History Book (Part 2)

PART II

Inscriptions belonging to Third Dhanyawaddy Age

and

Inscriptions belonging to Wethali Age

Abstract from "The Origin and Development

of Arakanese (Rakhine) script, a Doctoral

Thesis submitted in fulfilment for The Degree

of Doctor of Philosophy, calcutta, University

of Calcutta by U San damuni Bhikku in A.D

2007.

Wethali : The land of Historic Finds

Part II

CONTENTS Pages

CHAPTER VIII- Script in the Third Dhanyawaddy Age B.C 580- AD 327)- The Age of the advent of scirpt in Rakhine(Arakan 47- 49

- "Saccakaparibbajaka" Fat Monk 49- The Tampaukkri Inscription 49-50

CHAPTER IX - Script in the Vesali( Wethali) Age A.D 327- A.D 818 51-54- Chronological arrangement of the inscriptions of the Wethali

period 54-89- Review , Comment -Views of historians and Rakhine scholars 90-91

-Important recovery of inscriptions and Literary Heritage. 92-97

CHAPTER X Dedicatory inscriptions of Niticandra and Viracandra of Vesali 98-160

PART IICHAPTER - VIII

Scirpt in the Third Dhannyawady Age (580 B.C - A.D. 327):The Age of the Advent of Script in Rakhine(Arakan)

Dhannyawady, one of the ancient capitals of Rakhine(Arakan) was located six miles east of Kaladanriver. It was made the capital of the country for the third time in its chronicled history during the rule ofCandasurya in about 580 B.C. The other two proceeding dynasties were founded respectively by Marayu andKanrazagri. The two kings and their descendants ruled the country from this seat from about 3325 B.C.1*

According to chronicles it was during the reign of Candasurya that Rakhine(Arakan) went on to make anintimate relationship with India. The Buddha visited Rakhine and the king became a convert to the religionpreached by the Buddha. All the descendants of Candasurya who ruled Dhannyawady up to 327 A.D. wereardent followers of Buddhism.

At the present state of our knowledge we know of two inscirptions, the characters of which resemblea pre-Christ epoch Brahmi. Both the inscriptions are written in Pali language. Of the two, the earlierseems to be the Fat Monk Image inscription2* belonging to c.2nd-1st century B.C. As the inscription isnot a dated one, we have to fall back upon the paleography of the record. Discovered from the ruins ofan old brick pagoda lying about three miles to the cast of old Vesali City, it contains a one-line inscriptionand is presently preserved in the Mrauk-U Museum.

Of a somewhat later date is the inscription3*discovered near the village of Taungpaukkri. Thematerial, on which the inscription is engraved, is the natural rock known as Selagiri, lying about two miles fromTaungpaukkri. On the basis of paleography it may be dated sometime between the 2nd century B.C. and 2ndcentury A.D. The inscription, 4* fragmentary in nature, cotained a legible portion of five lines of writing, out ofabout twenty-five lines, the rest being damaged. With the exception of------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. The origin and development of Arakanese script bu U Sandamuni Bhikku2. Aung, San Tha, The Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan, Rangoon, 1979, p-15, pl.9.3. Aung, San Tha, Scripts of Arakan, 6th century and before, (Burmese), Rangoon, 1974, p-64.4. Information regarding the Taungpaukkri Fragmentary inscirption can be had as early as 1974 when San Tha Aung's book'Scripts of Arakan' 6th Century and before, (Burmese) was published. But, curiously enough, Pamela Gutman in her unpub-lished thesis did not take any notice of this was made of Aung's aforesaid book. See Gutman. P., Ancient Arakan, in\Ph.D.thesis (unpublished) 1976, p-370. About one and half decade later in 1992 and Arakanese scholar referred to this inscriptionin his unpublished Ph.D. thesis, History of Buddhism in Arkan. The eye-copy of the inscription, first mentioned in Burmesebooks published since 1974, is not ,however, considered as evidence by Ashin Siri Okkantha. See Okkantha, Ashin Siri,History of Buddhism in Arakan, (unpublished Ph.D. thesis of Calcutta University) 1992, p.41, n.1. We do not, however, seeany reason why the eye-copy of the inscription cannot be accepted as evidence. In support of our conviction, the followingpoints may be stated:(i) The eye-copy of the inscription was made long before its destrution during Second World War by San Shwe Bu, andeminent Arakanese historic and U Tha Tun, one of the distinguished scholars of Arakan. If the eye-copy made by these twolearned men of Arakan cannot be taken as evidence; it then raises a grave doubt about the integrity of these two scholars.This is unfortunate.(ii) Only an expert epigraphist can testify to the accuracy or otherwise in respect of writing the alphabet in the eye-copy ofthe scription, though unfortunately, the original inscription is now lost.(iii) A comparative study of the letters of the Taungapaukkri Fragmentary inscription with the Indian Brahmi inscriptions of3rd-2nd century B.C. (Asokan Brahmi inscriptions as well as the one found at Maasthan in Bogra district Bangladesh) ontheone hand and the Fat Monk image inscription found in Arakan on the other porves that quite a few letters of the Taungaukkriinscription bear a close similarity with the alphabet of the above noted contemporary inscription from India as well asArakan.(iv) The claim in the book by Ashin Candamalalinkara that "in and inscription the History of Buddhism in Arakan had beenfixed in the period of the Buddha" (See Okkantha A.S., Lbid.) may be contested, but what is certain is that paleographically,the inscription cannot be dated much earlier than 2nd century B.C.

Wethali; The land of Historic finds 47

a few alphabet and medieval signs,5* these two epigraphs then advent of script in Arakan(Rakhine). The datesuggested for the two inscriptions on the basis of paleography is not in conflict with the ones found in theadjoining regions of India. One can cite the presence of similar script in a record recovered from the northernpart of Bengal6* (in the district of Bogra, now in Bangladesh). With the discovery and decipherment of anumber of new epigraphical materials, we now know of certain latest information, which can be termed as anadvancement of our knowledge in respect of the following:(i) The date 7* of the earliest inscription from Arakan(Rakhine) is c.2nd-1st century B.C.(ii) Inscriptions of a later date found in Arakan were mostly written in Sanskrit,8* but the two mentionedabove are written in Pali.(iii) The finds of two inscriptions datable to about c.2nd century B,C.-2nd century A.D. show that theirscripts bear affinity with Northern Indian or North- Eastern variety of Brahmi, rather than the Southernone.(iv) However, in a few later inscriptions 9* the traits of South Indian script are discernible.(v) There are instances of scripts 10* where we can trace local devolopment in regard to their formation.Again there are a few words in the inscriptions which can definitely be termed as Arakanese.11*

(vi) The use of imprecatory verse12* found in a few inscriptions may be compared with similar writingsin Indian land-grant inscriptions.

In studying the early epigraphs of Arakan one is inclined to find a close similarity withthe ones discovered in India. It merely indicates that the people of these two contiguous regions hadcome into contact with each other since a very early time. If the Arakanese chronicles are to be believedthe chief players in this drama of making a home away from home are not only the princes of Indianroyal families and Buddhist missionaries but also traders who seemed to have before their eyes onlythose things which were simply materialistic. However, so far epigraphical materials are concerned,this similarity can be traced in almost all the modes with which an inscription is brought out namely, (i)the script itself, (ii) the alphabet both vowels and consonants as well as the medical signs, (iii) languagefor writing, (iv) theme of writing, e.g. to be noted in the imprececatory verse and last, but not the least,(vi) materials on which the writing is engraved.

However, a significant deviation happens to be the almost total omission of any reckon-ing. It may be that the usage of indicating the regional current eras in epigraphs had not yet become a

5. For a fuller list of the alphabet and the problem relating to its gradual devolopment a detailed discussion will be found inthe following chapters.6. Mahasthan Fragmentary stone plague inscription, Ep. INdica, XXI, No.14.7. With the decipherment of these two inscriptions, the theories put forward by earlier scholars that the earliest inscriptionbears a script used by the Guptas in the 2nd half of 5th century prove now to be wrong. See Gutman, P. op cit. p. 26.8. See for instance, (a) Votive Stupa inscription, Selagiri, (b) Cpooer Plate inscription, (c) Vesali Plaque inscription etc.9. See the Wuntitaung inscription, this inscription contains also a 16th century Rakhine inscription on the obverse.10. See the inscription of King Viracandra, the inscription of the Queen of Niticandra and the Vesali Caitya inscriprion etc.11. See the Copper Plate inscription, Aung, San Tha, op cit., p. 4-8.12. Sandamini (Majjhuma), U "A Note on Linmontaung Inscription:" From Linmontaung range at Vesali, (to be publishedshortly). The author in this article points out that an inscription discovered at Linmontaungtan (the two lines imprecatoryverses which are basically identical to that found in the Linmontaung inscription, which is engraved on a stone slab, maypossibly belong to c.early 7th century A.D. The inscription is now preserved in the Mrauk-U museum. See also the CopperPlate inscription, Aung, San Tha, op cit., p.15-20.

U Shwe Zan B.Sc, B.C.S. 48

regular feature among the Rakhine(Arakanese) Buddhists. As a corollary, excepting a few cases13* we hardlyget any inscribed reference to numerals in Rakhine(Arakan) inscriptions. The Indian epigraphs on the otherhand, belonging to both early and later periods, tend to dated the reckoning either in the regnal years of thereigning king or in any one of the popular cruuent ears. A major source for the study of Arakanese script and itsdevelopment is the innumerable number of coins, issued mostly in silver , though a few coins issued in othermetals are also known.14* Paleography of the coin legends indicates that some of these coins seem to havebeen issued from at least 5th century A.D. Later, different members of different ruling houses continued to issuecoins till about A.D.1784, when Arakan ceased to become an independent state.

The theme of the inscriptions that have been discovered in Rakhine(Arakan) does indicate, inmost cases , a Buddhistic leaning. But surprisingly one of the pre-Christ epoch inscriptions speaks of the word"jina"18* implying some sort of Jaina connection on the part of at least the maker or donor of the image.However, according to a lexical definition "jina" means both Buddha and the Vedic god Visnu. Since relationpertaining to Vaisnavism and the god Visnu are to be ascribed not earlier than seventh century A.D.,19* it wouldbe better to identify "jina" with Buddha. In that case the "saccakaparibbajaka" Fat Monk, whose imagebears the present inscription might have been one of the early converts in the Buddhist faith in Rakhine, theevent probably taking place not later than 2nd-1st century B.C.20*

The Taungpaukkri inscription, belonging to the pre-Christian epoch, significantly refers to theword "Bhikkhu-Samgha" implying thereby the monastic order of the Buddhists of Arakan. The monastery ofthe Bhikkhus happened probably to be siutated close to the Gacchabhanadi,21* which was the ancient name ofthe river Kaladan. So this inscriptional evidence makes it clear that during the early enturies, preceding, prob-ably, the Christian era, Buddhism must have bocome a popular religious creed in Rakhine(Arakan).

13. In the Copper Plate grant the 11th regnal year of king Bhuticandra or Bhumicandra(?), probably theissuer of the grant was mentioned. See Ep.Indica, xxxvii, pp. 61-66. In regard to the question of omission ofSaka Era in Rakhine(Arakanese) inscriptions. See sircar D.C. Indian Epigraphy, Delhi, 1996, p.211. For themention of a supposed date in numerals, See Gutman, P., op cit. p. 68.14. A gold coin discovered from Vesali, was issued by King Priticandra, the 11th ruling member insuccession of the Candra dynasty of the Second Period. In August 1985 a hoard of about 50 silver coins,including two Pyu coins, was discovered at the the village of Khayine, near Taunggouk, in the Southerm partof Rakhine State. These coins were also issued by Kings of the Candra dynasty of Rakhine(Arakan), namely,Rajacandra, Devacandra, Yajnacandra and Bhumicandra. See Shwe Zan, U. "The Golden Mrauk-U, 1994,pp.52-53, 144-146. For a reappraisal of the cions of the Arakani Governors of Chittagong. See VasantChowdhury, 'The Arakani Governors of Chittagong and their coins', Journal of the Asiatic Society of Banglades.Hum, vol.42, 1997,pp.145-162, See also Gutman, P. op cit. pp. 120 ff.

18. See Note I above; see also Sircar, D.C. Studies in the Religious Life in Ancient and Medieval India, Dehli, 1971, pp. 190-193.19. Ray, N. R., Brahmanical Gods in Burma, Calcutta, 1932, pp.15 ff; Gutman, P., op cit.p. 261.20. See Note I above.21. Tun Shwe Khine, U, A Guide to Mrauk-U, An ancient city of Rakhine(Arakan), Myanmar, Yangon, 1992, p. 19.


If we take into account the numerous chronicles, traditions and anecdotes22* relating to Buddha’s sojourn inRakhine(Arakan) during his lifetime, it would then appear that Buddhism gained an acceptance in Rakhine(Arakan) during the 6th-5th century B.C. But as there is no cogent ground to support this tradition basedhypothesis, it would be prudent to infer that the religion had became a dominant creed sometimes during the2nd-1st century B.C. This Taungpaukkri, on the road between Selagiri and Mrauk-U.

The advent of script in Rakhine synchronizes with the period when the descendants ofCandasurya,23* the earliest king of the Surya dynasty, were ruling during the third Dhannyawady phase (580B.C.-A.D.327). We have seen that the paleography of the two early inscriptions found in Rakhine(Arakan)indicates a dated sometime around 2nd-1st century B.C.

Now, following the chronological arrangement adopted in Rakhine(Arakanese) chronicles, thefirst Surya King seemed to have ascended the throne sometime in 580 B.C.24* By 2nd century B.C when wehave, for the first time, the evidence of script in Arakan, the sixth or seventh king from Candasurya., namelyking Suryacakka or his son king Suryanatha might have been ruling over Arakan. Incidentally, the chroniclesspeak of king Suryacakka as a contemporary of his famous Indian counterpart, King Dhamasoka25* whoissued numerous deicts throughout India during his reign (c.269-232 B.C.). If itwas not during the reign of hisson Suryacakka, then it was probably during the regin of his son Suryanatha that we come across the firstinstance of script in the inscriptions ever discovered in Arakan. So in the early history of Rakhine(Arakan), thethird Dhannyawady phase will be remembered for atleast one innovation that it gave the Arakanese(Rakhine)the first ever scirpt with which to write down whatever they would think specially about their pious dedicationin the name of the great Buddha.

Though we hear of the findings of a number of images of the Fat Monk from various ancient sitesin the adjoining regions of Rakhine, it was only during the rule of one of the later descendants of Candasurya,either Suryacakka or Suryanatha that we hear for the first time of the existence of an early inscribed image ofthis Monk called Sacakaparibbajakajina. The name inscribed on the backside of the image bears the script inBrahmi. Paleographical features of the letters help us to arrive at an approximate date of the creation of thisimage, i.e. about 2nd century B.C. So the Surya dynasty of Rakhine(Arakan) gave her subjects the first everscript, which, from now on, happened to be the medium of expression of the early Arakanese.

