have been near the modern villages of
east and west Phawsaw. The “third palace”, said to have been founded by King Thike-
tine-min in 514 AD, is believed to have been located here on the perimeter of the Bagan
archaeological zone. The palace site, south of West Phwasaw village, is today marked
by an inscribed brick and concrete pillar, as are Bagan’s other supposed palaces.
Nyaung-U (E 94.9101° N 21.2011°), a modern market town and administrative
centre, retains its archaic name. Housing developments in the area make new
archaeological discoveries difficult, though open excavations from construction work
remain potential sources of information.
Kyaussaga (E 94.8681° N 21.1277°), east of the present day Thiripyitsaya village, is
south of New Bagan and on the southern bank of Ye-O-Zin stream. Thiripyitsaya is
said to have been the second capital, located near the Lokananda pagoda, a riverside
structure that prominently marks the southern extent of the city. It is credited to King
Thinlikyaung (344-377 AD)12.
Kyinlo (E 94.9133° N 21.0792°) is a site in a cultivated field east of Kinka on the
Bagan-Chauk road, and north of Kyaukkan. Potsherds, elephant-shaped pendants and
11
Decimal degrees = degrees + (minutes/60) + (seconds/3600).
12
Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce, op cit: 45
 "Ywamon
"Letpanchibaw
The 19 founding villages
of Bagan: possible candidates.

r
Rive
y
wad
ar
yey
A

"Nyaung-u

"Nagakyit
Magyigyi
(estimated)
"
"Nagabo
"Bagan

"Otein Taung

"Anurada
"Ywasaik "Gu Gyaung

Myegedwin
"Phaya Hti Saung "
(Mye-thindwin)
"Kyaussaga "Taungba
Mye-thindwin
Taungba pottery site "" "
pottery site
Taungba pagoda "Yonhlut
Zi-o "

"Kokko
"
Shenme
"Shwe Anadaw Phaya
"
"Kyinlo " pagoda
mounds
Tuyin
hills

" Kokkethein
KEY (Panidwin)

Bagan monument
zone.
" Places mentioned "Tuti (Suti) ash lens

in the text.
Iron-making "Tuti (Suti)
furnace sites.
Bagan city wall.
300 metre contour.
Drainage. "Nyaungwun

"Singu

kilometres
5 10
#
"Onmya

FIGURE 1
 4

spherical and barrel shaped green and orange beads13 have been discovered in this
village. Archaeological excavation at Kyinlo in 1906 recovered iron implements, a stone
image of the Buddha, stone receptacles supposed to be reliquaries, and mutilated
bronze figures of the Buddha and two disciples14. Field survey has revealed two major
scatters of pottery, suggesting abandoned habitation sites, near Kyinlo.
Taungba (E 94.9656° N 21.1259°) is a village near the road between Nyaung-U and
Kyaukpadaung, within view of the Tooth Relic Pagoda on Tuyin Mountain. It was
relocated in modern times due to highway construction. There are several sites of
historic and archaeological significance. The Phaya Hti Saung or Hti Ta Hsaung pagoda,
located one kilometre northwest of Taungba village, is reputed to enshrine bodily relics
of the medieval monk, Shin Arahan, who is credited with being mentor to King
Anawrahta15. It was most recently restored in 1985, and is an active religious site, with
an attached monastery. On the southern side of Taungba village is a small pagoda (E
94.9681° N 21.1193°) that was restored in 1907, according to an ink inscription inside.
There is evidence to support local opinion that it was originally a medieval structure. A
circular stone slab, now used as a stepping stone at the entrance, resembles the
capstones found in old relic chambers, although it might also be a traditional monastery
entrance-stone. Part of a stone capsule or container, possibly a reliquary or a container
for offerings, was found among brick debris nearby, in a depression formed by a
disused water tank. This site appears on the 1945 British Army Survey map 84 K/16 as
a monastery.
An ash lens (E 94.9652° N 21.1209°) dense with potsherds was excavated and
sampled at Taungba for radiocarbon dating. The sample, OZE 765, had a radiocarbon
age of 530 ± 40 BP, giving a calendar date range of 1300-1450 AD at 95.4%
probability16. About 300 metres west of the earthenware deposits there is a mound,
13
These beads are considered characteristic trade goods of the Pyu period- see Moore, Elizabeth &
Aung Myint. 1993 Beads of Myanmar (Burma). Journal of the Siam Society 81(1): 55-81, Aung
Myint 1999, op cit.
14
Archaeological Survey of Burma. 1907 Report of the Superintendent, Archaeological Survey of
Burma. Rangoon: Office of the Superintendent, Government Printing: 9 (referred to in subsequent
notes as ASB).
15
Khin Maung Nyunt. 1997 Hagiography of Maha Thera Shin Arahan and an account of the
reconstruction of Shin Arahan’s brick monastery. Ministry of Culture, Myanmar.
16
AMS (Accelerator Mass Spectrometry) dating by ANSTO- the Australian Nuclear Science and
Technology Organisation, Sydney. Calibration by OxCal, Version 3.5, a computer program by C
Bronk Ramsey, 2000.
 5

apparently a pagoda ruin. There are pieces of worked sandstone among the debris. It
fits the description of a mound “near Taungba village” excavated early last century17.
Yonhlut (E 94.9647° N 21.1133°), also known as Yon Hlut Kyun, is a name that has
been variously translated as Free Rabbit Island, Free Animal Forest, A Jungle Where
Rabbits Were Set Free, or The Place of the Hare’s Release. The archaic word “kyun”
is still used for “jungle” in this area, though it more generally means “island”. To confuse
matters, an island in the Ayeyarwady River opposite Bagan is also called Yon Hlut
Kyun18, although its claim to historical status barely goes back 50 years. The current
residents, when interviewed, appeared to have forgotten the names of the villages that
were mapped there in 1945 (Burma One Inch Series, Map 84 K/16). Field survey in
1999 indicated that the location of the villages on the island, as well as the island’s
shape, has substantially changed since 1945 due to regular inundation.
In 1905, the archaeologists at Bagan spent 200 rupees to erect masonry pillars marking
all of the old palace sites mentioned in the chronicles. This included a pillar at Yon Hlut
Kyun identifying it as the home of Bagan's first dynasty. The masonry pillars were
referred to only peripherally in a list of “expenses sanctioned and incurred”, with no
explanation as to why the particular sites were chosen19. However a handwritten version
of the New Pagan Chronicle by Saya Be reputedly contains a drawing of brick
foundations at Yon Hlut Kyun20, so the site may have been well known locally at the
time the monument was erected.
In 1999, the author and U Nyein Lwin, now director of excavation at Bagan,
investigated Yon Hlut Kyun at the suggestion of Assistant Director for Upper Myanmar,
U Aung Kyaing. There was no above-ground structure visible. However the excavation
program21 resulted in the discovery of a rectangular structure made of sun-dried brick
with roof tiles, iron nails, worked sandstone pieces, a pivot-stone from a doorway and
earthenware pottery fragments that included several near-intact pots, including a 20th
century burial (indicative of continuing use of the site for ritual purposes) and kendi, or
17
ASB 1915: 7
18
Lubeigt, Guy. 1998 Pagan: Historie et Légendes. Editions Kailash.
19
ASB 1906:25
20
This information comes from U Win Maung (Tanpawady).
21
Hudson, Bob & U Nyein Lwin. 1999. Archaeological Excavations and Survey, February-March,
1999, Yon Hlut Kyun, Pagan, Burma: a preliminary report. Report to Director General of
Archaeology, Yangon. Hudson, Bob. 2000. The King of “Free Rabbit” Island; a GIS-based
archaeological approach to Myanmar’s medieval capital, Bagan. Proceedings of the Myanmar Two
Millennium Conference. Volume 3: 10-20.
Excavation of a subterranean brick structure at Yon Hlut Kyun. 2

J
=
= ^

^
#
&
1
1
.