Only two inscribed document belonging to this period have been discovered are engraved onstone. Before we go in for a detailed discussion on the script, found in the above-noted two inscriptions, it willbe useful if, as a prelude, we take note of some important information as to the find spot, place to deposition,script, language, approximate date of composition of, and comments, if any, on each of the inscriptionsconcerned.

The only other inscription of this age uptil now is the Taungpaukkri Inscription (Part II,pl.II). A noted above,33* this inscription was engraved on the natural rock, known as Selagiri, which waslocated about two miles from Taungpaukkri village, on the road between Selagiri and Mrauk-U.

Then the form for and the punctuation mark are not seen here possibly because most partsof the inscription were badly damaged. In conclusion we may point out that the characters of the natural rockinscription from Taungpaukkri, therefore, are similar to those found in the Fat Monk Image inscription fromPanzeemraungphar. Palaeographical features of the Taungpaukkri inscription indicate that it may probablybelong to a period shortly before or about the beginning of the Christian era . The deciphered section of thetext38* of the inscription is as follows;

22. Shwe Zan, U, op cit. p. 154.23. Candamalalinkara, A., Rakhine Rajavamthikyan, (New history ot Rakhine, i.e. Arakan) Mandalay 1931, pp. 245 ff.24. See Tun Shwe Khine, U, op cit. p 21.25. Candamalalinkara, A. op cit. pp. 245 ff.33. See above n.4.


CHAPTER - IXScript in the Vesali(Wethali) Age

(327 A.D. to 818 A.D.)

A study of the devolopment of script during Wethali period presents a number of altogethernovel and highly significant features. These can be summed up as follows;

Firstly, for the first time in Arakanese history political anesdotes came up for discus-sions in a number of inscriptions. Again there are a few inscriptions which deal with economic aspectsof the kingdom. However, it was religious topics,1* specially pious charitable deeds, which as a subjectmatter of inscriptions, surpass those of the fromer two catergories. Secondly, at least two categories ofdonors of this age were the commoners, almost all of whom were Buddhists. Thirdly, the popularity ofBrahmi script and Sanskrit or Pali language which continued to be used since their inception in Rakhine(Arakan)from about 2nd century B.C., seemed definitely on the wane towards the end of this period. Fourthly, duringthe close of this phase on altogether new form of roundish script, the precursor of present day Arkanesealphabed, made its presence felt in a few inscriptions and coin legend. Finally, again for the first time, an addedadvantage for the study of scirpt of this age is the legends inscribed on a large number of coins, in both whiteand yellow metal, issued by the rulers of this period.

Vesali (or) Wethali as it is presently pronounced , the second most famous capital city of earlyRakhine(Arakan), is situated some sixteen miles south of Dhannyawady along the downward course of theKaladan. The Vesali phase that started from about 327 A.D. witnessed all round development including politi-cal stability under a long line of kings, know by their surname Candra. Though, according to the chronicles,Vesali continued to retain some of its old glory till about A.D. 818, we notice a shift of political activity fromVesali on the Kaladan to Pyinsa on the river Lemro. The latter place became the first of the four capitals that theLemrot period witnessed.

For the reconstruction of the history of the Wethali age there are a variety of sources in the shapeof inscriptions, coins and literary data compiled in numerous chronicles. Some of the silver coins issued in thename of the territory called Harikela may have initially been the product of Rakhine(Arakan) of this age.According to the chronicles, the first king of the Candra dynasty is Mahataingcandra who ascended the thronein A.D. 327. From chronicles we get a list of 12 kings, including Mahataingcandra, who ruled Rakhine(Arakan)for a period of about 480 years.

A different list of Candra kings is furnished by the famous Prasasti of king Anandacandra, whoruled in the first quarter of 8th century A.D. The Prasasti was engraved on a pillar, orginally from

38. From hand-written copy of the Book’Scripts of Arakan, 6th century and Before. By Aung, San Tha, p.641. In the category of inscriptions referring to the religious condition in Arakan, there are quite a lot which contained theYedharmma verse. The popularity of these verse among at least a section of the devotees can be gauged from the fact that tillnow most, if not all, fo the inscriptions of the Vesali period, refer to these verses. Incidentally, these inscriptions, unlike royalissueds, belong to the private category. Out of about 40 inscriptions of this period, we have till date found Yedharmma versein at least 22 inscriptions, most of which, unfortunately, are fragmentary in nature. San Tha Aung is said to have found theseverses in 30 inscriptions (see, op cit., p.17) and Gutman in about 13 inscriptions ( op cit., p. 79 ff). See also Tun Shwe Khine,in about 70 inscriptions (op cit., P.45). Okkantha, A, op cit., pp. 208 ff, and Shwe Zan, U, op cit., p. 177.


Vesali2* but now housed on the left side of the main stait-way of the Shittthong temple. The inscriptiongives a list of ruling kings who were perdeccessors of king Anandacandra. Modern historians includingJohnston and Sircar regard Dvencandra as the first historical king who ruled from about 370 A.D. In thesecond beginning from the rule of Dvencandra. They reigned for a total period of 230 years. Next, in the thirdsection is handed a list of kings who were the immediate predecessors of Anandacandra. The total reign-period of these rulers is about 200 years.

Chapter- IV contains the result of our investigation into the development of script in the VesaliAge which, according to Rakhine(Arakanese) chronicles, covers a period from A.D. 327 to A.D. 818.Dhannyawady. It also stood on the valley of the Kaladan. Vesali was also prosperous like Dhannyawady. TheVesali Age, to which belong a large number of inscriptions, is very important from the point of view of studyingthe script. Besides a large number of inscriptions, we have at our disposal a number of coins in both gold andsilver with legends. We have no less than forty inscriptions for this period. The most important are (1)Anandacandra Pillar inscription from Shitthoung Shrine, Mrauk-U, (2) Surya Image inscription from Shin-nge-det-taung, Vesali, (3) Stone Slab inscription from Mound No. 4 of Vesali, (4) Votive Stupa inscriptions fromMeechaungwas, (5) Copper Plate inscrioption from Vesali, (6) Inscription of Queen of Niticandra from Vesali,(7) Inscription of Viracandra from Vesali, (8) Paragri inscription from Vesali, (9) Stone Slab inscription fromOhtein, Taunggouk, (10) Bell inscriptions from Praing-daung and Apaung-daw, Vesali, (11) Stone Slab in-scription from Nga-lon-maw, Sandoway, (12) Inscription of Dharma Vijaya from Lan-mwon-taung, Vesali,(13) Fragmentary Caitya inscription from Vesali and (14) Bronze Lamp inscriptions friom Vesali.

From a study of the epigraphs and the coin legends we can form an idea about the stages ofdevelopment of the script during this age. The script was written mostly in Late Brahmi as currnet in the Guptaperiod of Indian history, and the language happens to be Sanskrit. The Siddhamatrka, used in eastern India inthe second half of the seventh and throughout the eighth century A.D., is also perceptible in contemporaryinscriptions of Rakhine(Arakan). During the close of this age there seems to happen a great change in the styleof writing. As we shall see in the subsequent cahpters, from now on Arakan got herself prepared for theintroduction of a roundish form of letters. Several factors were at work behind this change. First, influence ofthe local dialect and phonetic value of the letters should be taken into consideration. Words in the old Rakhine(Arakanese) language were now introduced and used in inscriptions. Secondly, influences from outside alsowere at work.

While narrating the eventful reign of king Anandacandra, the Shitthoung Prasasti gives us somedetails about his relationship with the rulers of a number of countries living far beyond the realm of his kingdom.It is evident that Anandacandra formulated diverse policies relating to the establishment of friendly relationswith these far-away kingdoms. Of these motives, two can easily be identified, namely signing a treaty of amitywith king Silamega of Ceylon by showering generosity to the Buddhist clergy in his kingdom and contractingmatrimonial alliances with the royal family of Tamrapattana, which can be identified with Tamralipta in theMidnapur district of West Bengal or Tamrapartna, i.e., Ceylon.3*

2. Shwe Zan, U, op cit, p. 47.3. We can also identify Tamrapattana with Ceylon on the basis of evidence furnished in literary as well as epigraphic sources.The Puranic literature mentions Tamraparna as one of the nine fold divisions of India. This Tamraparna, according to H.C.Raycauduri, is usually identified with Ceylon. The ancient Greeks called it Taprobane and Asoka referred to it as Tambapamniin his inscriptions. See Raychaudhuri, H.C., Political History of Ancient Indian, Seventh Edition, Calcutta, 1972, p.294 andnote 2, See also by the sameauthor, Studies in Indian Antiquities, Calcltta, 1958, p.84.


Verse 61 of Anandacandra’s Shitthoung inscription states that the king sent a number ofnecessities as gift to the congregation of monks residing in the land of king Silamega, who has beenidentified with king Agrabodhi VI Silameghavarna.4* The Ceylonese king seemed to have been rulingover his kingdom from 719 to 759 A.D. It appears that after fulfilling his kingly obligations towards thedifferent religious somunities at home, he embanked on similar activities at places far away from home.In one of these ventures he was pleased to have sent presents to the Buddhists living in Ceylon.

This connection with Ceylon, apart from cementing political and religious bond, seemedto have had a far-reaching consequence in the development of the present day Rakkhawanna Akkharain Rakhine(Arakan). Though the script of Sinhala (ancient Sri Lanka) was itself derived from Asokan Brahmi,this script underwent considerable changes and ushered in a complete break with the past. In course of time itdeveloped its script both “lingguistically and graphically,”5* following the model of Telugu and Kanarese char-acters prevailing till the middle of the 7th century A.D. The script tended to be written in a circular way from leftto right. What we see in present Rakhine(Arakanese) alphabet is but the same pattern that was adopted in thecase of Sinhalese characater at least from the first half of the 8th century A.D. Incidentally, this is the approxi-mate date of the inscription of Garandigala, the oldest extant specimen written in Sinhalese character.

It is to be noted that the present Rakhine ‘La’ is but the same letter noticed in Vattelultu charcter,6*

which is a modification of the Grantha script, literally meaning the script used for writing books. It is thereforeevident that the round or circular form of script arose out of neccessity, on account of its smooth handling intimes of writing or copying books. It may be safely conjectured that the Buddhist monks of the ancient coun-tries of Sinhala and Rakhine(Arakan), along with those of other countries in Southeast Asia had a significantrole in the evolution of this changed mode of writing, because it was these learned monks who first took to theart of writing when they began to copy their canonical texts.

An interesting incident of king Anandacandra’s life is narrated in the Shitthoung Prasasti.In verse 62 of this epigraph, if is mentioned that he married Dhenda, the daughter of king of Tamrapattana.Okkantha suggests that this Tamrapattana is Tamluk in present West Bengal.7* But he did not cite anyevidence in support of his suggestion. We think that the Shitthoung Prasasti itself furnishes the clue tothe identifacation. It is evident from V.45 of this epigraph that its composer was familiar with theMahabharata episode. Now in the Adiparva of the Mahabharata is mentioned the episode relating toDraupadi’s Svayamvara. Many kings and princes who aspired to marry Draupadi, the daughter of kingDraupada, assembled at the said king’s court.

In verse 13 of the Adiprava we are told that along with others, the kings of KalingaPattana and Tamralipta Pattana also attended the self-choice marriage ceremony of Draupadi. TheTamaralipta-Pattana of the Mahabharata is to be identified with teh Tamarapattana of the Shitthoung Prasati.That our surmise is based on firmer ground will be evident from the fact that whenever Tamralipta in theMahabharata is mentioned, if was mentioned along with its cotemporary neighboring kingdoms, namely, Utkala,Kalinga, Suhma, Karabata, Magadha etc.

So far as the material development of the people of Rakhine of this period is concerned, oneaspect that brought in a sea-change in their outlook towards progress, was the evidence of immensely growingnumber of written documents. We did not have any written records of thoughts and actions of the Arakaneseprior to the Dhannyawady phase. But the use of scripts and the invention of writing during this phase gave theearly Rakhine people the opportunity of recording their thoughts in writing for posterity.

4. Majumdar, R.C.(Ed), Classical Age, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay, 1988, p.290.5. Diriger, Darid, op cit., p.389.6. Ibid, p.331, col.43 and p.386.7. Okkantha, A.S, op cit, p.56.


In the Vesali phase we came to know that there was development not only in the forma-tion of the script, but in the contents of the written dovuments as well. The inscriptions of the age apartfrom depicting the religious condition of the age, made pointed references to economic and politicalconditions and also to the generosity and charity of some broad-hearted donors. For the first time we geta list of the ruling kings of early Rakhine from the inscribed Prasasti of king Anandacandra. A few earlier kingsand queen are also known to have issued edicts with the object of making donations to religious establish-ments. All this testifies to the vigorous and creative activity in preserving thoughs of the earlier enlightenedsection of the Rakhine(Arakan) for the benefit of posterity.

There is a long gap between the possible date of the record of the third Dhannyawadyperiod and the extant documents of the Vesali period. The earliest records of the Vesali period cannot bepushed back beyond the fifth century A.D. Unfortunately we do not have as yet any record from Arakan(Rakhine) which could help us in tracing the development between the end or beginning of the Christian era andthe fifth century A.D.

Legends on coins testify to the faact that the Brahmi scipt with which the legends onmost of are inscribed was in a process of development from the first ever issue during 5th century A.D.We have altogether 15 kings of the Vesali period, who have issued coins mostly in silver, though at leastone amoung them, namely Priticandra struck coins in gold also. The names of these kings are 1-Deva,2-Yajnacandra, 3-Candrabadhu, 4-Bhumicandra, 55-Niticandra, 6-Viracandra, 7-Priticandra, 8-Prathivicandra, 9-Draticandra, 10-Suryacandra, 11-Dharmmavijaya, 12-Dhammacandra, 13-Dharmmaraja, 14-Simgagaridacandra and 15-Culamaharaja.

Excepting the last ruler in this phase namely Culamaharaja (Culacandra of the chronicles),all the legends of the kings appear in Brahmi or Late Brahmi. It is on the coins of Culamaharaja that wenotice for the first time the advent of Arakanese script currently in use in Arakan, in place of Brahmithat was derived from the variety of North or North-eastern India.

Chronological arrangement of the inscriptions and of the 43 slabs of the Wethali Period**************************************************************According to the view of most historians including a number of Rakhine(Arakanese) scholars, the

Wethali age convers a period from 327 to 818 A.D., that is from about the beginning of the fourth to about thebeginning of the ninth century A.D. This phase is succeeded by that of the Lemrot. Yet sources of history,including palaeographic traits of unmismatic sources, indicate that a few successors of king Anandacandra(720-729 A.D.0 continued to rule during late ninth or early 10th century A.D. (See Shwe Zan, U, op cit. p.55),having their seat of power centred around, if not in Welathi.

However, most of the inscriptions of the Wethali Age fall in the period between 5th and 8th centuryA.D. A break-up of the both published and unpublished inscriptions of this age shows that thirty three inscrip-tions can be dated, on grounds of palaeography, in the 5th - 6th century A.D. There are three inscriptions wihchindicate a date around 6th - 7th A.D. Palaeography of at least one inscription shows that these can be datedaround 8th century A.D. specimen of writing for the 9th - 10th century A.D. are furnished by the AnandacandraPillar inscription of North face and another two inscriptions in Rakhine(Arakanese) characters The legends ontwo types of coins issued by two different Candra rulers have been found in Rakhine(Arakan). The coin-legends also supply us difinite information about the development of the script from fifth to tenth century A.D.For the last mentioned period we have the evidence of both the inscriptions (numbering two) and the coins(two types) from which the specimen of writing of the 10th century A.D. can be gleaned.

The Wethali Age also witnessed, for the first time in the history of Rakhine(Arakan), the introduc-tion of coined money in both gold and silver. A large number of coins were issued by 10 Candra rulers ofRakhine (Arakan), mentioned as predecessors of king Anandacandra in the Shitthoung Prasati.We also


know the coins of a number of later rulers, but exact identity or relationship of the latter with the formercannot be categorically ascertained. There are also those types of coins in silver, which, instead ofbearing the name of any ruler, depict the legend ‘Harikela’ which, as a geographical term, comprised thepresent districts of Comilla, Noakhali, Chittagong and Sylhet of Bangladesh and parts of the India stateof Tippura.

If the Harrikila coins, found in Rakhine(Arakan), are to be considered as genuine independentspecies, then it must be admitted that Rakhine(Arakan) introduced this type of currency in the name ofHarrikila because it had already become very popular among the people of both the contiguous regions ofHarikela and Arakan(Rakhine).Otherwise,we have to surmise that the above type of Harikela coins foundtheir entry in Arkan(Rakhine) from Harikela region by way of trade or pilgrimage. Inscriptions and coins of theVesali age belonging to different centuries, on grounds of palaeography, can be arranged in the following way.In section A is listed the names of inscriptions and in B is Descirbed the name of issuers of the coin types.

Section-A1.Inscriptions of the fifth to sixth century A.D.

(total number33)**************

1.Anandacandra pillar Inscriptions from Shitthoung,(East face) III a & IIIb Plates2.Surya Image Inscriptions from Shin-nge-det-taung,Vesali Plate IV3.Stone Slab Inscriptions from Mound No.4 of Vesali Plate V4.Stone Slab Inscriptions from Kyintaung phara, Minbra Plate VI5.Votive Stupa Inscription from Vesali, (three faces) Plate VIIa, VIIb, Plate VII c6.Copper Plate Inscription from Vesali, (two faces) Plate VIIIa, Plate VIIIb7Yaksa Senapati Panada Inscrioption from Mahamuni Plate IX8.Votive Stupa Inscription from Meechaungwa, Kyauktaw, (A) Plate X9.Votive Stupa Inscription from Meechaungwa, Kyauktaw, (B) Plate XI10.Votive Stupa Inscription from Tezarama Kyaung, Mrauk-U Plate XII & Olate XII11.Votive Stupa Inscription from Selagiri, Kyauktaw Plate XIV12.Stone Slab Inscription from Selagiri, Kyauktaw Plate XV13.Inscription of Queen of Niticandra from Vesali Plate XVI14.Inscription of Candra Sri from Sandway Plate XVII15.Inscription of Candra Zeti from Sandoway Plate XVIII16.Inscription of Viracandra from Vesali Plate XIX17.Paragri Inscription from Vesali Plate XX18.Inscription of Thinkyittaw Hill from Vesali Plate XXI19.Stone Plaque Inscription from Vesali Plate XXII20.Stone Slab Inscription from Tharapabbadataung, Vesali Plate XXIII21.Stone Slab Inscription from Ohtein, Taunggouk Plate XXIV22.Stone Slab Inscription from Gant-ga-rwa-ma, Kyaukphru Plate XXV23.Bell Inscription from Praing-daung, Vesali Plate XXVI24.Bell Inscription from Apaung-daw, Vesali Plate XXVII25.Stone Slab Inscription from Nga-lon-maw, Sandoway Plate XXVIII26.Stone Slab Inscription from Min-tha-chaung, Vesali Plate XXIX & Plate XXX27.Plinth Inscription of Buddha Image from Vesali Plate XXXI28.Fragmentary Pedestal Inscription of Buddha Image from Vesali Plate XXXII29.Inscription of Bronze Seated Buddha Image from Vesali Plate XXXIII


30.Visnu Image Inscription from Vesali Plate XXXIV31.Pillar Inscription from Thinkyittaw Hill, Vesali Plate XXXV32.Fragmentary Throne Inscription from Vesali Plate XXXVIa m Plate XXXVIb33.“Pyu” Pali Inscription from Wunti-taung, Vesali Plate XLVa

2.Inscriptions of the sixth to seventh century A.D.(total number 3)*************

1.Inscriptino of Dharma Vijaya from Lan-mwon-taung, Vesali Plate XXXVIIa, Plate XXXVIIb2.Fragmentry Caitya Inscription from Vesali Plate XXXVIII3.Fragmentary Stone Slab Inscription from Kyi-ra-pran, Vesali PlateXLIIa & XL

3.Inscriptions of the eighth century A.D.(total number 1)*************

1.Anandacandra Pillar Inscription from Shitthoung, (West face) Plate XXXIXa to XXXIX f Plate XLa, XLb

4.Inscriptions of the ninth to tenth century A.D.(total number 4)

1.Anandacandra Pillar Inscription from Shitthoung, (North face) Plate XLa **2.Anandacandra Pillar Inscription from Shitthoung, (Top-part) Plate XLb **

Surya Image Inscription from Shin-nge-det-taung, Vesali (Part.II, pl. IV)In the following pages we shall initiate a disvussion on the formation and development

of the scripts of this age. The discussion is divided into two sections. The first section deals with thescripts of 34 inscriptions, out of which 12 remained unpublished and unedited till date, and the secondsection is devoted to the study of scripts noticed in the legends on coins issued by the above-notedCandra rulers of Arakan(Rakhine). One of the early inscriptions of this age is the Surya Stone Image Inscrip-tion discovered from Shin-nge-dettaung in the northern part of Arakan. The stone image measures 1.0x0.45m.The inscription, which was engraved on the base of the image, contains about 30 lines of writing.8*

Unfortunately most parts of the inscription are illegible, because the portion, where thescription was engraved seems to have been used as a knife-shyarpener.9* What remained of the legibleletters, makes it quite clear that these belong to the eastern variety of the Late Brahmi. The language ofthe inscription is Sanskrit. The present place of the deposition of the inscription is ADMC in Yangon.Johnston,10* who was one of the few scholars to have brought the inscription to the notice of the schol-arly world, was able to read only a couple of words due probably to the inferior condition of the rubbingof the inscription. About three decades later, in a cross-checking session, Gutman11* claimed that shewas in a position to decipher a few more words that included perhaps a name of a Candra king, namely,prabhaca(ndra?) and the name, perhaps of another king “Bhupalah Sri Candakeyuravarma,” who, ac-cording to Gutman, might have been either an ally or enemy of the afore-mentional Candra king.

8.See Gutman, P, op cit, p.75.9.Ibid. 75.10.Johnston, E.H, Some Sanskrit Inscriptions of Arakan, BSOAS, part.XI, 1944, p.367, pls.III-V.11.Gutman, p, op cit, p.76.** Please see annexture I


More interesting from the religious point of view is the find of the words “dharma” inline 6 and “Saddharma” in line 19 of the inscription. The contents, as such, indicate a Buddhist learning, though,curiously, the obverse face of the engraved inscription depicts a Surya image riding in his chariot, drawn byseven horses.12* Traditional history of Rakhine speaks of the advent of Buddhism in the country long beforethe beginning of the Christian era, but if the palaeography of the inscription is to be believed, the image of theSurya from Shin-nge-det-taung may have been hewn out of stone during the early half of the 5th century A.D.The assumption on the basis of the above two words that the inscription relates details about Buddhism duringthe reign of king Prabha Candra, may, therefore, be a bit far-fetched, because only a small portion of anobvously long inscription was deciphered.

Alternatively, it may be assumed that after dedicating the Surya image to the adherentsof the Saura sects, the inscription gives details about the co-existence of other major religious creeds,especially Buddhism, in the kingdom of Rakhine(Arakan). Available sculptural finds tend to show that not onlyBuddhism but Vaisnavism and other Brahmamical religious cults, including the worship of Surya, were in voguein Arakan during at least the later half of the first millennium A.D. The worship of Surya images in Rakhine(Arakan)may have something to do with the some custom prevailing in Bengal about the some time.13*

The characters of the inscription which vary between 15-18mm in size, closely resembly thosefound in the East face of Shitthoung pillar inscription of king Anandacandra at Mrauk-U and the head-marksare triangular and well-defined.

3.Stone Slab Inscription from Mound No.4 of Vesali (Part.II, Pl. V)

An inscription, 14* belonging to the same age as that of the Surya Stone Image inscriptionfrom Shin-nge-det-taung, is the Stone Slab Inscription from Vesali. The inscription was discovered from MoundNo.4, near the village of Thallawady in course of an excavation conducted by the Archaeological Departmentof the Union of Myanmar in the early eighties of the last century. The inscription was engraved on a slab of sandstone and it measures 10” in length, 4” in breadth and 7” in thickness. There are seven lines of writing in theinscription. The script of the inscription resembles to that used in the Gupta period in India about 5th-6thcentury A.D. The language is Sanskrit. At present the inscription is deposited at ADMC in Yangon.

The inscription records the meritorious deeds of, aparently, the parents of the donor. Consideringthat the world is like a ditch full of mud, the donor expressed the wish that all other beings, like his parents, mayattain merit as a result of having followed five and other moral precepts. The first two lines of the insecirptionconsists of the well known “Yedharma” verse also known as the Pratityasamutpada Gatha.15* The verse servedas a primary necessity in every act of dedication in order to sanctify the proceedings of this sort of acts.Innumerable inscriptions, engraved on slabs of stone or other materials, many of which, however, were frag-mentary in nature, are found almost everywhere in Rakhine, specially in Rakhine(Arakan) countless pagodas.

12.Gutman, P, op cit, p.281.13.Ibid., pp. 281-283.14.Shwe Zan, U, op cit., p.167, pl.170 (a); Tun Shwe Khein, U, Rakhine Culture at Waythali Age, (In Burmese), p.117.15.Gutman, P., op cit., pp.76 ff.


The Text

L.1. Yedharmma hetu prabhava hetutesam tathagato.............L.2. Tesamca yonirod evamvadhi mahasraanahL.3. Yad=atratpunyam matapitu purvvanga samkritva panciyaL.4. Cayya? pranbhuti sutangga vatpa sarvvamsatvana manuttarajnaL.5. Va17* vaptaye Samsarapanggakhannam cama. mesa..............L.6. Jagatva ma .. tvihatarayeyam avijjha .. karahpa....L.7. .... dhayeye paradharmma dhosara..................

4. Stone Slab Inscription from Kyintaung Phara, Minbra (Part. II, Pl.VI).

Palaeographical features of a number of epigraphs, that have recently been found, tend to showthat they belong to, more or less, a period contemporaneous with each other. One of these is recently discov-ered from the ruined rubble of a stupa at the foot of Kyintaung hill in Minbra.18* The Inscription which is incisedon a slab of stone measuring about 8” in length and 8” in breadth is now preserved at the Sittway CulturalMuseum, in Sittway. The script of the inscription is Brahmi of about 5th century A.D. and the language iscorrupt Sanskrit. The characters of this inscription are similar to those recorded in the east face of the Pillarinscription of Anandacandra, now being preserved at Phokhaungtaun of Mrauk-U city.

There are eight lines of writing in ther epigraph and the upper portion contains the famous Yedharmmaverse engraved, apparently for sanctifying the installation of a stupa, or a cahtiya. The inscription presumably isthe oldest of its kind of the Vesali period discovered till date. In the upper portion of the verse Yedharmma iswritten for Yedharmma, pabhava for pabhava, hetu tesam for hetum tesam. In line 2 of the inscription, the wordhetu is used redundanly. At the end of the verse va in savana is presumably miswritten for ma and denta na isunusually used for cerebral na which is not found elsewhere in inscriptions where the Yedharmma stanzas arequoted. Ra is of a straigh vertical. Intended la in line 5 has left arm broadened, similar to that in inscription ofViracandra. Va is of bulged type with lower limb notched, as seen in the record of Queen of Niticandra. Sa hasa flatted top with vertical at right. Sa has a triangular loop at left with an angular tail. Ha has extra short verticalfrom the base, as recorded in inscriptions of Viracandra and Vesali Slab inscription.

. The text19* of the inscription is as follows;

17.For na18. The vicinity of Minbra town is the place from where scores of archaeological and epigraphical materials belonging both to ancient and medieval period. These materials are recovered from ruined stupas or religious structures which were built by benevolent kings or members of public or Buddhist monks for the purpose of recording some kind of meritorious deeds.19. From rubbing prepared by author.


L.1. Yedharmma20* hetu pabhava21* hetuL.2. Tesam heut22* tathagato (hyavadatte) saL.3. Nca yonirodho evamvadi maL.4. Hasravana23* da...sahaL.5. ..parasa..tada......L.6. Ki...sa...sa...nahebhuL.7. ..yammujanuva navangoL.8. ....anamo......ti

5. Votive Stupa Inscription from Vesali (faces 1-3), (Part. II, Pls. VII-IX).An unpublished inscription engraved on three faces of a miniature stone stupa.24* also

contains the usual Yedharmma verse. Discovered from Vesali, the inscription refers to a few significantBuddhist terms like “anatta” which cannot be located in other inscriptions of this type. There are threelines of writing on each of two faces of the stupa, the third face contains a single line, while the remain-ing face is left untouched by the engravers. The script of the inscription is late Brahmi, and the languageis corrupt Sanskrit. Palaeographical features indicate that the inscription was engraved in c. 5th centuryA.D. It is now preserved in the Mrauk-U Museum.

The inscription records the dedication of the stupa by the donor, apparently a piousBuddhist, in the name of this parents who may attain religious merits along with all living beings byfollowing the true law enshrined in five, eight and nine core precepts of Theravada Buddhist philosophyand in the firm belief of the negation of the notion I-ness or Anatta. “Attachment to self is the greatest obstacleto spiritual progress and to the attainment of Nirvana, hence the eradication of belief in the existence of a self(Satkayadrati) is the first condition to be fulfilled by an adept aspiring to srota-apannahood,25* the first stage ofsanctification.26* So the inscription, in all humility, expresses the pious wish of a lay devotee in following theinstructions laid down in the cannons of the Theravadins at such an early age of about 5th century A.D.

20. For yedharmma.21. For pabhava.22. For redundant hetu.23. For sramana.24. Aung, San Tha, op cit., pp.17-19.25. Ibid., p.96.26. See Dutt, N., Early Monastic Buddhism, Reprint, Calcutta, p.231; See also Aung, San Tha, op cit., pp. 106-107.