$ Evidence of stonemasonry. .
. Pivot stone.

& ^
Commemorative pillar, 1906 Roof tiles.

# Commemorative pillar, recent. 1

1 20th century cremation burial.

Limit of excavation. 2
2 Pot KTTP.

Dense layer of sun-dried brick, =

= Pot buried among carbon fragments.
potsherds, kendi spouts,
tile fragments, iron nails. J
J Parallel stone lines.

Sections. Line of maximum brick depth.

0 10
Slope.
20
#
1 metres

Figure 2
 6

sprinkler pots22 (Figure 2). The structure is located on the eastern approach to Bagan
from Mount Popa, a well-known pilgrimage site, beyond which is the medieval rice-
growing area and putative homeland of the Burmans, Kyaukse. When measurements of
bricks from a number of archaeological sites in Myanmar were subjected to statistical
comparison by multivariate analysis23 the bricks at Yon Hlut Kyun corresponded closely
with samples from Gu Gyaung, a Pyu-style monument several kilometres to the north,
and also with Bagan bricks of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Deposits of roofing
tiles were also found, along with iron nails. The nails were characteristically square in the
shaft, and turned at the top. A pivot stone, with an indentation to take a vertical wooden
doorpost, similar to those seen in pagodas at Bagan, was found while excavating a
section along the eastern wall. There was at least a centimetre of wear around the
indentation in the pivot stone. Carbon was found in relative abundance, but none was
found in a context that would justify radiocarbon dating. The dating, and for that matter
the function, of the building at Yon Hlut Kyun remains an open question. Augering of the
site down to natural soil at five metre intervals failed to locate any central structure,
which one might expect if the wall had enclosed a temple or monastery complex.
Myegedwin (E 95.0024° N 21.1337°). The present village of Mye-thindwin is only
150 years old, but the area is claimed in local folklore to have been the birthplace of
Bagan’s first king, Thamoddarit. There is evidence in local fields of earthenware pottery
manufacture. Numerous abandoned furnaces for smelting iron have been located near
the neighbouring village of Zi-o (E 95.0411° N 21.1087°, Map 84 O/4). The
unrestored Gu Gyaung pagoda complex (E 94.9888° N 21.1504°) near Mye-thindwin
features a stupa on the western side of a small temple There is also a brick foundation of
a third structure, eight by ten metres. The complex sits on a brick platform, twenty-six
by twenty-two metres, and there is evidence of an enclosure wall. Temple doorways
open to the east, north and south. The roof of the temple has collapsed and the structure
is filled with rubble, but the temple appears to have had a vaulted chamber with no
central pillars. A brick base that presumably supported a Buddha image abuts the
western wall, indicating that the image faced east in the conventional manner. A
sandstone spire about a metre high, with seven multi-tiered umbrellas, was found here
and is now in the Bagan archaeological museum. The relic chamber in the stupa, broken
22
See Myint Aung 1969 The contribution of libation jars to defining historical periods. Tetkatho
Pyinnya Padetha 4(2): 35-46 (in Burmese).
23
Wright, R. V. S. 1994 The MV-NUTSHELL program for multivariate archaeology. Author,
Sydney.
 7

open in times beyond the memory of the local people, is lined with stone, and has a
capacity of more than one cubic metre.
Kokko (E 95.0195° N 21.0989°) was abandoned, according to local records, in 1878
and families transferred to neighbouring villages, including Mye-thindwin. Locals believe
that Myin-kwe-min, said to have become king at Bagan in AD 716, was the son of a
wealthy man from Kokko. On an unexcavated mound of potsherds up to two metres
high, remains from the Bagan and Ava periods have been recovered. In this general area
near Shenme there are two mounds (Map 84 K/16 E 94.9868° N 21.0795°), each
about twenty metres in diameter, containing bricks as well as pieces of shaped and
pecked sandstone. There are two other groups of apparently early pagoda ruins
southeast of Shenme. These include a pair of mounds about eight metres in diameter (E
94.9947° N 21.0848°), and a small monument known as the Shwe Anadaw Phaya (E
95.0006° N 21.0888°). Restored in 1973, the Shwe Anadaw Phaya has a ruined
pagoda mound beside it, containing dressed sandstone reminiscent of the capping of a
medieval relic chamber. The presence of sima stones, which customarily mark the site
of ordination halls, suggests that it may have been the site of an earlier monastery.
Kokkethein (E 95.06267 N 21.03181) is claimed by the people of Panidwin to be the
original name of their village. It is one of several villages in the eastern hinterland of
Bagan with a substantial presence of old furnaces for extracting iron from natural iron
nodules in the soil.
Tuti (E 95.0163° N 20.9850°), modern Suti, has at least three fields nearby which
contain old potsherds. A hint of antiquity is contained in the name of the village
monastery, Than-bo or “iron smelting”. There are old iron furnaces nearby, and local
people report digging up bronze bowls with lids.
Nyaungwun (E 94.9905° N 20.9597°), the present Tetma village, is near the
southernmost tip of the Tuyin mountain range. Its older name was Nyaung Bin or
Banyan Tree village, on account of big banyan trees that once surrounded it. Around the
village are old and ruined furnaces for smelting iron.
Ywamon (E 95.0707° N 21.2861°) is an abandoned settlement known today as
Shwetaung Ywahmine, near Letpanchibaw (E 95.0627° N 21.2828°). Parts of a
circular brick wall can be see here, somewhat eroded by the river. In 1978 and 2001,
excavations by the Archaeology Department revealed evidence of Neolithic, Bronze
and Iron (Pyu) Age activity. Artifacts found included potsherds, domestic utensils, stone
and bronze weapons, beads, ear plugs and stone rings. The evidence suggests
 8

continuous occupation, or regular re-occupation, from prehistoric times through to the