First faceL.1. Yedharmma hetu prabhava28* tathagato29*

L.2. Hetu30* tesanca yonirodha31*

L.3. Sri32*(?) evam33* dimahasramana

Second faceL.1. Bhagavata stupam karoti karitvaL.2. Tatha upasaka panciya mataL.3. Pitu purvvangga samkritva saccam satva

Third faceL.1. Na anattarangga navaptaye

6. Copper Plate Inscription from Vesali, (Part.II, Pls. X-XI)

About 60 years ago a Copper Plate Grant was discovered from a brick mound near theouter limits of old Vesali city, about half a kilometer south-west of the point where the road Mrauk-U -Kyauktaw passes through the walls. The script of the grant is Late Brahmi and the language of theinscription is Sanskrit. The engraving in this record is very neatly and carefully done, with linear head-mark. Presently the plate is in the safe custody of the Archaeology Department of the Ministry of Culture inYangon. The Copper Plate Grant was edited by, among others, D.C. Sircar,34* and commented upon by SanTha Aung.35* P.Gutman,36* Tun Shwe Khine37* and others.

The extant plate measures 32.4 cm in the top length, 30.5 cm in the bottom length, 22.2cm in breadth at the right end and 0.5 cm in thickness. A circular seal affixed to the left margin has adiameter of about 12.7 cm and its thickness comes to about 1.5 cm. The design in center on the obverseseems to represent a recumbent bulls on the obverse of the inscribed Arankanese(Rakhine) coins and onreverse the symbol is either a lotus or a trident. The Copper Plate weighs about 10 Lbs.38*

The extant obverse side of the plate contains twelve lines of writing and on the reverseeight lines of writing are in tact. The engraving of letters on both the sides is neat and superb.Palaeograhpical features of the characters of the record tend to the east face of the Shitthoung Pillar andApaung-daw Bell inscriptions. The object of the inscription was to notify the grants of land for religiouspurposes. The last line of record informs us that in the 11th regnal year the inscription was issued. Theissuer’s name may have been there in the cut off portion of the insceiption. If, according to palaeography,the inscription belongs to sixth century A.D., then the king, who issued the grant, should be a memberof the Candra dynasty of Rakhine of the second period, mentioned in the inscription of king Anandacandra.

28. After prabhava “Hetum tesam” is omitted.29. After tathagato “Hya” is omitted.30. For redundant Hetu31. For Nirodha32. For redundant Sri33. After evam “Va” is omitted.34. EI, XXXVII, pp. 61-66.35. Op cit., pl. 16; See also Arakanese Scripts by the same author, pls. 34-35.36. Op cit., pls XXVII-XXIX.37. Arakanese Culture in the Vesali Period, pl. 12.38. Aung, San Tha, op cit. It is likely that a strip of about 4 cm has been


Lines 1-8 of the record appear to have originally continued the names of eight kings, thelast of them, mentioned in line 8, being the issuer of the grant. Line I may have thus contained the nameof a king who was the founder of the royal family while the donor of the grant was then mentioned alongwith seven of his ancestors. According to San Tha Aung line 1 could have mentioned Dvencandra, thefounder of the dynasty and in that case it was Bhuticandra, in line 8, whose reign-period has beenassigned from A.D.496 to A.D.520, i.e., about the beginning of the sixth century A.D., seemed to havebeen the issuer of the charter. As the last line of the inscription indicates the date of issue being the 11thregnal year of the king, following D.C. Sircar’s ascription of the dates for the Candra kings, the inscrip-tion would have been engraved in A.D.507.

As the lines 1-2 of obverse side may have been cut off, we can read from line 3. In eachend of the lines 3-8, we have lost the names of kings, but prefix words of Maharaja remain after utpanno(i.e born of ). Each beginning of the lines 3-8 has statpadanudhyata (i.e. a devout worshipper of godMahesvara) and Mahadevyamutpanno (born of a particular chief queen). The kings probably assumedthe title of Maharajadhiraja, intended in each of the end portion of lines 3-8, indicating independent andimperial status, enjoyed by the kings of the line of the Guptas in India, being the contemporary powerswith Vesali period in Rakhine(Arakan).

As line 3 is damaged, the names of the queens from line 4 to 8 are as follows; SriKimtomdevya. Sri Kimdaladevya, Sri Sukamyadevya, Sri Kyaudevya and Sri Kalyanadevya. Of thesenames Sri Sukanyadevya and Sri Kalyanadevya suggest contact with Sanskrit tradition, but the profidxKim and Kyau of the remaining names are worth noting. Similar old Arakanese words are also noticedin a number of inscriptions, i.e. Maiga and Sakomavamma in Apaung-daw Bell inscription and Ayanain Lamp inscription from Vesali. It is indeed very unfortunate that the issuer’s name of the charter andthe names of all his ancestors, engraved on the end portion of the lines, were cut off by the Japanese.

Lines 9-10 have a description of the address of the issuing king to the subordinate offi-cials of his own family and of other dynasties in respect of the grant while lines 10-13 record that avillage called Dengutta was granted by Kimmajudevya in favour of a Vihara (Buddhist monastry) builtby herself. According to D.C. Sircar, the concerned passage seeks to imply that she must have taken theking’s permission in making the gift and apparently compensated the state for its loss of revenue. Thispassage seems to indicate that she was the queen of Bhuticandra. We know the name of the queen ofNiticandra i.e., Savitamcandrasriya from a different inscription, issued by the queen of Niticandra.

Thus we can tentatively notice the names of the donor’s mother, grand mother, greatgrand mother, great great grand mother, and great great great grand mother i.e., Kalyanadevi, Kyaudevi,Sukanyadevi, Kimdaladevi and Kimtondevi and tentative names of kings born of chief queens, i.e.,Devacandra born of Kimtondevi, Yajnacandra born of Kimdaladevi, Candrabandhu born of Sukanyadevi,Bhumicandra born of Kyaudevi and Bhuticandra born of Kalyanadevi respectively.

In line 11 we have the term “ratnattryopayogaya,” implying the three jewels of Bud-dhism - Buddha, Dharma and Samgha, and Samgha, and the income derived from the gift village is tobe utilized in respect of Catuspratyaya i.e., the four necessities of the Buddhist priest. These necessitiesare robes (Civara), food (Pindapata), bedding (Senasana) and medicine (Bhesacca). The damaged pas-sage in lines 12-13 seems to indicate that the gift village was placed in charge of the fraternity of theholy monks of all lands including the elders of Jetavana, who were already in themonastry and whomight dwell there in future (Agatanagata jetavanasisthavira caturdis aryyabhiksusangha ... sampradano).


The gift village called Dengutta is described as yielding 3000 (Denguttanama trisahasriko),the reference being presumably to the revenue income in the standard coin. We have limited informa-tion about the boundaries of Dengutta. It is because the details of the northern and eastern limits arelost. In the south there were Srilakkajola, probably a channel, a row of stone -boulders - silapamki, anda mango tree, while Vangenkhalla, a stream or canal, lay on the west.

The reverse side of the plate begins with line 15 where we can read “dharmmabhilasad”containing the request of the issuer of the charter to the effect that those address should protect the giftout of love of the law and “asmadbahumana” out of great respect for the royal donor. In lines 15-20 arenoticed five of the well-known imprecatory and benedictory stanza, including verses written by Vyasaand addressed to king Yudhisthira and also the contents about the worm in ordure and sinking into hellfor confiscators of the land and about living in heaven happily for giver of the land. These statementsare basically identical to those found in early 6th century inscriptions of Bengal. We have again“mahamantri vengadityadaso,” the name of the Prine Minister contained in line 21 who issued thecharter and was probably an executor of the grant. The last line of the Copper Plate record can be read“rayyasamvata ..... asadasa, i.e., the 11th regnal year of the king who issued the charter, datable to early6th century A.D., to be precise A.D 507, 11 years after Bhuricandra ascended the throne.

Initial vowel a in this inscription has the left limb hanging down from the bar with thecurve to the right, similar to those found in the records of Votive Stupa inscription from Vesali, Inscrip-tion of the Queen of Niticandra, Vesali and Bell inscription from Prine-daung, Vesali. It is also seen inthe inscriptions of Gupta period in India, particularly in Copper Plates of Bengal and middle Gangesvalley of the 5th - 6th century A.D. Initial vowel a has acursive limb extneded to the left from thebottom of vertical, having similarity with that of Paragri inscription from Mahamuni Shrine. Intialvowel i is of a variety of serpentine form of i which is found in Votive Stupa inscription and Ohteininscription, with lower limb cursively extended to the left.

Obverse side

L.1.L.2.L.3. Statpadanudyatah paramamahesvaro mahadevyam sri (kiku) devyam upanno maharajaL.4. Statpadanudyatah paramamahesvaro mahadevyam srikimtomdevyam upanno maharajaL.5. Statpadanudyatah paramamahesvaro mahadevyam srikimdaldevyam upanno maharajaL.6. Statpadanudyatah paramamahesvaro mahadevyam srisukamyadevyam upanno maharajaL.7. Statpadanudyatah paramamahesvaro mahadevyam srikyaudevyam upanno maharajaL.8. Statpadanudyatah paramamahesvaro mahadevyam srikalyandevyam upanno maharajaL.9. Svaparakulasamudbhavan narendras tadanucaramscabharisyato yatharham anu...L.10. Kusalayutam sahitanca vakti sarvvan viditametadastu voyatha parena...L.11. Svakarita vihare ratvattayo gayogayacatuspratyayanimittam bhagnasphuti(ta)...L.12. Kimmajudevya agatanagata jetavanavasisthaviharacatuddisa ryya bhiksusandha...

Reverse side

L.13. Sampradano denguttaramattrisahasriko gramo tisristo yasya simapurvvena


L.14. Srilakkajola silapanki remravrksasca pascimena vangenakhalla uttareL.15. Bhadtavadbhirddharmmabhilasid asmadvahumanacca paripalaniyo picayanihadattniL.16. Dharmmarthayasas karani dharmmalitasannripagauravac ca mayapyanujjnta phalanitaniL.17. Diyate ca punah punahyasyayasya yadabhumitasyatasya tada phalampuL.18. Yatnadrksa yudhithira mahimmahimatam srestha danac chreyo nupalanamsvaL.19. Yohareta vasumdharamsa visthayam krimir bhutva pitribhis sahamajjatiL.20. Svarge modati bhumidah aksepta canumanta ca tanyeva narake vaset ....L.21. Rajgasamvata ..... asadhsa

7. Yaksa Senapati Panada Inscription from Mahamuni (Part.II, Pl.XII).

One of the old inscriptions of about the later half of fifth or early sixth century A.D., isdiscovered from the Mahamuni shrine on the Sirigutta hill. The inscription is engraved on the plinth ofan image of Yaksha (chief-guard) Panada, who happened to be one of the 28 generals led by Kuvera, theguardian of the North.

Presently two lines of the more than twleve lines of the inscription are legible. Theletters bear wedge-shaped head-marks which are charateristic of the Siddhamatrka script used in north-ern India. The script of the present inscription is Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit. A number ofscholars who dwelt at length on this inscription are Forchhammar,40* San Tha Aung,41* P.Gutman,42* andTun Shwe Khine.43* In one legible line of the inscription the name of the general is written asYaksha Senapati panada of whom mention is made of in the Suttras of the Dighanikaya.The figure ofthe general as we presently have is a small one44* with high back slab, depicting tre-foil nimbus behindthe head and a flat on the top of the numbus. The figure wears large circular ear-rings and is seated withleft knee rised and foot drawn back and the right leg folded. The left hand possibly had a sword and onthe upper portion of the stone behind the figure , there might have been 12 lines of an incription, ofwhich only a few letters are now legible.

8&9. Votive Stupa Inscriptions from Meechaungwa , Kyauktaw (Part.II, Pls. XIII-XIV)

In 1976 two inscriptions containing Yedharmma Gathas inscribed on one side of theupper square bases of two miniature Stone Stupas were discovered in Meechaungwa village lying onthe bank of the Kaladan. The village, about 20 miles north of Selagiri, appears once to have beenwitnessed great influence of Mahamuni culture. The inscribed stupas were for many years hiddenunder the earth. Erosion of the Kaladan river bank brought to light the stupas which were stuck in themud about 20 feet below ground level. Presently the inscriptions are preserved at the Sittway Cluture Museum.They are similar in shape. The characters of the inscriptions point to the same period.

40. Forchhammer ,op cit.,pl.V, fig.3.41. Aung ,San Tha, op cit., pl. 8242. Gutman, P, op cit., pl. XXXIIIa.43. Khine, Tun Shwe , Arakanese Buddhist Culture in Vesali Age, (Burmese ), Rangon, p. 30, pl. 3044. The size of the stone image being 3’ 20” in hight and 1’ 10” in breadth.


The script of the inscription is in the late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit.Palaeography of the inscription tends to place them around the 5th - 6th century A.D. Earlier scholarswho have taken note of the two inscriptions are San Tha Aung,45* and P. Gutman.46* Of the two stonestupas, the first contained a one-line incomplete verse from Yedharmma gatha. The insceription wasengraved over and area measuring 30x7cm, and the length of each of the script is about 1.8cm. Theother stupa contained two lines of inscription, inscribed over an area of 24x11.5 cm. In this inscriptions,the letters are larger, averaging 2.5cm in height. Both the inscriptions have only the first pada of theYedharmma stanza. Apparently, the scribe felt that this was enough to sanctify the stupa. No initialvowel is found in the inscriptions.

Of the consonants ta in tu has two arms with its right arm prolonged as seen in VotiveStupa inscription (Selagiri). Dha is of circular type, having similarity with that noticed in the pre-Guptaand post-Gupta periods inscriptions of India. Pa has rouonded left with a straight vertical at right. Againthis form is very much akin to the northern Indian Gupta characters in India. P. Gutman47* opines that Pahas extra lines to the left from the head-mark. bha has both verticals joined separately to the head mark.Sonetines bha has separately to the head-mark on the top with an appending hooked type at left and witha straight vertical on right, a normal feature in the vesali period.

Ma has an acute angle of left and a straight vertical. Ya is a tripartite type with an ap-pending outer curl at the left. Va is triangular type and its base sloping down to the right, but the ha inthe second stupa inscription is a more circular type with a loop at the left inside. Thought the latter formis basically idnetical with those found in Vesali period, it appears to be a very rare type. In medialvowels, tu has appending tick at the right, making it a bit upwards. Ye and he are simplified slant to theleft. Pra in conjuncts has a horizontal stroke to the left at the foot. Rmma is of overlaping type.

The punctuations in the beginning of first gtha are both paralleled verticals with hookedtype to the left on the head, quite similar to the punctuations at the beginning and ending of the secondinscription. The punctuation at the conclusion of the first inscription are paralleled verticals but hookedtypes are shown against each other at the beginning. On paleographical consideration, these two VotiveMiniture Stone Stupas inscriptions may be attributed to around the 5th-6th century A.D. Most of theletters, particularl ha and ma are comparable to the those of the earlier variety of late Brahmi used ineastern India in the 6th century A.D. The text48* of the two inscriptions is as follow.