Bagan and Konbaung periods.
There is disagreement in the Great Chronicle, the New Chronicle24 and the Glass
Palace Chronicle25 as to whether Onmya (E 94.8675° N 20.9065°), or Singu (E
94.8675° N 20.9065°) should be in the canonical list of nineteen villages. Conveniently
for the purposes of regional settlement analysis, at least, both are in the same
geographical area in relation to Bagan.
There remain several claimant villages with dubious or unknown locations. Magyigyi,
according to local informants, is a name that appeared in a stone inscription which had
been removed from a pagoda near Old Bagan that was washed away by the
Ayeyarwady river. On the strength of this, Magyigyi has been assigned to a hypothetical
spot in the river, at E 94.8562° N 21.1808°. Tazaunggun, according to the New
Pagan Chronicle, was near Myingyan, a considerable distance upriver from Bagan.
Tazaung (E 95.3291° N 21.4426°) may be the place the chronicle’s author had in mind,
but field survey has found no apparent link with antiquity. A village elder in Nyaung-do,
which is on the eastern side of Tuyin Taung, suggested during a visit to collect oral
history that Tazaunggun had been on the west side of the Ayeyarwady opposite Bagan.
Tharekya were described as “not existing now” in the New Chronicle, and no
claimants have so far been found.
Several issues come to the fore in the light of this preliminary investigation into whether
the nineteen founding villages of Bagan are mythological, historical, or something in
between. The activity in Bagan’s eastern hinterland is intriguing. Ritual buildings at Gu
Gyaung, Taungba and Shenme appear to date from some part of the Bagan monument
construction period, and further investigation might find them a more clearly defined
place in the timescale. The geographical location of this cluster of villages would also fit
Stargardt’s model of first millennium settlements locating themselves along secondary
streams, rather than major rivers, to enable more efficient control of water resources26.
A recent discovery is the presence of an estimated 1,000 iron-making furnaces in the
eastern region, notably near the villages of Zi-o and Panidwin. These are as yet undated,
but they suggest substantial economic activity at some time in the past. The structure
24
The historiography of the various chronicles is discussed at length in the introduction to the
Glass Palace Chronicle (Pe Maung Tin and Luce op cit: xvi).
25
This argument is summarised in Pe Maung Tin and Luce, op cit: 29
26
Stargardt, Janice. 1990 The Ancient Pyu of Burma: early Pyu cities in a man-made landscape.
PACSEA Cambridge
 9

found at Yon Hlut Kyun remains a puzzle. The mytho-historical view is that it should be
the palace of King Thamoddarit, as described in the Glass Palace Chronicle, although
it does not immediately appear to be related in terms of its layout to palaces of the
historical era, or for that matter to other buildings of the Bagan period.

The dimensions of Bagan.

In the second part of this paper, I would like to present and briefly comment on a
parabaik, or traditional folding book27, which contains a description of Bagan that
includes a record of its dimensions. The translation28 is based on two copies of the same
document, apparently dating back to at least 1790 AD. A version owned by the late
scholar, U Maung Maung Tin, which contained the first few pages, including the
measurements of the city, was brought to my attention in 1999. A complete version was
later located in the library of the Archaeology Department at Bagan. Metric
measurements, dates in years AD, and some brief explanations in parentheses have
been added in an attempt to enhance and clarify the meaning of the original. Gaps have
been left where words or sentences in the document could not be clearly deciphered.
Complex and difficult to follow listings of the genealogies of men and buildings are dealt
with here by leaving the translation as literal as possible. It is hoped that English-
speaking scholars will find this document a useful resource.

27
Parabaiks, folding books made from paper, survive from the Konbaung period, 1752-1885, onward
(Herbert, Patricia. “Burmese Court Manuscripts”. The Art of Burma: New Studies. Marg
Publications, Mumbai. 1999). Existing examples of palm-leaf documents from Myanmar have been
dated to the fourteenth century AD (Singer, Noel F. “Palm leaf manuscripts of Myanmar (Burma)”.
Arts of Asia 1991 21(1): p 138). However the palm-leaf form, reproduced and preserved as gold
sheets, appears much earlier, in the middle of the first millennium AD (Stargardt, J. “The oldest
known Pali texts, 5th-6th century: results of the Cambridge Symposium on the Pyu golden Pali text
from Sri Ksetra, 18-19 April, 1995.” Journal of the Pali Text Society 1995 31: p 119-223). A definitive
study of traditional documents can be found in Thaw Kaung, U. “Myanmar Traditional
Manuscripts and their Preservation and Conservation”. Myanmar Historical Research Journal 1:
241-273. 1995
28
English translation by U Thaung Lwin.
 10

A Brief History of Bagan.

The capsule summary regarding the glorious golden city of Bagan which
is graceful, significant and auspicious as well as a symbol of good fortune,
has been compiled and presented, Venerable Sir.
Guatama Buddha, The Most Enlightened One, who had attained four
different kinds of incomprehensibility, six different sorts of power and
prowess, four different states of endlessness and infinity, eightfold holy
(or) noble path, the ten powers, the ten enlightenment factors, the six
different kinds of hues of the rays, who was also the Incomparable Lord
of the human beings, terrestrial and celestial beings and the Brahmas (or)
Gods, paid a visit to Tantkyi golden hill-range, across the Ayeyarwady
River, on the right and western side of the river, accompanied by his 500
Buddhist disciples (or) Buddhist holy saints, and set foot on top of the hill.
Gautama, The Most Awakened and Exalted One, made a prophecy (or)
boon as regards the bright prospects of the future for the holy city of
Bagan29.
According to the Myanmar traditional typical abbreviation pronounced as
kyar-oh-ann, Bagan, formerly known as Arimaddhana-Paukkan, holy
city of Paukkan, royal capital endowed with conquest over the five
reigning fierce animals and fast-growing gourd (or) squash climbing-
plants, was established by King Pyinbya on the sixth waxing moon (day)
of Pyartho, tenth month of Myanmar traditional lunar calendar,
corresponding with January of Gregorian calendar, in the year 211
Myanmar Chronological Era (849 AD) on Thursday approximately at 3
am, that is to say, past two strikes (or) chimes, 7 phawars and 1 philar,
according to the Myanmar ancient unit of telling the time. The city’s
circumference in Myanmar measurement units was 1142 tar which is
equal to 23,982 feet30 as regards the length and width of the town, with

29
The prophecy is related in Pe Maung Tin and G. H. Luce, op cit, 29.
30
23,982 feet in circumference is much too big, and I suggest that the figure is erroneous. Luce
suggested that 1 tar (or ta) was equal to 7 cubits (Luce, G. H. Economic Life of the Early Burman
Journal of the Burma Research Society 1940 30(1): 291-292). I have taken this to mean the 20.62
inch Egyptian (52.37 centimetres) “Royal cubit”. See Flinders Petrie, W. M. The Pyramids and
Temples of Gizeh. London; Field & Tuer, Ye Leadenhalle Presse; Simpkin, Marshall & Co.,
Stationers' Hall Court; Hamilton, Adams & Co., Paternoster Row. New York: Scribner & Welford,
743 Broadway. 1883. Chapter 20. By this reckoning 1 tar would equal 3.6659 metres and the
circumference of the city would be 4,186 metres or 13,734 feet.
 11

pyitsin, tuyindaing, pyahoh, pavilion, the Myanmar traditional typical

parts of a city, with three-moated canals and the passage-ways for the
royal forces in time of danger and strife. (The city was founded)
following discussions and consultations with four wise monks and the well
educated ministers. The surface of the golden, glorious royal city of
Bagan was like that of the royal drum made of cow hide. A grand gala,
graceful, magnificent ceremony was celebrated in a majestic, grand
scale, successfully with good, rich, and rewarding omens of value,
treasure, and precious gems.
The four wise monks were Ta-ma-lein-dah Thera, Ananda Thera,
Uttara-ziwa Thera and Sabada Thera . The four wise ministers were
Prince Seint, Hoora-phyu (a court-astrologer wearing white clothing),
Hoora-nyo (a court-astrologer wearing brown clothing) and Yarza-
thingyan, who was a native of the village of Inbyin, a name which was
later changed to Linnbin village. The golden glorious ancient city of
Bagan was laid out with 1142 Myanmar ancient linear measurement of
tar which equals 23,982 feet (in circumference). There were 12 door-
ways. The Tharawut gate was two tar (7.33 metres) deep and one tar
(3.67 metres) wide 31. It was guarded and protected by the Betthadin nat
(spirit). The Thatpa-yan-gar gate 32 was well guarded by two nats, Master
Handsome, the Black-smith, and his beloved younger sister, the Golden
Face. The Thara-pay gateway was protected by the Shwepathin nat.
There were 253 tar (927 metres) from the north-east corner through to
the south-east corner, and 149 tar (546 metres) from the Thatpa-yan-gar
gate-way up to the royal palace site and this portion (or) face was taken
care of by Prince Yaegathu, Pyi-soe-zeiya-pinn, Tsa-chi-nanda-thu and
Tsoe-kae-theinkha-yarzar, and these four persons were given
assignments. The eastern face of the royal city site was 50 tar (183
metres). The eastern face Phaya Thartann doorway was guarded by the
Zabu-tanhsaung nat.
The Nga-myee-khatt gate was protected by the Kara-wei nat. The
Nyaung-byu gate was guarded by the Zambu-thabyay nat’. From the
northwest corner to the northeast corner was 318 tar (1166 metres). It

31
The parabaik describes every gate as being one tar wide and two tar deep. Repetition of this
description has been omitted.
32
Also known as the Tharaba or Saraba gate, this is the main entrance to the old city from the east
today. It is item number 1634 in Pichard, Pierre The Inventory of Monuments at Pagan (Volume 6)
1996 KISCADALE EFEO UNESCO. Statues of the brother and sister nats flank each side of the
entrance, in shrines that the Inventory suggests are later additions.
 12

was 101.5 tar (372 metres) from the Nga-myee-khatt gate to the royal
city site and this part (or) face was assigned to four persons, namely
Prince Si-thu, Tharay-nanthu, Tsa-chi-napataw-thiha-pakyan, and Tsoe-
kae-theinkha-pyitsie. The northern face of the royal palace site was 20
tar (73.4 metres). The northern face Tharzi gateway was guarded by the
Zambu-tamut nat. The Wi-rula nat guarded the Mingala-dazeik gateway.
The Myin-byu-shin nat took care of the Ma-kyithar gateway.
From the southwest to the northwest was 253 tar (927 metres) and 149
tar (546 metres) from the Mingalar-dazeik gateway to royal palace site.
This face (or) side was given to 4 caretakers, namely Prince Pyan-chi,
Pyi-zoe-nayin-sinnthu, Tsachi-maha-thamann and Tsoe-kae-manaw-
yarzar. The western face of royal palace site was 50 tar (183 metres)
and the western face phaya and Win-manar doorway was guarded by
the Nga-nwae-thin nat.
The Ma-taunt-tah doorway was protected by the Wi-nila nat, and the
Nga-zwae-thin nat guarded Kula-lei-nu gateway. From the southeast to
the southwest was 318 tar (1166 metres) and it was 101.5 tar (372
metres from the southern city wall to the southern wall of the palace
enclosure). This part had four caretakers, namely Prince Htauk-shoo-kar,
Pyi-soe-minnyin, Tsachi-narga-wuttana and Tsoe-kae-mah thein-zee. It
was 20 tar wide at the southern face of the royal palace site and the
southern side phaya.
After King Pyin-bya had unified these twelve places of the city of Pauk-
kan, called as Ari-maddhana, conquest over huge, fierce, reigning animals
including fast-growing gourd, (or) squash climbing plants to become one
seat in the year of 211 Myanmar Chronological Era (849 AD), the 14th
monarch of the Bagan Dynasty, King Popa-tsaw-rahan-gyi lessened the
Chronological Era according to the ancient traditional numerological
belief, known as kha-hsah-pyinsah.
In the Myanmar Chronological Era of 53, at the time of King
Narapatisithu33, in the aforesaid four sides of the city, the edge of the
eastern Nyaung-mya-ywa-gyi was identified as being at the level of a
town, and presented to Prince Yae-ga-thu. The edge of Taung-ba-lu-
ywa-gyi was graded as a town and offered to Prince Tse-thu and it was
in the southern side. On the northern side, the edge of Chauk-taung was
rated as a town and given to Prince Pyan-chi. To the northeastern side,

33
This king reigned in the late 12th century AD. The date 53 MCE would be 691 AD. It may be a
misprint. (Year AD = Year MCE + 638).
 13

the edge of Let-htoke was classified as a big village and presented to

Prince Htawk-shoo-gar.
King Narapatisithu brought the Shin-byu and Shin-jla Phaya (images of
the Lord Buddha) although in some chronologies it was King Alaung-
sithu who carried the Phaya. On the way back to the golden glorious city
of Bagan, at the port city of Man-aung, the ruler was under the influence
of conceit not to pay obeisance to the powerful king of Paukkan and he
held the pot around his neck and it was filled with water and he
descended to the river water and committed suicide. Afterwards, the
King of Paukkan struck the water with his powerful wand from the front
of the Karaweik barge, and the corpse of the ruler of Man-aung floated
to the surface34. Two beloved daughters of King Man-aung were
presented to the Paukkan King and the King made a fantastic return
riverine journey, upstream. These two cherished daughters of King Man-
aung were promoted to medium-ranked ones and they were presented
with a line of nine villages in the upper part to the elder sister and a lower
line of nine villages to the younger sister. Up until now, the descendants
of King Man-aung, who came from ancestors known as Malla, and the
chieftains, are still existing. Nga-kyaw-tarn was offered to Tsit-chi-yoe
Nanda-thu-ta-yoe. Up till now, there exists a line of tradition well kept
generation after generation. The southern side was presented to Tsit-chi-
yoe Nara-patei-thiha-pakyan. The good traditional line still exists. Maha-
tha-man was added with Man-minn-thar-lei-yoe who was well looked
after and supported separately by townspeople as well as village folk.
Therefore Maha-tha-man was known as Minn-thar-paung, which implies
“prince who was added in unison with another prince” and there still
survives regarding this line of generation. The five exterior localities
which surround the city are named Tsi-gu, Ywa-tha, Taung-zinn, Ta-
ywin-daing and Nga-tha-yauk. These are existing up to the present,
generation after generation. The religious edifice linked to four princes
Yae-ga-thu, Tsi-thu, Pya-chi and Htauk-shu-gar is Pyi-soe, which
signifies chieftain of a city and they built the Pyi-soe pagoda and the
names of these four chieftains are Zei-ya-pin, Na-rin-thinn-htu, Tha-ray-
nan-thu, and Taung-minn-yi, the sacrosanct monument erected by four
Tsit-chis who were solider heroes, namely, Nan-da-thu, Na-ra-pa-tei-
thiha-pa-kyan, Ma-ha-tha-man, and Na-ga-wut-ta-na, the sacred pagoda
concerned with four authorities, namely Thin-kha-ra-za, Thin-kha-pyit-
tsee, Ma-nao-ra-za, Ma-nao-thein-zee, Tsit-pin, Tsi-bin, Hton-tha-myar,