A. First StupaL.1. Yedharma 49* hetu prabhava50* hetu51*

B. Second StupaL.1. Yedharma hetumL.2. Prabhava hetu52*

45. Aung, San Tha, op cit., pls. 12-13.46. Gutman, P, op cit., p. 83, pl.XVII c.47. Ibid48. From rubbings prepared by author.49. For Yedharmma.50. For prabhava.51. For hetum.52. For hetu.53. Johnston, E.H., “ Some Sanskrit Inscriptions of Arakan,” BSOAS, XI, (1944), pp. 359,362-3,366; ASB 1941, pp.29,32 and App. H. P. XXIII, No.6.54. Gutman, P, op cit., pp. 88-89, pl. XXIb, LXIb.


10. Votive Stupa Inscription from Tezarama Kyaung, Mrauk-U (Part. II, Pl.XV).

The present inscription found in Tezarama monastery once may have initially been brought fromold Vesali site which was full of ruins of stones and brick. This inscription also contains a portion of theYedharma gatha. The engraving of some hymns from religious treatises like the Yedharmma verse seems to bethe conventional mode to solemnize a dedioatory object like the present votive stupa. The script of the inscrip-tion, like the preceeding two inscriptions is in late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit. Palaeographical featuresindicate that the inscription belongs to a period around 5th - 6th century A.D. The circumstances in which theinscription was discovered as well as its contents have been narrated by Johnston53* and Gutman.54*

The text56* of the inscription is as follow:

L.1. Yedharmma hetu prabhava57* hetu

11. Votive Stupa Inscription from Selagiri, Kyauktaw (Part.II, Pl.XVI).

Recently and Inscription containing three lines of writing was found from the foot of theKyauktaw, popularly known as Selagiri in Rakhine. The inscription, fragmentary in nature, is engraved on avotive stupa58* and is characterized by the presence of Yedharmma verses which appear to

53. Johnston, E.H., “ Some Sanskrit Inscriptions of Arakan,” BSOAS, XI, (1944), pp. 359,362-3,366; ASB 1941, pp.29,32 and App. H. P. XXIII, No.6.54. Gutman, P, op cit., pp. 88-89, pl. XXIb, LXIb.55. Dani, A.H, op cit., pl. XIb.56. From rubbing of the book “Ancient Arakan” by P.Gutman.57. For prabhava.58. The Stupas or Caityas which were made of stone or bricks, belonging to the time of about five hundred years preceedingthe advent of Christian era, were being discovered from time to time throughout Arakan state. The early Arakanese who wereeither members of ruling houses of Arakan or belonging to Buddhist fraternity erected these stupas for the purpose ofobtaining religious merit in this as well as in the next world. The particular places from where archaeological materials,including a number of inscriptional documents were found, are old Dhannyawady, Vesali, Mrauk-U, Kyauktaw and Sandowaycities.


sanctify the stupa concerned. The inscription covers an area of 25cm. x 12.5cm in dimantion and theletters measure, on an average, 1.2cm in height. The scirpt of the inscription is Brahmi and language isSanskrit. The inscription is now preserved at the Southern Golden Monastery in Kyauktaw.

The text61* of the inscription is as follows;

L.1 Yedharmma hetu prabhava 62 hetum tesa 63

L.2. Tathagato hyadattesanca yoni 64 roL.3 Dha 65 evamva 66 di mahasramana(h)

12. Stone Slab Inscription from Selagiri, Kyauktaw (Part II, PL XVII)

One of the early inscriptions of Rakhine(Arakan) which seems to have been noticed long agoby Forchhammer 67 and later about a quarter of a century ago by Gutman 68 is the stone slab inscriptionfrom Selagiri, Kyauktaw. The stone slab, mearsuring about 30 cms in length, contains two lines ofwritting and is discovered from the ruins of the Kyauktaw stupa, from where a few broken images havealso been recovered. The script of the inscription is late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit.Paeleographical features tend to place the inscription an about 5th -6th century A.D. Present whereabout ofthe inscription cannot precisely be determined.

In this inscription, some form of the letters i.e. and ya, are superfluous paralled horizontalover the letters of ti, di, and hya. Initial vowel e is of usual form, notably triangular type found inepigraphs of the middle of the 5th century A.D. Which is also seen in the stupa inscriptions and records of theCandra rulers of Vesali. Paeleographically, the inscription is more close to those of stone slab inscriptionand East face of Minbra Kyintaung, Surya image inscription and East face of the Shitthoung pillar inscription inRakhine(Arakan).

62. For Prabhava.63. For Tesam64. For Yoni65. For Dho66. For Anusvara67. For Forchhammer, E, op. cit, p 1468. Gutman, p, op. cit, p 79


L.1. Yedharmma hetu prabhava62* hetum tesa63*

L.2. Tathagato hyavadattesanca yoni64* roL.3. Dha65* evamva66* di mahasramana(h)

12. Stone Slab Inscription from Selagiri, Kyauktaw (Part. II, Pl. XVII).

One of the early inscrioptions of Arakan(Rakhine) which seems to have been noticed long ago byForchhammer67* and later about a quarter of a century ago by Gutman68* is the stone slab inscription fromSelagiri, Kyauktaw. The stone slab, measuring about 30 cms in length, contains two lines of writing and isdiscovered from the ruins of the Kyauktaw stupa, from where a few broken images have also been recovered.The script of the inscription is Late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit. Palaeographical features tend to placethe inscription in about 5th - 6th century A.D. Present whereabout of the inscription connot precisely bedetermined.

In this inscription, some form of the letters i, e, and ya, are superfluous paralled horizontals overthe letters of ti, di, and hya. Initial vowel e is of usual form, notably triangular type found in epigraphs of themiddle of the 5th century A.D., which is also seen in the stupa inscriptions and records of the Candra rulers ofVesali. Paleographically, the inscription is more close to those of Stone Slab inscription and East face of MinbraKyintaung, Surya imiage inscription and East face of the Shitthoung Pillar inscription in Rakhine.

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62. For Prabhava.63. For Tesam.64. For Yoni.65. For Dho.66. For anusvara.67. Forchhammer, E, op cit., p. 14.68. Gutman, p, op cit., p. 79.69. Ibid.70. Ibid.


12. L.1. Yedharma hetuprabhava hetu (mtesam ta) tha gato(h)ya vadattesancaL.2. Yonirodho(e)vam72* vadi mahasramana(h)

13. Inscription of Queen of Niticandra from Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XVIII).

In 1956 an inscribed stone slab measuring 48” in length, 10” in breadth and 6” in thick-ness was discovered from the ruins of old Vesali. The inscription was issued by the Queen of Niticandrathe name of this king is mentioned in the Anandacandra Pillar inscription from Shitthoung, therebyconfirming the dynastiv list of the Candra kings known from epigraphical sources and chronicles. Thepresent insceription is the earlist inscriptional source which throws new light on early Arakanese his-tory, revealing the existence of the royal family of the Candras of Arakan(Rakhine). As has been suggested byD.C. Sircar73* the inscription belongs to about the 1st half of the 6th century A.D. The script of the inscriptionis in late Brahmi of the Northern class and language is corrupt Sanskrit. A number of scholars who commentedon this inscription are San Tha Aung,74* Tun Shwe Khine,75* P. Gutman, 76* D.C. Sircar, 77* and others. Pres-ently, the inscription is preserved at the Mrauk-U museum.

13. L.1. Yedharma hetuprabhava hetu(m) teas(m) tathaga(to)L.2. Ahatesam ca yonirodho evamvadi mahasramana(h)L.3. Sriniticandrasya candra vatpachinasya80* devisavitamL.4. Candra sriyanama pareme81* pasikasyaL.5. Deyyadharmma yamma sarvva satvanam82* manu83* ka(tama)84*

14. Inscription of Queen of Niticandra from Sandway (Part. II, Pl. XIX).

An inscription inscribed in late Brahmi script and in corrupt Sanskrit was found on the20th November, 1994 at Sandway, a place of hoary antiquity, rich in archaeological materials which areof immense help for the reconstruction of the early history of Rakhine. Tradition and archaeological documentpoint to the existance of Sandway as a significant and important site which served as a link between earlyRakhine and old Pyu capital named Sriksetra before the emergence of the Pagan phase.

The inscription, on a square stone slab was for many years hidden within the premise ofAndow Stupa in Sandoway.85* The writing field is 16” in length and 10” in breadth. There are eight linesof writing in late Brahmi of about the sixth century A.D. The content of this inscription is almost thesame as found in the inscription of the Queen of Niticandra with the difference that the expression

72. For anusvara.73. Sircar, D.C, Select Inscriptions, op cit., p.495.74. Aung, San Tha, op cit., pp.29-30, pl.15, fig.1.75. Khine, Tun Shwe, op cit., pp.83-86, pl.XVIII.76. Gutman, P, op cit., pp. 83-86, pl. XVIII.77. Sircar, D.C, op cit., p. 495; See also Ep. Indica, Vol. XXXII, 2, 1957, pp.78. Gutman, P, op cit., P.84.79. From rubbing of the book “Arakanese Script” by San Tha Aung.80. For vatpachivasya81. For parame82. For sttvanam83. For namamu84. For kattama85. The inscription was a chance find and recovered by a person named U Aye Than.


Sri niticandrasya candravat pachinasya has been omitted. The script of the inscription is late Brahmi ofabout the first quarter of the sixth century A.D. and the language is corrupt Sanskrit. Presently pre-served at the New Andow Monastery, Sandway, the contents of the inscription are being discussed herefor the first time.

The findspot of the inscription in a remote place of southern most Arakan indicates that the domainof the Candra rulers extened upto the region (Sandoway) at least from the sixth century A.D. It also shows thatthe Queen of Niticandra of the royal family was devoted to Buddhism and that the Queen built numerousBuddhist stupas throughout the kingdom. Many of these religious places contained inscribed Yedmarmmagathas on various objects which are now being found everywhere in Rakhine(Arakan).

According to Anandacandra Pillar inscription which still stands on Phokhaungtaung at Mrauk-U,the reign of king Niticandra lasted for fifty-five years, from about A.D. 520 to A.D. 575. The characters of theinscription are similar to those of the inscription of the Queen of Niticnadra, but the shapes of the letters fromSandoway are, unlike the charecters of the inscription from Vesali, uneven. It is likely that the engraver con-cerned was not an accomplished artist.

14. L.1. Yedharmma87* hetu prabhavaL.2. Hetumtesam tathagato hyavoL.3. Dattesanca yonirodhoL.4. Evamvadi mahasamana88*

L.5. Devisavitam candrasriya namaL.6. Parame89* pasikasya deyya dharmmaL.7. Yam ma sarvva satvanam manu90*

L.8. Kattama

15. Brick Slab Inscription from Candra Zeti, Sandway, (Part. II. Pl. XX).

An inscription from Sandoway inscribed on a brick indicates that the ancestors of early Arakanused not only stone but also brick for writing. It may be regarded as the oldest one, so far found, of its kind inArakan. As usual, the inscription contains the Yedharmma stanza as found in many records unearthed from thevicinity of old Vesali and elsewhere. The brick was found from an old stupa named Candra Zeti91* at Sandowaywhen the old structure was being renovated. The brick slab discovered in 1993, has five lines covering an areaof 9” in length and 7” in breadth. It is written in late Brahmi script and in corrupt Sanskrit but its date is laterthan that of the Candrasri inscription from the same area (Sandoway), i.e., about the middle or later half of the6th century A.D. It is now preserved at the New Andow Monastery, Sandoway.

85. The inscription was a chance find and recovered by a person named U Aye Than.86. From rubbing prepared by author.87. For Yedharmma.88. For Samana.89. For paramo.90. For sattvanam.91. About Candra Zeti the Rakkhaing-pre-ne-phrie-saing-tha-maing (in Burmese), Akyab, 1984, Cultural Section, pp.2-3,states:”Fifth great Buddhist Councitl was held under the auspices of king Sri Candra dynasty of Arakan. The deliberations ofthe council lasted for three years. One thousand monks from Ceylon and one thousand monks from Arakan took part in thedeliberations. Meanwhile the king abdicated the old era and introduced a new one in its place. The pious and devout kingbuilt numerous stupas and Caityas all over his kingdom. The one built at Sandoway was called by the people Candra Zeti i.e.,Candra Caitya.


16. L.1. Yedharmma93* hetuprabhavaL.2. Hetumtesam tatha94* gatoL.3. Hyavo95* datte sanca yoL.4. Nirodho evam vadi mahaL.5. Sana96*

16. Inscription of Viracandra from Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XVIII).

From the vicinity of ruined Vesali, a stone slab containing four inscribed lines of writingwas recovered in 1956. It was found from a ruined Caitya which is called Anandacandra Zeti. It standson Thinkyittaw hill on the ridge south-east of the outer Vesali walls. It also stands close by the Unhisakahill on which the inscription of the Queen of Niticandra was found. The inscription measuring 25 x 10.5cm, appears to have belonged to Viracandra, whose name is mentioned in it. verse 29 of ShitthoungPillar of king Anandacandra also refers to king Viracandra, who reigned for 3 years after the rule of kingNiticandra. D.C. Sircar was of opinion that Viracandra’s rule extneded from A.D. 575 to 578. Thepalaeography of the record is similar to that found in certain eastern Indian inscriptions of fifth andsixth centuries A.D.

The script of the inscription is in late Brahmi and the language is corrupt Sanskrit. Scholarswho have commented upon this inscription, included among others San Tha Aung,97* Tun Shwe Khine,98*

P. Gutman99* and D.C.Sircar.100* At present the inscription is preserved at the Mrauk-U Museum.A certain amount of local development is noticed in the palaeography of the inscription.

For instanve, we may refer to medial a formed by a curve at the head of the consonant, which appears tobe a rare form in inscriptions from further west.101* We know from this inscription that Viracandraconstructed a hundred Buddha-Stupas out of his love for the Satya Dharma. The expenses incurred forthis construction were borne by him. A number of coins issued by this ruler have also been recorvedfrom Arakan.

16. L.1. Satyadharmma nuragena kritam svathena bhubhujaL.2. Parathaghatano dhogasamyanni hitacetisaL.3. Sriviracandra devena mahimandhala mandhanamL.4. Dharmmadhigata rajyena buddhastupasatam ce (ti)

17. Paragri Inscription from Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XIX)

To the north of the palace at old Vesali which has yielded a number of epigraphic docu-ments, a large Buddha image, made of stone, is founded at Paragri on the hill. It is still wordhipped bylocal inhabitants. In 4956, a stone slab inscription was recovered from the ruined stupa behind theimage on the same hill. Tradition points to the existance of the Buddha image by king Dwen Candra, the

93. For Yedharmma94. For tatha95. For hyava96. For samana97. Aung, San Tha, op cit., pp. 30-31.98. Khine, Tun Shwe, loc cit., pl. 8.99. Gutman, P, op cit., pp. 86-87.100. Sircar, D.C, Sel. Ins, Vol. I, p. 496.101. 99. Gutman, P, op cit. p. 86.


founder of the Vesali dynasty, whose name is known to us from the list of Candra rulers in verse 19 ofAnanda Candra Pillar inscription at Mrauk-U.