34
See The Glass Palace Chronicle, op cit, p 116-120, for more of this complex tale.
 14

Na-ti-ra-za at Tsit-pin, Pauk-kha-ra-ni-ra-za at Tsi-bin, U-da-ka-ra-za at

Hton, Nan-da-wa-ra-za at Tha-myar and these four pagodas relating to
the demarcation of the Ayeyarwady River, Ah-yway-ma-ti at Aung-tha,
Khint-ga, Htan-po, Nga-kyaw-ga-doh at Aung, Hmon-bo-ga-doh at Ah-
yway-ma-ti, La-bin-ga-doh at Khint-ga, Taung-pon-ga-doh at Htan-po,
Nga-thet-bin, Nga-thet-ya, Nga-kaung-mae, Nga-kaung-phyu and these
four village head-men built their respective pagodas, Hseit-ta-yoe, Ti-ta-
yoe, Hmaw-kunn-tain-ta-yoe, Khun-nit-kyo-myae-taing-tayoe, That-bah-
ra-za pagoda at Hseit-ta-yoe, Wa-neiz-za-ra-za pagoda at Ti-ta-yoe, Ot-
ta-na-ra-za pagoda at Hmaw-kunn-tain-ta-yoe, Bon-mah-ra-za pagoda at
Khun-nit-kyo-myae-taing, and there exist 99 villages in total number,
apart from four localities at the four edges and four parts in a row and
five surrounding towns.
There is an ancient prophecy which reads the great, magnificent
Ayeyarwady River is making her flowing at the foot of the Si-khon-daw
Pagoda, which means the Great Pagoda situated at the sandy side of the
river. The Golden Stupa is held in great veneration, for sacred relics of
the Enlightened One were enshrined inside it, and also at the place where
the golden, glorious city of Pauk-kan is located, where a long line of fifty-
five monarchs ruled over the city, the seat of the dynasty, and golden
glorious royal capital which has inhabitants living in 99 villages in total
number. The prophecy says that the monarch will rigidly follow the rules
that a king of justice should possess on account of the flowing of the
Ayeyarwady River close to the Golden Pagoda Shwe-tsee-gon. There
will be a white acacia tree growing on the northern side of the Great
Pagoda. There surely will appear a king of justice like Maho-sa-dha, who
was a previous existence of Gautama Buddha noted for great wisdom, at
the time when the tree will be grown to the size at which the mighty
elephant known as Ga-za-gi-ri can catch hold of it with its strong trunk.
That ruler of justice will appear at the place located to the eastern
cardinal direction of that tree and that very king will rule over the golden,
glorious city of Pauk-kan and people from all walks of life will be
prosperous and the people eof Pauk-kan surely will have peace and
development, and paddy rice and other staple food will be plentiful. It will
be in (…) of the Myanmar Chronological Era that the Great King will be
chosen as king among men and the royal throne will be ascended by him,
according to the authentic chronologies, ancient legendary accounts and
as far as I know, as much as I can, to the best of my ability making
logical conclusion by judging from the most reliable sources and I have
made my presentation under the golden feet of the royal monarch. May
 15

the genuine, real, authentic dispensation, teachings of the Most

Enlightened One last and prevail for always.
In the year after 236 years after entering Nirvana of Gautama Buddha, a
group of Buddhist missionary monks headed by Venerable Ot-ta-ra-thera
introduced and established the purest form of the Buddha’s Teachings by
way of the elder Buddhist monks at the golden glorious city of Thaton
known as Thu-dhamma-na-ga-ra in the region of Ra-myin-nyah, Thu-
wun-na-bhum-mi. Also at the same year of 236 years after the final
passing away of Gautama Buddha, in the island of Ceylon a group of five
Buddhist arahats, holy saints, led by the Venerable Ma-hein-dah
introduced and established the Teachings of Buddha for purification,
perpetuation, and propagation of Buddha’s dispensation. Over fifty years
after Gautama Buddha’s maha-peri-nirvana, in the royal glorious city of
Tha-yay-khit-ta-ya, two brothers, Su-la Tham-ba-wa and Ma-ha Tham-
ba-wa unified and formed a city state. Their son, known as Dut-ta-baung
became king in the year of 121 Buddhist Dispensation Era (423 BC). He
united and founded Thi-ri-khit-ta-ra-ra-ma city in collaboration, in
cooperation and coordination with the holy hermit, Indra Lord of thunder,
the naga (dragon or serpent), and garuda (mythical bird) and he became
the great king after having a coronation ceremony. Starting from Suta-
Tham-ba-wa and Ma-ha-Tham-ba-wa and second consecutive reign,
there was a king known as Thu-pyin-nya-na-ga-ra-hsein-na in the year of
624 Myanmar Chronological Era. This became the year which was
appropriate to subtract from the Myanmar Chronological Era35 by the
number of 622 and only the remaining number of 2 was reckoned. That
king expired in that very year. The number of the years which had been
subtracted was 622 and in the year of 2 (the remaining year after
subtraction) Myanmar Chronological Era, Tha-yay-khit-ta-ya city ceased
to be the royal capital. Afterwards, there became three different ethnic
groups, namely, Thet, Pa-deik-kha-ya, and Pyu. The Thet returned to the
city of Thet-minn-ka-ton. Members of the Pa-deik-kha-ya race went
back to their homeland (…) The prince who was known as Tha-mot-da-
rit, nephew of Thu-pyin-nya-ga-ra-hsein-na, the king, (…) became the
ruler of this region in the place which was called Yon-hlut-kyun. The
cluster of 19 Pyu villages were Yon-hlut-kyun, Nyaung-U, Na-gae-hso,
Na-ga-kyi, Ma-gyee, Anu-ra-hta, (…),Ywa-hsaik, Kyinn-pi, Kyauk-tok,

35
This may be an error on the part of the author or someone involved in a later transcription. It
more likely refers to a calendrical transition from the Buddhist (Sasana) Era, which begins in 544 BC,
to the Sakka Era, which begins in 78 AD
 16

Tse-ku, Nyaung-wun, Athet-yah, Ta-tauang-kyun, Kok-ko, Taung-ba,

Myei-gae-dwinn, Ya-da-thein and Sha-bok. These 19 villages were
founded by King Tha-mok-darit. The royal line of Yon-hlut-kyun was
Tha-mok-da-nt, Ya-thae-gyaung, Pyu-saw-di, Hti-Minn-yin, Yin-minn-
paik, Paik-thin-li, Thin-li-gyuang. Out of the 7 ruling kings, Pyu-saw-di in
the year 121 Sakka Era (199 AD)36 ascended the throne and named the
royal city as Ari-madd-da-na, the city of conquest over five fierce
enemies. The 7th ruler of Bagan Dynasty Thin-li-gyaung transferred the
seat to Kyauk-za-gar village and called it Thi-ri-pyit-sa-ya. During his
reign, the rains of treasures poured down. The patron of the guardian
spirits Master Handsome and his younger sister were placed in Mount
Popa. They came from Thinn-dwae, Tagaung, in Upper Myanmar. His
son, known as Thin-li-poe, and the son of Thin-li-poe, called as Kyaung-
tu-rit, then Thi-htan, Tu-tha-ra-mon, and Thaik-taing ruled over the city
and they were six in number. During the reign of the sixth king, King
Thaik-taing, the royal site was shifted to Tanpa-di-pa, the third royal city
from Thi-ri-pyit-sa-ya. Originally it was known as Ywa-saik. A line of 21
kings ruled over the royal capital city from King Thaik-taing to King (…),
and the seat was in Tan-pa-wa-dy. At the time of the monk, teacher of
Thin-ga-ra-za’s wife (several lines undecipherable).
The calendar was corrected during the reign of King Thin-ga-ra-za, a
former monk. In the year of 211 Myanmar Chronological Era (849 AD),
representing the Myanmar term kya-oh-aing after relacing each word
with numbers, King Pyin-bya moved the royal site to Ma-gyee village
from Tan-pa-wa-dy and named the glorious royal capital Pu-ga-ra-ma.
Twenty-three kings from King Pyin-bya ruled over the city of Pu-ga-ra-
ma. The eighth ruler from King Pyin-bya was King Anaw-ra-hta and in
the year of 419 Myanmar Chronological Era (1057 AD), in the month of
Ka-son, Ve-sak, this great king among men introduced and established
the purest form of Buddhism, known as Theravada Buddhism, the ways
of the elder Buddhist monks, which he brought from Thaton. He later
renamed the royal city Pon-na-ga-ma. He was also known as Anaw-ra-
hta-minn-saw , and was regarded as the great able guardian king or law-
ka-nat in Myanmar language. He brought the whole canonical sacred
scriptures of Buddhist doctrine and the order of the Buddhist monks from