The script of the inscription is in late Brahmi and the language is Pali. The scholars whohave taken note of this inscription included, among others, San Tha Aung,103* Tun Shwe Khine,104*

Kothalla105* and P. Gutman106* and it is also mentioned in Rakhaing Pre-ne-phrit-saing-tha-maing.107*

Presently it is preserved at the Mrauk-U Museum.The present inscription is composed of four lines with rounded design of writing. The

content is, as usual, the yedharmma formula, but it is expressed in Pali. For we get yedhamma foryedharmma, pabhava for prabhava, aha for avodat. P.Gutman was of the opinion that the charactersbelong to early 6th century A.D.108* The letters of the inscription are uniform and bears triangular head-marks in some cases with free flowing ornate medial vowels. This is the first instance where formulafollows the Vinaya Pitaka version.

The consonant dha in nirodho is a circular type, having similarity with tha of about thepre-Gupta and Gupta times in India. An almost similar type of dha is also noticed in two inscriptionsfrom Meechaungwa.

17. L.1. Yedhamma hetu pabhavaL.2. Hetutesam tathagat(o) ahaL.3. Tesanca yo nirodha110*

L.4. Evamvadi mahasama(na)

18. Stone Slab Inscription from Thinkyittaw Hill, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XX).

From the Thinkyittaw hill located to the southeast of outer walls of old Vesali city, aninscription was discovered in May 1965. It was found from the wreckage of the stupa hallowed once bythe Buddhists. The stone slab is about 8” in length and 5” in width in the writing field. The letters areuniform in design. The inscription contained four lines of writing and the content is based on theyedharmma gatha. The script of this inscription is in late Brahmi, and the language is Sanskrit. It is nowpreserved at the Mrauk-U Museum. The scholars who have commented upon this inscription are SanTha Aung,111* Tun Shwe Khine,112* Kothalla,113* and P.Gutman.114*

Yedharmma in this inscription is used for yedharmma and na for na. Two charactersbehind hyavadat and nirodho are probably redundant, and the signs for om and punctuation change theirplace and in this inscription, apart from the om sign, the punctuation mark is inscribed at the beginning.

103. Aung, San Tha, Scripts of Arakan, 6th century and Before, (Burmese), Rangon, 1974, pp. 115-6, pl. 22.104. Khine, Tun Shwe, loc cit., pl. 9.105. Ko Thalla, U, loc cit., p and pl. 62.106. Gutman, P, op cit., pp. 87-88.107. See Rakhaing Pre-ne-phirt-saing-tha-maing, (Burmese), (Cultural Section), loc cit., p. 27.108. Gutman, P, op cit., p. 88.110. For nirodho.111. Aung, San Tha, op cit., p. 113, pl. 19.112. Khine, Tun Shwe, loc cit., pl. 7.113. Ko Thalla, U, loc cit., p and pl. 75.114. Gutman, P, op cit., pp. 89-90.


18. L.1. Yedharmma116* hetuprabhava hetu117*

L.2. Tesam tathagato hyavadatL.3. Tesanca yonirodho evamL.4. Vadi mahasramanah

19. Stone Plaque Inscription from Vesali, (Part. II, Pl. XXI)

A slightly broken inscription was found from the ruins of Vesali in 1920-21. It wasmentioned in the report of ABS in 1985.118* Whereabouts of the inscription are not now known to us.The inscription, written in late Brahmi character and in corrupt Sanskrit, contained well-knownYedharmma verse as found frequently in the inscriptions of Rakhine(Arakan). The script closely resembles thatof Thinkyittaw inscription. The style of writing is fairly satisfactory; the letters are uniform in pattern and dis-cernible in slightly acute limbs. Triangular headmarks are also noticed in consonants in some cases. BesidesSan tha Aung, Kothalla119* and P.Gutman120* referred to this inscription in their writing.

19. L.1.Yedharmma hetuprabhava hetumtesam tathagatoL.2. (Hyava) datte sanca yonirodo evamvadi mahasra (manah)

20. Stone Slab Inscription from Tharapabbadataung, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXII).

The inscription which was under his possession in 1999. It was accidentally discovered from theTharapabbatataung located to the eastern side of Old Vesali outer walls. It was recovered from a ruined stupaon the top of the hill. The inscription is engraved on a sandstone slab with five lines of writing. The space forwriting is 11” in lenght and 6” in breadth. The script is in late Brahmi and the language is corrupt Sanskrit.Palaeographical features indicate that it can be ascribed to a period around early 6th century A.D. The inscrip-tion is being published here for the first time.

Forms of the letters look orbicular to some extent from some features noticed in thisinscription of can be said to be a more articulate gatha than those found in Arakan. In this gatha theword Yedharmma is written as Yedharmma as in the inscriptions from Thinkyittaw ans Ngalonmaw.The letter used for te is visibly ye in the passage intended for tesanca, which is not used in any otherrecord of the Vesali period. It is obviously a scribal mistake. Initial vowel e has protrusive line upwardsfrom the right vertrical with a triangle at left. Its form seems to have been derived from the middleGanges valley in India. This form is rarely noticed in Rakhine(Arakan).

20. L.1. Yedharmma123* hetuprabhavaL.2. Hetutesa tathagato hyaL.3. Vadat yesanca124* yoL.4. Nirodho evamvadi maha

L.5. Sramannah

116. For yedharmma.117. For hetum.118. Aung, San Tha, Arakanese Scripts, op cit., p. 115.119. Kothalla, U, Arakanese Literature Track (Burmese), Yangon, 1998, p and pl. 77.120. Gutman, P, op cit., p. 91.123. For Yedharmma.124. For tesanca.


21. Stone Slab Inscription from Ohtein, Taunggouk (Part. II, Pl. XXIII).

Yedharmma verses in inscriptions are found not only in the vicinity of old Vesali whichis full of ancient ruins, but also in the Southernmost areas of Sandoway and Taunggouk. An inscriptionengraved on a stone slab was discovered from a ruined stupa named Ohtein Zeti. It has four lines ofwriting on a space of about 12” in length and 10” in breadth. It appears to have contained three or fourmore lines below. The letters engraved are small and smooth as found in the inscriptions from Kyauktawand Lan-mwon-taung and are similar in forms to those recorded in the East Face of Anandacandra Pillar inscription is in late Brahmi, and the language is in corrupt Sanskrit. A number of scholars havecommented upon this inscription e.g.,San Tha Aung,125* Tun Shwe Khine,126* U.Kothalla127* andP.Gutman.128*

Being of a uniform type of writing, the inscription prominently extends an unusualpassage at the end of third line of the Gatha which can apparently be read as “Gottamah”. The nameof Gottamah is not mentioned in any known inscription from Rakhine(Arakan). The gatha in the first three lineshas Pali word pali word pabhava for prabhava, and sriva in fourth line is reminiscent of savitamcandrasriyNiticandra inscription from Sandoway , and may be compared with certain use of this type ofword in India.

In this inscription hetutesanca is likely for usual hetutesam. The expression hyavocareseems to have been used for hyavadattesanca and the plural upasakadi in fourth line is notable.

21. L.1. Yedharmma 130*

L.2. Tathagato hyavocare yo nirodha131* evamL.3. Vadimahasramana gottamahL.4. Upasakadi sriyya ctupam krito

22. Stone Slab Inscription from Gant-ga-rwa-ma, Kyaukphru (Part. II, Pl. XXIV).

An inscription from Gant-ga-rwa-ma village in the district of Kyaukphru city, is found engraved ona stone slab which is a bit damaged at the right upper corner. The script of the inscription is Late Brahmi and thelanguage is corrupt Sanskrit. The inscription has been commented upon by San Tha Aung,132* Tun ShweKhine,133* P. Gutman,134* and is also refered to in Pre-ne-phrit-saing-tha-maing.135*

The inscription seems to have contained eight lines of writing, but only five lines remainlegible due to the ravagaes of nature. The letters in this scription are large, uneven and carelessly engraved. Thefirst three lines of the gatha are usually sanctified in Yedharmma verse. The characters are very umch akin tothose of Selagiri inscription and the script indicates a date of about the 6th century A.D. Presently, the inscrip-tion is preserved at archaeological office, Mandalay.

125. Aung, San Tha, op cit., p. 113.126. Khine, Tun Shwe, Arakanese Buddhist Culture in Vesali Age, (Burmese), Rangoon, p. 35.127. Kothalla, U, op cit., p and pl. 87.128. Gutman, P, op cit., p. 93.130. For Yedharmma131. For Nirodho.132. Aung, San Tha, op cit., pl. 18.133. Khine, Tun Shwe, op cit., p. 35.134. Gutman, P, op cit., p. 92.135. See Rakhine Pre-ne-phrit-saing-tha-maing. (Burmese), Cultural Section, Loc cit., pl. 25.


22. L.1. -dharmma heturabhava hetumL.2. (Te) samtathagato---yoniro(o)L.3. Evam(va)137* di mahasramanaL.4. --yapabhuta--nama---L.5. ----sri--prati--tu-

23. Bell Inscription from Pring-daung, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXV).

In 1918 a small bronze bell, which seems to be a monastery bell, was discovered by the late USan Shwe Bu at Praigdaung village, about six miles north of old Vesali. The bell is 9.8cm in height and has aninner diameter of 9.5cm and outer diameter of 10.5cm. It weighs about one pound. It has been damaged in twoplaces, as a result, the name of the donor cannot be retrieved. Besides some litters have also been damaged.The bell contains three bands, below the neck, on shoulder and on lip, but the band below the neck is deco-rated with flower pedals.

The inscription consists of two lines of writing between the shoulder and lip. The scriptof the inscription is late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit. The inscription has been commentedupon, among others, by San Tha Aung,138* P.Gutman,139* and Tun Shwe Khine, 140* The Buddha Museumat Sitway(Akyab) is where the inscription is now preserved.

The letters in two lines, engraved around the bell, are of unified even shape. Thededocation, perhaps by a monk, is to benefit his spiritual preceptors, mother and father and all beings,and the objective of this dedication is the attainment of supreme knowledge (acquiring of Nirvana). Inthis inscription, parts of passages like matapitapuvangga man kritva in first pada carcca satvanancaanatta navampaye in second pada are totally similar to those of the votive stupa inscription from Vesali.

23. L.1. Deyya dharmmo yam sakyabhikso....yacatra punyam tadbhavatu matapitupurvvanga mamkrtvaL.2. Caryyopadhya yanam scarcca satvananca anattaranga navamaye iti

24. Bell Inscription From Apaung-daw (Part. II, Pl. XXVI).

The bell inscription under discussion was found near Apaung-daw zeti about 30 yearsago. The zeti is located close to Tharlarwaddy village, near the south-west corner of the outer wall ofVesali. The bell is about 11.5cm in height and the inner and outer diameter of the mouth are 9.9cm and11.5cm respectively. There are two bands on the lip and below the neck of bell with two lines of writinginscribed around the centre. The shape of the bell are late Brahmi scirpt and the language is a mixture ofancient Arakanese and Sanskrit. The inscription is now preserved by the relatives of the late U SanShwe Bu, who served for sometime as an Hon. Archaelogist in Yangon.

The inscription has been commented upon by, among others, San Tha Aung,142* TunShwe Khine,143* P.Gutman144* and Kothalla.145*

137. For evamva138. Aung, San Tha, loc cit., pl. 23-24; See also the author’s Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan, pl. 18.139. Gutman, P, op cit., p. 96.140. Khine, Tun Shwe, loc cit., pl. 13.142. Aung, San Tha, op cit., pl. 25.143. Khine, Tun Shwe, op cit144.Gautman,P,op cit.,pl.XXII.145.Ko Thalla,Ashin, loc cit,p and pl .54.s


L.1. Om nama matapitroh (hiritathetra) kimmagamadhanayahL.2. Nirayanta yadda tte yam samarirasvarah108 The Origin and Development of Rakhine script

25. Stone Slab Inscription from Nga-Lon maw (Vol.II,PL.XXVII).

In the vicinities of the cities of Sandoway and Taunggauk,in the southernmost site ofRakhine(Arakan) ,a number of epigraphs belonging to ancient period, were often found from the ruins ofstupas or of religious structures. In 1872, during English rule in Rakhine, an inscription bearing seven linesof writing was accidentally discovered by G. E.Fryer from a cavity in a hill which is close to Nya-Lon-mawvillage in the district of Sandoway. Before the Second World War, the inscription was sent to Oxford,but it isclaimed that at the present it is in the possession of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.147*

The recored is inscribed on a stone slab measuring 7” in length,5” in width and 1”inthickness. The first three lines of the inscription contain the Yedharmma formula. The script is lateBrahmi and the language is mixed Pali and Sanskrit. The letters are uniform in size, but omit somewords in some cases, and even a superscribed sign for vam under third line is noticeable. Such a super-scribed letter is never found in any known inscription of Vesali Scholars who commented upon thisepigraph are, among others, San Tha Aung,148* Tun Shwe Khine,149* Kothalla,150* and P.Gutman,151*

Johnston,152* and A.H.Dani.153*

25. L.1. Yedharmma155* hetuprabhava156* hetuL.2. Tesamtatha157* gata158* hyavoda159* tesancayoL.3. Nirotha160* evam161* dimahasra162* naL.4. Upasaka163* maiga upasaL.5. Ka164* sakoma vanmma makaraL.6. yi=matapita kuL.7, Sala

The paleography of the present inscription is remarkably similar to that of the CopperPlate inscription. In this inscription the personal name is tentatively read as Kimmayana which is connectedwith the name of one of the Candra queens given in the Copper Plate inscription dated about A.D. 507.

147. Aung, San Tha, op cit., p. 114.148. Aung, San Tha, op cit., p. 20.149. Khine, Tun Shwe, op cit., pp. 35-37.150. Ko Thalla, Ashin, loc cit, p and pl. 65.151. Gautman, P, op cit., pl. XXVIb.152. Johnston, loc cit, pl. IV, fig. 2;153. Dani, A. H, loc cit, XXIIa, fig. 2.155. For yedharmma156. For prabhava157. For tatha158. For gato159. For hyavadat160. For nirodho161. For evamvadi162. For mahasramana163. For upasaka164. For upasaka


The object of the record is to notify the gift of the bell to the Zeti, probably of Apaung-daw. A pious wish expressed in the insription is that the dedication of the bell was meant for the welfareof the father and mother of the donor. The suffix Ayanna in the name of Kimmayana can be related toone Ayana in the inscription of bronze lamp at Vesali. We know again the Copper Plate Grant issued bya Vesali king saying that a village by the name of Dengutta was granted by Kimmajudevi in favour of aVihara built by herself. Therefore, the prefix manes of the bell-donor and the village -donor, if not pointto one and the same woman, at least point to the popularity of the name. We have omnama at thebeginning of the verse which is rarely found only in this inscription during the Vesali period. The‘garuda’ symbol noted at the end of the verse, is also found in certain inscriptions of the 8th centuryA.D. and particularly in the prasasti of king Anandacandra of Rakhine(Arakan).