36
This is a little later than the traditional date mentioned in the Glass Palace Chronicle.
Interestingly, the Hsipaw Chronicle puts the founding of the 19 villages about a century after the
Glass Palace Chronicle date, at around 221 AD- see U Sai Aung Tun’s paper, Shan-Myanmar
Relations As Found in the Hsipaw Chronicle, Texts and Contexts Conference, 2001.
 17

the city of Thu-dhamma-na-ga-ra, that is to say, the holy city where real,
authentic, genuine Buddhism flourished, and the city was popularly known
as Thaton. The powerful founder-king Anaw-ra-hta introduced and
established Theravada Buddhism for purification, perpetuation, and
propagation of the realistic teachings of the Buddha in the golden glorious
city of Ari-madd-da-na. In the year of 163 Buddhist Dispensation Era,
corresponding with Myanmar Chronological Era of 419 (1057 AD), on
the 10th waxing moon of Da-boh-dwae, corresponding with February, on
Thursday and when the moon was shining along with Kyatt-bi-ka
constellation, at the times when the crab zodiac sign is at its lag, from the
astrological point of view, King Anaw-ra-hta built the great golden
pagoda of Shwe-zi-gon after enshrining the frontal bone, the left
collarbone and a duplicated form of the sacred tooth-replica of Gautama
Buddha. The sacrosanct relics are imperishable, kept in a gem-studded
casket. Afterwards, the great king Anaw-ra-hta erected pagodas on top
of Tant-kyi-taung, Tuyin-taung, Tha-lyaung and Pyet-kyei-taung37. He
enshrined four duplicated forms of the sacred tooth of Gautama Buddha
in the stupas. The king also built the Shwe-hsan-daw pagoda 38, housing
the sacred hair relic of Gautama Buddha, to the southern side of the royal
holy city. King Anaw-ra-hta erected another pagoda, the Lokananda, on
the southern side of the royal capital, Thi-ri-pyit-sa-ya. Nineteen years
after the building of the Shwe-zi-gon pagoda, the great founder king
Anaw-ra-hta ascended to the upper realm of the celestial beings at the
age of 74.
The four holy Buddhist monks who came and visited the golden glorious
city of Bagan during the reign of King Anaw-ra-hta were Shin-ma-ha-kit-
tsee, who resided to the north of Lei-gaing-kyaung monastery, Shin-anu-
rud-dha, who lived to the eastern side of the Minn-ta-yar-shwe-kyaung
monastery, Shin-ma-ha-Buddha-go-hsa who resided to the north-western
side of the Ma-myaw-ra-za Temple and Shin-u-pa-li, who resided to the
western side of the U-pali Ordination Hall. The Myanmar term lei-
gaing-kyaung which became the word lei-gaing refers to the four
venerated Buddhist monks. During the reign of King Kyan-sit-tha, the U-
pa-li monastic centre was renamed Tha-man-ta-rit, and the Pa-thein-

37
The first two sites, mountaintop pagodas on the western and eastern sides of the city, are well
known. The locations of other two have eluded this author- the Lokananda and the Shwezigon are
more commonly viewed as the city’s other two main boundary markers.
38
There is a useful discussion of this pagoda, now mainly used as a viewing-platform for tourists,
in Strachan, Paul. 1989 Pagan: Art and Architecture of Old Burma, Kiscadale. P 42-44.
 18

kyaung was built by the governor of Pa-thein (Bassein) and named after
him during Na-ra-pa-ti-zei-ya-thu-ra’s reign. After King Anaw-ra-hta
had passed away his elder son, crown prince Saw-lu, ascended the
throne of Bagan. He was crowned in the year 440 Myanmar
Chronological Era (1078 AD). During his reign, the Mons under Nga-
man-kan revolted. After fighting against Nga-man-kan’s forces, King
Saw-lu built a pagoda at the top of the hill which is situated at the right
side of Pinn-chaung creek at the mouth of Aye-yar-wa-dy River. The
pagoda was in the shape of Kya-thut-oh, the part of the pagoda
resembling the lotus petal, with four entrances. The king enshrined a
number of Buddha’s sacred relics, and after completion of the pagoda, he
paid reverence after he had hoisted the sacred umbrella. He had a
coronation ceremony and became king of Bagan only after placing the
sacred crowning part of the pagoda. After six years, King Saw-lu was
executed by Nga-man-kan. In the year of 446 Myanmar Chronological
Era (1084 AD), Klan-pok-ta, also known as Min-kyan-yit-thar, ascended
the throne of Bagan. He spent most of his time on serious domestic
affairs for four years. In the fifth year, he rebuilt the great pagoda known
as Ze-ya-hkon (Shwe-zi-gon). In the year of 421 Myanmar Chronological
Era (1059 AD) and thirty years after that, the pagoda had been small. In
the year of 451 (1089 AD), known in the Myanmar language as Tha-ra-
wun year, on the 13th waxing moon of Da-zaung-mon, the eighth month
of the Myanmar traditional lunar calendar, corresponding with November,
on Wednesday, he enlarged the Pagoda, which was built of blocks of
sandstone rather than bricks. In the year of 452 Myanmar Chronological
Era (1090 AD) which was Ba-ra-paik year, on the full-moon day of the
15th waxing moon of Kason, the second Myanmar month, the King
finished the building of the Grand Shwe-zi-gon Pagoda. He erected four
standing Buddha images facing the cardinal directions. The images were
made from an amalgam of five different metals. He also constructed four
pavilions, made from blocks of sandstone and bricks, beautifully and well
done. He also made an ordination hall, a reclining Buddha statue, parts of
four different kinds of zedi, and different statues of Thi-kyar-minn, Indra,
Lord of thunder and chief of the celestial beings, and statues of other nat
spirits. He erected the great precinct, (or) enclosure wall, guarded by
chinthe (figures of heraldic lions). The interior great enclosure wall was
made for the purpose of offering oil-lamps by the Rakhine (Arakan)
Buddhist monk. This monk was the preceptor of King Minn-gyi-tswa-
saw-kae, who was the descendant of the royal line of the Bagan Dynasty
and the second ruler of Ra-ta-na-pura Inwa (Ava) city. The golden
 19