L.1. Om nama matapitroh (hiritathetra) kimmayanadhanayahL.2. Nirayanta yaddatte yam samarirasvarah

25. Nga-lon-maw Stone Slab Inscription, Sandway (Part. II, pl. XXXI).

In the vicinities of the cities of Sandway and Taunggouk, in the southernmost site ofRakhine(Arakan), a number of epigraphs belonging to ancient period, were often found from the ruins ofstupas or of religious.

The text of the inscription is as follows:L.1. Yedharmma hetuprabhava hetuL.2. Tesamtatha gata hyavoda tesancayoL.3. Nirotha evam di mahasra naL.4. Upasaka maiga upasaL.5. Ka sakoma vanmma makaraL.6. yi = matapita kuL.7. Sala

27. Pataw Zeti Stone Slab Inscription, Pataw

The inscription was found near Pataw caitya (Stupa), about 2 miles from Pataw villagein Minbra township. Now it is preserved in Pataw monastery in Pataw village. The script of the inscrip-tion is Late Brahmi. The language is Sanskrit. On palaeographical ground, the inscription can be as-cribed to the later half of the sixth century A.D. The yedharmma verse in the very first two lines of thisinscription testifies to the fact that the donor of this inscription was a pious Buddhist, and as an Upasaka,he seemed to have offered some amount of donation for the construction of the stupa.the second half ofsixth century A.D. The text of the inscription is as follows:

L.1. Yedharmma hetu prabhava hetum tesam tathagatoL.2. Hyavodat tesanca yo nirodha evamvadi samanaL.3. Bhi (kratuyericcha ritva . . va . . . tasra) stupa (virakrti)L.4. Upasaga hica upasakedi dvaraka (vi) ya (.dpa)L.5. .........(gapaha.) sata (bha) tayamahara (matraputra)L.6. ..........satyama mva ve. hipatha..L.7. ........(cira) saca (prajnara) stupa iti


28. Man-tha-chaung Stone Slab Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXVII).

About 25 years ago an inscription on a stone slab was discovered from Man-tha-chaung,which is located abut 6 km. to the north of Sirigutta hill. The inscription has nine lines of writing, mostof which seem to be illegible due to ravages of nature. The first four lines, which are partly legible,indicate, however, that these are reproductions of the famous Yedharmma gatha. The remaining fovelines, except for one or two letters, are completely damaged. The script of the inscription is Late Brahmiand the language is Sanskrit. Palaeographical features of the inscription tend to assign a date aroundsixth century A.D. The present place of deposition of the inscription is the Mrauk-U Museum. Asregards the mode of writing, it is noted that the initial form fro e is triangular with the right vertical,having similarity with the letter found in other records of the Vesali period.

L.1. Yedharmma (hetupra) bhavaL.2. Hetu tesa (m) tathagato hyavodaL.3. Ttesanca yo mirodhoL.4. Evamvadi mahasramana (h)

29. Vesali Buddha Image Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXVIII).

This inscription, was found from.the ruins of old Vesali. It is now preserved in theMrauk-U museum.The inscription is written on a slab of sandstone,which appears to be a plinth of animage of Buddha. The space, where the inscription is written,measures 23cm 35cm. The script of therecord is Late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrit. The object of the inscription is apparently to recordthe meritorious gift of the Buddha image. Though the inscription has nonly one line of writing, theintended meaning and object is clear from the words deyadhamma yam paramo pasika. Similar expression isapparently traced in the inscription of the Queen of Niticandra.

L.1. Deyadhamma yam praramo pasika(sya)

30. Vesali Fragmentary Buddha Image Inscription, Vesali

A fragmentary inscription on a stone pedestal of a seated Buddha image has been discov-ered from old Vesali. The record possesses parts of two lines of writing, and part of the sanctifying Yedharmmaverse. The word Karayati in second line seems to point to the donation of the image, but unfortunately, thename of the donor or other details are illegible. The script of the inscription is presently preserved in the Mrauk-U Museum. On palaeographical consideration, the record can be dated around the 6th century A.D.

31. Vesali Bronze Buddha Image Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXX).

The Vesali Bronze Buddha Image inscription was engraved on the plinth of a seated Buddhaimage188* found at Vesali and presently deposited at the Mrauk-U Museum. Unfortunatesl, the

188. A popular custom which assumed great importance during and after the beginning of the Cristian era devotees religious sects, including the Buddhists in Arakan, is the act of pious donations of stupas or images of Buddha; made of stone or bronze or other precious metals. These acts would ensure the devotees acquire religious merit in this world and the next. In Arakan these gifts are immortalized, more often than not, by the insertion of at least a portion of Yedharmma verse on the pedestal or at the appropriate places of the donated objects.


contents of the inscription are mostly illegible; though only one line of intened Yedharmma verse is fairly fraceable,of which ‘ya’ at the beginning and ‘pa’ at the end are clear. The characters, enlarged in size, are untidy in somecases, though the legible letters indicated that these belong, palaeographically, to a period of about 6th centuryA.D.

32. Vesali Visnu Image Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXXI).

The Vesali Visnu Image inscription, found at old Vesali, is inscribed at the base of theimage.189* Indications are that there were apparently two lines of writing. But excepting for a few lettersand medial vowel signs, contents of most part of this inscription are illegible. Consonants na, ma and raare apparently discernible and medial vowel i and e are also legible in intended mi and re, and a singleletter below could indicate a missing second line. Palaeographical features of the consonants show thatthe inscription belongs to a period of about 6th century A.D.

33. Thankyittaw Hill Pillar Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXXII).

A ruined stupa on the ridge to the east of the Vesali city wall is traditionally believed bythe inhabitants of Arakan(Rakhine) to have been erected by King Surya Cnadra during the Vesali period. Theruler named Surya Candra is known to us from a coin bearing the same name and the were also found inArakan(Rakhine). The present inscription is engraved on a broken pillar at the site of the stupa. The inscriptionwritten in Pali with Late Brahmi script was discovered about sixty years ago. The characters in this record arebasically similar to those found in the Bhanta inscription, and show development from the 6th century inscrip-tions, but indications are there that it may not be of much later date from this period. The inscription is presentlypreserved at the Mrauk-U Museum.

34. Vesali Fragmentary Throne Inscription, Vesali, (two parts)

In 1984, an inscription was discovered from Thankyittaw hill located to the southeast ofouter walls of old Vesali city. The inscription was engraved around the throne, which was made ofstone. Perhaps there were more than one line of writing, but from the rubbing of the inscription, wecould trace only a single line of the inscription. The script of the inscription is an unpublished one andpresently it is preserved in the Sittwe Cultural Museum. Palaeographically, the inscription may be datedto about the last quarter of the 6th century A.D.

The throne made of fine-grained sandstone was perhaps meant for installing and imageof Buddha. It may be mentioned that art objects discovered from time in old Dhanyawady and Vesalicities, are made mostly of this kind of material. The object of the inscription was to inform the devotedworshippers about the rich possession of the gods, who possessed not only the four lamps made of goldand possibly also silver (Devana catvari suvarnnadicapare rajata), but also a flower garden (kusamavatika) in which lies the Deva-vriksa or the tree dedicated to the god.

35. Bhanta Inscription of Dharmmavijaya, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXXIV)

In Rakhine(Arakan) the old Vesali region has been yielding many inscriptional materials. They areengraved on either stones or bricks. Recently, an inscription on a stone slab was discovered at the place ofBhanta in the vicinity of old Vesali. Now it is preserved in the Mrauk-U Museum. It contains 22 lines ofwriting. The upper portion of the inscription is, however, badly damaged. The inscription remained

189. Presently, the place of deposition of the inscription as well as the image is the Mrauk-U Museum.



unnoticed. The stone, measuring 1’10” in length and 1’ in breadth in writing field is engraved with small neatletters measuring between 15-18mm, excluding some ornate medial vowels. the language of the inscription isSanskrit, and the script is Later Brahmi of the Northern class. As the inscription does not bear any date wehave to take into account paleographical features of the inscription itself. The characters with thick nail-headsare very much similar to those found in the East face of the Shitthoung pillar.195*

Fortunately, in line 16 we have the name of King Sri Dharmmavijaya during whose reign theinscription was engraved. He assumed the title of Maharajadhiraja, indicating indipendent and imperial status. In the Vesali period there were a number of rulers who use this epithet like their counterparts in India in theGupta period . 207*The name of kings who are known to have ruled during the 3rd period , a category devidedon the basis of the names of Kings found mentioned in the Shitthaung Prasasti of King Anandacandra at Mrauk-U. 208* This is the first known inscription ofthe reign of Dharmmavijaya . D . C . Sircar tentatively placed thereign of The bking between A . D . 665 and 701but Dr .Johnston dated his reign period between A . D .645and 681 .209* We have also a coin bearing the name of Dharmmavijaya from Arakan(Rakhine).210*

Besides Maharajadhiraja ,we have Paramabhattaraka as an epithet used by kingDharmmavijaya in the manner used by the king of India from at least the Gupta Period . In line 17 wemay read Rajyodayadvitiyasamvatsara indicating the 2nd regnal year of the king . According to theShitthaung Pillar inscription of Anandacandra he reigned for 36 years .The king seemed to have granteda piece of land to the monks residing in the monastery called Maharamavihara , mentionned in line 18 , for theenjoyment of four artifacts , namely robe, food , bedding and medicine (MaharamavihararyyaBhiksusainghaparibhogaya) .In L.19we can read (Hareinge saku ) la setu caityassimaparyandatta (paryantan datta) . The land donited probablyextended up to the embankment on the river called Haremga . It may be pointed out that in the visinity of theside,yielding the inscription under consideration , there is a river called Tinyyo which was possibly known asHaremga (or randanadi) in early days .

In line 19 again we have caitya catussimaparyyantan which may explainthe intended tentativeboundary of the caitya . At the begining of the last verse ,we may read Matapitu purvamga samkritvasakalasya ca (sattvarase), a well-known expression used in Indian inscriptions referring togift in favour ofBuddhist establishments . The phrase reminisces to thet found in the votive stupa inscription from Vesali.Thelast two lines are imprecatory verses and basically identical with those found in Indian inscriptions from aboutthe 5th century A . D.212* The text 213* of the inscription is as follows:

Test from line No. 14L .14. ..........matapitro I (Maharaja)L. 15 Padanudhyatataparah II Tena u (danva ?) yavijamulodita parma

195. Shitthaung Prasati, a monolith inscribed with Sanskrit stanzas and housed in a grille structure on the left side of the main stairway of the Shittaung temple, may be considered as the earliest history book in Arakan. Three of its four faces are inscribed. Originally the pillar was believed to have been erected in Vesali (Wethali) from where it was removed by king Mong Ba Kri (also called Mong Bong), the 13th king of the Mrauk-U age, in 1536. This square pillar rises 3.3m (9ft 7in) from ground level and its each side is 0.7m (2ft 4in) broad. The material used is the fine-grained sandstone common at Dhanyawady and in the early sculpture of Vesali ;Shwe Zan ,U , op cit . , pp . 47 - 56 .206. San tha Aung , op cit , p . 159.207. It is ineresting to note that a number of Gupta rulers , whose inscriptions have been discovered in North Bengal , used at lest 3 epithets before their names e.g .; Paramadaivata , Paramabhattaraka , Maharajadhiraja. See: Majumdar , R.C. (Ed),The Classical Age , Bopmbay , 1988 , pp . 348-349.


L.16. ...paramabhattaraka maharajadhiraja Sri DharmmavijayaL.17. Devena prajya rajyodayadvitiya samvatsaraca (vaha..)L.18. Samva (stha ca) maharamaviharayya bhiksu samgha paribhogayaL.19. Haramgesa (ku) la (se tu) ncatu ssimaparyyan tandatta MatapiL.20. Tupurvvaga samkritva sakulasyaca (sattvaraseh?) rajchanada (puye?)L.21. Sadattam paradattam va yo hareta[vasundharam]sa visthayam krmi

L.22. Rbhutvapitrbhissaha(pacyatati)

36. Vesali Fragmentary Caitya Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XXXV)

A fragmentary stone slab inscription, upper portion of which had been broken, was discoveredform a brick mound, which appeared to be a ruined stupa at old Vesali. The place from where the inscriptionwas discovered is situated to the south-west corner of Thallawady village. The inscription measures 9 inches inlength and 7 inches in breadth. the broken part probably contained the introductory part of the inscriptionwhich normally would have mentioned the name of the donor and his genealogy. The remaining portion ofwriting has ten lines. The script is Late Brahmi and the language is Sanskrti.

L.1. padani punyam mayapta matuL.2. lam ya ihadya caityam nispadya tenaL.3. Bhavasaaratohi param trasnaL.4. Taranga brasa cancala raudra nadaL.5. Tsatvah prayantu sukhinas trimaL.6. La prahinah yati prajvalitamL.7. Ghoram bhedako reuravam paL.8. Ram divya kalpa sahasraniL.9. Svarge tisthati palakaiL.10. Ti

37. Shitthaung Pillar Inscription of Anandacandra, Mrauk-U (West-face) (Part. II, Pl. XXXVI)

An astounding discovery which perhaps changed the process of re-writing and re-construction ofthe early history of Rakhine and established it on a more realistic scientific footing is the shitthaung Prasasti ofking Anandacandra, engraved on the west face of the Shitthaung Pillar (also known as Mrohaung Pillar), forwhich Forchhammer will forever be greatfully remembered. Later, many scholars, including some eminentepigraphists, dwelt on the contents of this particular inscription, engraved on the West-face of the ShitthaungPillar.