glorious city of Inwa (Ava) was established and founded by this king,
who was a very great, powerful, and mighty ruler of prowess and who
also was well-known as Tha-doe-minn-phya. Thus, it was mentioned by
the old well-learned and well-versed experts that the interior enclosure
wall was constructed for the purpose that oil-lamps would be lighted. The
year of 452 Myanmar Chronological Era was the same year, expressed
in a parabaik, or ancient traditional folded document, in which the gold
umbrella became the crowning part of the great Zei-yah-khon Pagoda,
and Kalan-pok-taw, also known as King Kyan-tsit-tha, built the
significant Ananda Temple. This great king of justice also erected the
Na-ga-yon Temple, Pae-ya-da-na Temple, Minn-oh-chann-tha Pagoda
and other religious edifices as a token of performing meritorious deeds.
In the year of 473 Myanmar Chronological Era (1111 AD) the great
benevolent king of justice entered the age of 81. He was called Rin-nya
Kalan-pok-taw, also known as King Kyan-tsit-tha. He passed away, or
as the Myanmar language puts it, ascended to the upper realm of celestial
beings. After King Kyan-tsit-tha had entered the abode of the celestial
beings, the crown prince, who was the beloved grandson of King Kyan-
tsit-tha as well as the great-grand-son of King Naw-ya-hta (Anawratha)
attained the royal coronation ceremony and obtained the name of Na-ra-
pa-ti-zei-ya-thu-ra, popularly known as Alaung-si-thu, in the year of 473
Myanmar Chronological Era.
After thirty years, in the year 57339 Myanmar Chronological Era, in the
year when the Mi-ga-thi constellation tilted, on the 4th waxing day of Ka-
hson, Ve-sak, the second Myanmar month, corresponding with the Ve-
sak constellation, on Saturday which coincided with the Tha-ra-wun
constellation, King Alaung-si-thu who attained the name of Thi-ri-tri-ba-
wa-na-ti-bi-ta-ya-pa-wa-ra-pan-di-ta-dhamma-ra-za and who possessed
great prowess, and who was well-known in the title of Na-ra-pa-ti-zei-
ya-thu-ra and who was the greatly embraced grand-son of King Kyan-
tsit-tha and also great-grand-son of King Naw-ra-hta-saw, built the
famed, sacrosanct edifice of Shwe-gu in the golden, glorious city of
Bagan. This holy temple was amazing and finely-proportioned. It
resembled the golden pagoda, with magnificent Buddha image, which
was dedicated to the great, venerable Buddha’s right-hand disciple, noted
for great wisdom, next to Gautama Buddha, who was known as Ashin-
tha-ri-put-ta-ra. Sacred relics from the body of the holy Buddhist saint
were enshrined inside this temple and a life-size statue of the disciple was

39
This is presumably a misprint in the original document-503 MCE/1141 AD would be more likely.
 20

also sculpted. After he had performed the meritorious deed of building

the Shwe-gu sacred temple, the great, powerful king performed another
work of merit by building the imposing, impressive, captivating, and
magnificent temple of That-byin-nyu, which implies the All-knowing
Wisdom of the Buddha, The Most Enlightened One. The temple
resembled the Pok-va-yon pagoda complex, which was constructed in
dedication to the venerated Buddhist disciple, who was the left-hand saint
of Gautama Buddha and was noted for his supernatural psychic powers.
A great donor, a lay woman, known as Wi-tha-kha, contributed a large
amount of money at a cost of ninety million, after having sold a precious
ornament known as Maan-li-ka. The mighty king enshrined the sacred
relics and replicas from the Holy One’s body and made the Buddha
image, the size of which was the same as that of The Buddha, The
Omniscient One, in the attitude of preaching His sermon to the celestial
beings, as well as to the lay human beings. In addition, the great king
performed the meritorious deed of erecting a huge bell, made from the
purest bronze, weighing five thousand viss, to the south-eastern side of
the That-byin-nyu Temple. The throne name of the great monarch, was
Thi-ri-tri-ba-wa-na-ti-bi-ta-ya-pa-wa-ra-pan-di-ta-dhamma-ra-za. He
was also called Na-ra-pa-ti-zei-ya-thu-ra-dhamma-ra-za, as well as King
Alaung-si-thu. After performing the meritorious work of building the holy
temples of Shwe-gu and That-byin-nyu and other religious edifices, the
king entered the upper realm of the nats, the celestial beings, at the age
of 74 (in 1167 AD), 26 years after 503 Myanmar Era, the year in which
the Shwe-gu Temple was built.
There was a long line of 55 kings who ruled over the glorious city of
Bagan, which was known by five different names: Ari-madd-da-na, Thi-
ri-pyit-sa-ya, Tam-pa-wa-dy, Pon-na-ga-ma, and Pu-ga-ma. Out of these
55 rulers, the great king Na-ra-pa-ti-zei-ya-thu-ra, popularly known as
King Alaung-si-thu, had got two grand-sons, Minn-yin-na-ra-thein-ga and
Na-ra-pa-ti-si-thu. These were the sons of King Na-ra-thu. Na-ra-pa-ti-
si-thu erected the Su-la-ma-ni temple, the Gaw-daw-pa-lin, the Dham-mi-
ya-ladd-da, the Dham-ma-yan and a number of temples as well. His
regnal name was Thi-ri-tri-ba-wa-na-ti-ta-ya-pa-wa-ra-pan-di-ta-
dhamma-ra-za. During the reign of King Na-ra-pa-ti-si-thu, five
venerated Buddhist monks arrived in Bagan from Ceylon. These five
missionaries were known as Hsa-ba-da Thera, Ta-pa-nein-da Thera, Thi-
wa-li Thera, Ananda Thera and Rahula Thera, and they performed their
religious duties for the sake of the Dispensation of the Buddha, The Most
Enlightened One (several lines missing).
 21

The grandson of that king, known as Na-daung-mya, constructed famous

religious edifices such as Cei-da-na Zedi, Ma-ha-bodhi Zedi, Hti-lo-minn-
lo Zedi and several other monuments. The famous king who built these
three prominent zedis was known as King Zei-ha-thein-kha. His elder
son, King Kya-zwa, was deeply absorbed in the purification, perpetuation,
and prolongation of the teachings of the Buddha and compiled the
historic, thought-provoking treatise known in the Pali language as Pa-ra-
matt-hta-bein-du kyann. The grand-son of King Kya-zwa was King Thi-
ha-pa-tei who built the great Min-ga-la Zedi to the southern side of the
city of Bagan. A high-ranking royal court official who served under King
Thi-ha-pa-tei compiled the authoritative, comprehensive text Ti-ka-let-
thann-than-yoke kyann, which means the text which was measured as
one small finger in thickness. This was a commentary and introduction to
the famed Kit-tsee kyann. In the city of Pan-ya, King Thi-ha-thu-ra-
dhamma-ra-za, known as Hsin-byu-shin, erected the pagoda known as
the Pan-ya Shwe-zi-gon. The eminent envoy, Tsa-tu-rin-ga compiled the
comprehensive text, which was a commentary on the dictionary known in
Pali as Abi-dan-ti-ka kyann. He served under King Hsin-byu-shin.
The preceding document was finished in the year of 1152 Myanmar
Chronological Era (1790 AD). The next manuscript was finished in the
year 1237 Myanmar Era (1875 AD). The third written parabaik was
finished on Saturday on the 7th waning day of Tha-dinn-gyut, the seventh
month in the Myanmar traditional lunar calendar. The document, made
from one kind of palm leaves, was written, copied and the record was
completed in the evening of the last (14th) waning day of Na-yon, third
month in the Myanmar traditional lunar calendar, on Monday, in the year
of 1279 Myanmar Chronological Era (1917 AD).

Discussion and future prospects.

This document, while in part a retelling of earlier traditional stories, whose analysis we
will leave to the textual specialists, contains some valuable technical information. The
measurements of the city, despite what may be a few misprints or reproduced errors, fit
the existing city walls fairly well (Figure 3). They suggest a rectangular site, with four
walls, which supports the hypothesis that a western wall may have been washed away
The dimensions of Bagan and location of its
original palace, according to the parabaik.

927 m
Possible extent
Possible original
of original wall
palace
etres
183 m

Tharaba
etres

gate
0 etres
73 m
1990s excavation
of elite complex.

Ayeyarwady
River etres
1166 m

Existing city wall and moat

#
0 250 500

metres

Figure 3
The four quarters of Bagan as they were assigned %
% C
to governing princes and protected by designated C %

%
C
nats, according to the parabaik. %%
%%
%
C %
%
%
C

% C
11th Century buildings %
%
C%
C
"
CC C
C
12th Century buildings C C
%

13th Century buildings C

% C
C
% "
C C C
CC
Bupaya %
C % %

C CC
%C C
%C %C
% C C C

C C C

%
%%
%
%
%
%
C % % "
CC Mahabodhi C
"
% C
"
Palace

C CC
C
C C Bagan period CC

C elite complex.
%%
?

C
%
%
C -
Ayeyarwady C
C
C % C
River C Ananda
Gawdawpalin C C
%
C

C C % C
% % %%
C %C %C
C
C
" C
C C C C
C%
% C C
That-byin-nyu

C
City wall and moat
C %%
C%
C
0 0.2 0.4 C %
C C
C %
C C
C
%
%
%C
C
%
%

C
kilometres C C C C
C C
C %%
%
C
CCC

#
%
" "
%C
% C
C
C
"% CC
C C C C C
%
% %C C C

" C C
C %C
Shwesandaw
C C

Figure 4
 22

by the river at some time in the past40. The parabaik’s location of the “original” palace in
the geometric centre of the city is of course suggestive of a symbolic “Mount Meru”,
with four slopes forming cosmological hillsides leading up to the royal (and holy)
centre41. The apportioning of responsibility for different parts of the city to “management
committees” of men and nats also has cosmological implications It suggests that the
quarters of the city were divided into four rhomboid zones, based on a side of the main
wall and the relevant side of the central elite centre (Figure 4).
The description of a new allocation of governance in the city at the time of King
Narapatisithu is interesting in that the western side of the city does not get a mention.
Absence of evidence is not much evidence at all, but if we were to hypothesise that the
document contains some valid historical information, could we ask if this was because
the western wall had been washed away by that time?
The Brief History of Bagan must be viewed in the light of the existing archaeological
evidence. Only half a dozen structures (Figure 5) are attributed to the 11th Century AD
by the Inventory of Monuments at Pagan42. They cluster in the northern and southern
portions of the city, though there are not really enough of them to suggest a pattern. The
radiocarbon dates43 that are now available relate to activities on the eastern side of the
city, including a site excavated in the early 1990s that is widely assumed to be a palace
complex (Figure 5). The carbon dates suggest that there was wall-building activity some
time during or after the period 1020-1300 AD, that an earthenware-lined latrine was in
use just outside the present wall some time between 990 and 1210 AD, and that in the
elite compound, in which a teak post a metre wide, from a tree that dated to between
980 and 1250 AD, was used as construction material, there was also a substantial fire
no earlier than 1300 AD.
None of this evidence supports a ninth century origin for the city. However proponents
of the “ninth century” hypothesis can still take heart from the parabaik. The information
in the document has been put to a practical test, with promising results. An excavation
40
See Thin Kyi, Daw. 1964 The Old City of Pagan. Essays offered to G. H. Luce, Volume 2. Artibus
Asiae.
41
Thanks to Dr Waldemar Sailer for pointing this out when the paper was read in Yangon in 2001.
42
Pichard 1992-1999, op cit.
43
Grave, Peter and Barbetti, Mike. 2001 Dating the City Wall, Fortification and the Palace Site at
Pagan. Asian Perspectives 40(1). The authors point out that plateaux exist in the radiocarbon
calibration curve for this period, seriously broadening the calendar age ranges. However their
results essentially point to construction “no earlier than the thirteenth and possibly during the
fourteenth century”.
 Radiocarbon date ranges and possible Dimensions of the city
according to the parabaik.
11th Century buildings at "Old Bagan"

Bupaya

C C Gu-bi-za-gyi
Pebin-kyaung-patho
C

Tharaba gate 990-1210 AD

$ (latrine
1990s "palace" excavation.
2000-2001 ' ï outside wall)
excavation <

ö ñ
Pitakat-taik
980-1250 AD
(teak fragment 1220-1300 AD
in posthole) 1300-1440 AD
(fire damage)
Ayeyarwady Nga-kywe-na-daung %
ï 1030-1300 AD
River C 1020-1220 AD
C (ash lens
Nat-hlaung-kyaung
Patho-hta-mya under wall)

Existing city wall and moat.

Myin-pya-gu C 0 0.2 0.4

kilometres
C
#
Figure 5
 23

by the Archaeology Department at Bagan in 2000-2001 on a corner of the area

suggested by the measurements in the parabaik as the location of the “original” palace
site has led to the discovery of some previously unrecorded building foundations44.
It is much too early to reach any conclusions about this discovery, and more
investigation will be required. For research methods, we might look to a range of
technologies. The structure at Yon Hlut Kyun (Figure 2) was first located by augering,
using a simple posthole-digging tool. Over a broader area, where there has not been, as
we had at Yonhlut, both oral history and documentary information to point the way,
there may be scope in the future for the use of ground-penetrating radar. Airborne radar
survey, for example, has provided substantial new data on the origins and growth of
Angkor, another of the great capitals of Southeast Asia 45. We should not exclude any
method, from state-of-the-art science to discussions with farmers or local residents
about what they have learned from the land they live on. As the hints already given to
investigators by the Brief History of Bagan indicate, documentary sources can be, by
design or by accident, valuable repositories of information for the field archaeologist,
and help trigger the acquisition of hard evidence to aid the historian and the textual
scholar.

Acknowledgments.

The archaeological side of the research was made possible by the Carlyle Greenwell
Bequest and the Australian Institute of Nuclear Science and Engineering (Grants
00/180S, 01/150). The work has been encouraged and facilitated by U Nyunt Han,
Director General of Archaeology, and U Aung Kyaing, Assistant Director General.
Heartfelt thanks for their collaboration on ongoing projects goes to U Nyein Lwin and U
Win Maung (Tanpawady). Thanks for data and academic input go to Pierre Pichard,
Roland Fletcher, Mike Barbetti, Michael Aung-Thwin, Andrew Wilson, Ian Johnston
and Pamela Gutman. At the Yon Hlut Kyun excavation, I would like to acknowledge
the contributions of Tessa Boermah, Emma Hetherington, Shah Alam Zaini, Don
44
This work owes much to the indefatigable antiquarian U Win Maung (Tanpawady), who
introduced me to the parabaik.
45
See Fletcher, Roland. 2001 New radar imagery contributes to better understanding of Angkor
World Heritage property, Cambodia. Asia-Pacific Focal Point Newsletter 1: 3.
 24

Tindale, Ted Robinson, Jordan Robinson and the excavators, U San Ke, U Nyunt
Aung, U Kan Myint, Bo Kyin, Aung-Nine, Shwe-oo and Myint-oo.