An important aspect noted by both Johnston and Sircar in regard to the Shitthaung Prasasti of kingAnandacandra is about its date which is now generally accepted by the scholarly world all over Arakan(Rakhine)and beyond its frontiers. The palaeographical features of this of this Prasasti are a proof that it was engravedduring the early years; first half of the 8th century A.D. The testimony of this date set at rest other knottyporblems in regard to the reign-periods of the predecessors of Anandacandra. Baring the earlier rulers, each ofwhom ruled abnormally for long years, and hence were termed as mythical, the Candra in brackets while thelines of the inscription are noted in square brackets. The text234* of the inscription is given below:

234. From photograph of the book, Ancient Arakan, by P.Gutman, pls. X-XI.


V-4. [4] tato ri (sya?)d ..(sa?) . ja(ha) jagata d(e)va.(Mahatma...?) bhuypalo varsam vimsadhikam satam

V-5. (Pu)rva(rtho)pi mahipalo[5] lokanugrahatatparahRajyam tena krtam tas (m) ad varsavimsottaram satam

V-6. Satyayana nama tato raja lok .. janita. sa - [6] katCakarariutapo rajyam varsam cimsadhikam satam

V-7. Tasmad Bahubali bhubhrt (pu) nar dhairyyavisaradahKrtam ca krti - [7] na tena rajyam vimsottaram satam

V-8. Tato Raghupatir bhupah surupo nitivikra(hah)(Cakara) ... ta(m) rajyam car(sa) [8] vimsottaram satam

V-9. Ta(sya) Visratadevya(vamka) .. mahabalahVimsabda(ny) ..........rajyam krtam

V-10. [9] Tatas Candrodayo nama bhupalahSaptavimsati varsani rajyam yenatmasatkrtam

V-11. Annaveta-[10] mahipala danam datva tv anekadhaBhuvi lokasukham jnatva (pamcabdana) divam gatah

V-12. Tatpascan nrpavara ....[11 caryasu visaradahCakara matimam rajyam abdani saptasaptatih

V-13. Rimbhyappo bhupatis tasmac caran dana ....[12] tihTryadhikam vimsad abdani rajyam punyena nitavan

V-14. Kuverami tato devi danasila ....[13] Saptabdani tato rajyam cakararivivarjitam

V-15. (Omavirya) patis tasyas tato bhupo tiniti manRa-[14] jyam vimsati varsani cakara mahimakrti

V-16. Jugnahvayas tato bhubhrt sarvasattvahitarthakrtSapta samva [15] tsarany evam tada rajye pratisthitah

V-17. Lankinama tato raja krtva varsadvayam krtiRajyam papada [16] virah kramena tridivangitah

V-18. Kathyate varsasamkhyatra devanam kulakartrnamEtesam bhubrtam n(u)n(am) [17] sahasram saddasadhikam

V-19. Tatpascad apare kale punyataksmiyuto baliDvan candranamako dhimam [18] to bhuvi bhubhrtam patih

V-20. Nrpaikottarasatam jitva punyato bahus(a) linaPrakarakhatasamyuktam [19] nagara(bhusa) nam krtam

V-21 Tena nispadya nagaram svarggasaundaryahasinamPamcapamcasad abda-[20] ni krtam rajyam yasasvina

V-22. Rajacandras tatah srimam vimsavarsami rajyakrtEvam svargasukham-[21] jnatva divam yato mahipatih

V-23. Tasman navabdiko raja Balacandro mahardhikahKrtva kirttimayim [22] malam svargam yato tinitiman

V-24. Devendreva sakro bhud Devacandra mahipatihTato dvavimsavarsani [23] rajyam krtva tusvargahak

V-25. Saptavarsikas tasmad yajnacandrah prakirttitahCandrabandhus tato loke satsa - [24] mvatsararajyabhak

V-26. Prthivyam uditas candor Bhumicandras tato parahSapta samvatsarany eva rajyam punyena-[25]ta nitavan


V-27. Caturvimsati varsani rajyam sambhujya nitiman Bhuticandras tato yato divyam sukham avaptayeV-28. [26] Niticandras tatah Khyato nityutsaritavigrahah Pamcapamcased abdani so bhud raja mahendravatV-29. Abdatra -[27] yikas tasmad Viryacandro naresvarah Tato dvadasa varsani Priticandro mahipatihV-30. Saptasamvatsarany a-[28]smat Prthvicandrena bhubhuja Rajyopabhogam sambhuktamnityam dharmanuvarttinaV-31. Jagaddhrtim Karoty asmed Dhr-[29] ticandro naradhipah Prajam apalayat tasmat trbhir varsair divam gatahV-32. Isanvaya(-) prabhavam sodasam [30] bhupatinam Candrabhiramayasasam ihaCandranamnam

Trimsadhikam praganitani(s)atadvayam syad varsani rajyasubha[31] bhogakrtani nunamV-33 Tatam pascan Mahavirah purempure naresvarah Tena dvadasavarsani dharmarajyam[32]krtam tadaV-34. Vrayajapnamapi yo raja dvadasabdani bhovibhuh

Bhuktva rajyasukham viras tata svargopa [33] bhogabhakV-35. Sevinren bhupatis tasmat smrto dvadasakarsikah

Rajyasampatsukham tena bhuktam mavukaghatinaV-36. [34] Ksitim raraksa dharmena Dharmasuras tato nrpah

Trayodasabdasampurnne svargam yato maharddhikahV-37. Bhaktiman iva bhaktya [35] vai to vajriva mahibhrtam

Vajrasaktis tata khyato raja devanvayodbhavahV-38. Pratipalya jagat sarvam rajyam so-[36]dasavatsaram

Danasiladisamyukto devalokam sa yatavanV-39. Sridharmajayasamyukto lokanugrahatatparah

[37] Tatpascad abhavad dhirah Sridharmavijayo nrpahV-40. Sattrimsad abdany upahujya rajyam dharmena nitya ca jayena caiva

Ratna-[38] trayanusmaranabhiyogat sa devalokam tustitam rayatahV-41. Narendravijayenapi tatputrena mahimat

[39] Navamasadhikam rajyam bhuktam varsadvayam sataV-42.Isanvayah samabhavad vijitarivargah sakritrayaprana[40]yalabdhamahapratapah

Yo Vajrasaktisutaviranarendracandrah SridharmacandramahimaprathitaprabhavahV-43. Srima-[41]n sodasa varsani bhuktva rajyasriyam nrpah

Datva sutavare rajyam pascat svargam prayatavanV-44. Yas tatsu-[42]tam pranatabhupatimaulimala ratnadyutiprasararamjitapadapadmah

Anandacandra bhuvanaikayaso-[43]titunga anandayam jayati vairitamovibumaV-45. Dane ca karnnasamo raja satyenapi yudhisthirah

[44] Pradyumnaiva rupena tejasa bhanuvad bhuvi Tena maharajadhirajena parahitotsukadhiya svara-[45]jyaprathamasamvatsaratah prabhrti yavad

a navamabdat svakrtakaritanumoditani sucaritani sa-[46]tvanam darsanaprabodhanumodanapunyvistram icchata pravaksyamte

V-46. Anandodayanamano vihara-[47]neka karitahDasadasibhih sampannah ksetragomahisaih saha

V-47. Sugatabodhisattvanam [48] Cundadinam ca saktitahPratimadhatumaccaityah karita raukmarajatah


V-48. Ritimayani bi-[49]mbani kansatamramayani caKaritani munindrasya bharasamkhyapramanatah

V-49. Pasudaru[50] mayanekam pustasailas tathaivacaSugatapratimah saumyah karitas sadhucitritah

V-50. Mrtsamha?ra [51]krtasamkhyani bimbani caityakarmanahSaddharmapustakas capi lekhita bahusah sata

V-51. Sau-[52] varnnarajatanekan padman sadratnakarnnikanNityam sridhatupujartham adad bhupo tisraddhaya

V-52. [53] Dadau prahrstah suvisuddhacetasa saddharmapujam prati tandakan bahunDinedine sarvajana [54] numoditan naradhipo dharmakathanuragatah

V-53. Lauhapatrany anekani sannetracivaranicaNa-[55]nadesagatanam ca bhiksunam gauravad dadau

V-54. Danaparamita hina ma me bhavatu jantusuTasmad upasa-[56]kenapi sarvasatvahitesina

V-55. Pamcasabrahmanavasam ksetrabhrtyasamanvitamVadyavadakasamyuktam ka-[57]ritam mathacatustayam

V-56. Somati(rthe)dvijavase mathas canandamadhavahAnandesvaranamapi [58] naulakke ca matha smrtah

V-57. Pilakkavanakuhve pi daumaghe purvanamakauVithika vividharama [59] karita setusamkramah

V-58. Pratyaham bhaktasalayam sada satram pravarttitamAtivadhyas ca karuna-[60]t pranino mocitasadah

V-59. Dankangamargangaduvarasamjnite burokanaulakkalavarakahvayePundi-[61]rigasomahvayasamghasamjrnikau manapavapyau nijakhana bhupatih

V-60. Purvarajakrta yepi devapra-[62] sadatirthikahNastaniuspaditastena sarvatha dhimata punah

V-61. Dharmasanam hastiniko-[63]ttamaika bhupena netrojjvalacivaraniBhiksvaryasamghasya hi nayitani dese sila-[64] meghanaradhipasya

V-62. Vikhyatasauryagunadharmayasonuragad devandaja-[65]nvayasamudbharaparthivasyaSritamrapattananaradhipa bhaktinamro dhendam dadau sav-[66]tanayam paramadareneAparam ca

V-63. Anandacandraksitiparthivasy sridharma-[67]rajandajavamsajayaSrutva vaco dharmahitarthayuktam sauryanvayatyagagunadi [68] kam ca

V-64. Bhakripranamena prakurvatajnam saivndhravamsodbhav aparthivenaSrimanma-[69]nodhiramaharddhikena kalyanamitratvam upagatena

V-65. Vapiviharau tvaritenak-[70]rtva sripattanatmiyamahipradeseStriratnadhenda savasutatibhaktya sampresite-[71] hasamabhutiyukta

[72]Sri(ki)rttisampu(rna) vijaya[73]ekadasame bde


Translation

V-4. Then the king (Mahatma ...?) ...ruled for 120 years.V-5. There was a king, Purvartha? zealous in doing kindness to the world; he reigned afterwards for 120 years.V-6. Then was a king, Satyayana by name, ... ruled for 120 years.V-7. After him, the able Bahubali, eminent for stoutheartedness, ruled for 120 years.V-8. Then king Raghupati, fair of form, heroic in policy, reigned 120 years.V-9. ..his puissant ... ruled ... 120 years.V-10. The was the king Candrodaya by name, approved by the good; he made the kingship his own for 27 years.V-11. The Annaveta kings, givers of countless gifts, having experienced earthly pleasure on earth for five years, went to heaven.V-12. After that an excellent king ... eminent in religious practices, possessing wisdom, reigned for 77 years.V.13. After him, king Rimbhyappa, bestowing bounty ... reigned in righteousness for 23 years.V-14 Then Queen Kuverami, bountiful ... for seven years after him, made the kingdom free from foes.V-15. After, Omavirya her son, a most politic king, ruled for 20 years, the performer of (deeds of) glory.V-16. Then a king named Jugna, who benefited all beings, was likewise established on the throne for seven years.V-17. Then the able course named Linki, a young man, having held the kingdom for two years, in due course went to heaven.V-18. Here is on proclaimied the number of years of the ancestral monarchs; verily 1060 (1016).V-19. After that, at a later time, there was one possessed of righteousness and fortune, puissant, sage, Dvan Candra by name, who was a lord of kings.V-20. He, strong of arm because of righteousness, conquered 101 kings, build a city which was adorned by surrounding walls and a moat.V-21. Having constructed the city, which laughed with heavenly beauty, he, possessing fame, reigned for 55 years.V-22. Then the fortunate Rajacandra reigned 20 years; having thus known the pleasure of Paradise, the king went to heaven.V-23. After him, Balacandra, a very prosperous and exceddingly politic king, who reigned nine years,

went to heaven after making a garland of golry.V-24. Then king Devacandra, like Sakra king of the gods, after ruling 22 years, enjoyed heaven.V-25. After him, the renowned Yajnacandra reigned seven years. Then Cnadrabandhu enjoyed

a reign of six years in the world.V-26. Then arose Bhuticandra, a second moon on earth; he reigned with righteousness for seven years.V-27. The policit Bhumicandra, having enjoyed kingship for 24 years, then went to gain heavenly happiness.V-28. Then the renowned Niricandra, who removed strife by policy, reigned like Mahendra for 55 years.V-29. After him, king Viryacandra reigned three years; then king Priticandra ruled for 12 years.V-30. After that, king Prthvicandra, constantly following the royal law enjoyed the pleasures of king ship for seven years.V-31. After him, king Dhrticandra supported the world; he protected his people, then after three years went to heaven.


V-32. The years spent in happy enjoyment of kingship by the 16 monarchs sprung form the lineage of Isa, who bore the name Candra and whose glory was as delightful as the moon, when counted up will be verily 230.V-33. Afterwards, Mahavira, king of Purempura then had a righteous reign of 12 years.V-34. Also, the king named Vrajajap, a valiant lord of the earth, having enjoyed the happiness of kingship for 12 years, thereupon enjoyed the pleasures of Paradise.V-35. After him, king Sevinren, recalled as having ruled 12 years; slaying Mavuka, he enjoyed the

happiness of prosperity in kingship.V-36. Then king Dharmasura protected the earth in accordance with the law; greatly prosperous, on the

completion of 13 years he went to heaven.V-37. Then was the devout famous king, sprung from the Deva lineage, Vajrasakti, who because of his

devotion was like a Vajrin (Indra) among monarchs.V-38. Possessing beauty, virtue and other qualities, he went to the world of gods having protected the entire

universe for a reign of 16 years.V-39. After him there was a brave king, the fortunate Dharmavijaya, attended by fortune, religion and victory,

intent on doing kindness to the world.V-40. After enjoying kingship for 36 years, by reason of religion (Dharma) policy and victory, and through

practicing remembrance of the Three Jewels, he passed away to the Tusita heaven.V-41. That kins’s good son, the lord of the earth, Narendravijaya, also enjoyed the kingship for two years

and nine months.V-42. There arose one belonging to the lineage of Isa, a conqueror of troops of enemies, gaining great

majesty by manifestation of the three powers, a moon of valiant kings, son fo Vajrasakti, the fortunateDharmacandra, having majestically celebrated puissance.

V-43. That fortunate the king, having enjoyed a prosperous reign for 16 years, handed over the kingdom to hisexcellent son, and afterwards passed away to Paradise.

V-44. His son Anandacandra is victorious, having the lotuses of his feet reddened by the brilliant gleams ofgems in the garlands of the diadems of reverently bowing monarchs, exceedingly lofty in fame unequalledon earth, causing gladness, risin like the sun above the darkness of his foes, elevated above the legions ofhis enemies.

V-45. He is like Karna in bounty and also Yudhisthira in truthfulness, Pradyumna in beauty and like the sun onearth in splendour. The good deeds done by that emperor, whose thought yearned for the welfare ofothers, from the first years of his reign until the ninth year, whether done by himself or caused to be done,and approved bt him because he desired for living beings an abundance of merit, through enlightenmentof vision and acceptance will be declared.

V-46. Many monasteries named Anandodaya have been built, provided with men and womens slaves,together with fields, kine and buffaloes.

V-47. There have been made gold and silver caityas containing relics of the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Cunda andothers according to power.

V-48. There have been images of the lord of sages composed of brass bell metal and copper, according to theweigh, number and size.

V-49. There have been made many pleasing and well-executed images of the Buddha (Sugata) made ofivory, rood, terracotta and stone.

V-50. Innumerable clay caitya models have been made and also books of the Holy Law have been caused tobe written by the good king in large numbers.


V-51. The king, with excedding faith, has constantly given for the purpose of worship to the blessed relics,numerous lotuses made of gold and silver, and having pericarps of goodly gems.

V-52. The king, rejoicing with very pure spirit, because of his delight in religious discourses, bestowed dayafter day many shares, approved by all the people for the purpose of worship of the Holy Law.

V-53. He has out of reverence given many robes and copper bowls to monks coming from divers places.V-54-55. “Let not the protection of bounty towards creatures fail me”: with this intent therefore, he, seeking

the welfare of all beings, although he was only a lay-worshipper, caused to be built four monasteries,lodging 50 Brahmans, provided with fields and servants, furnished with musical intruments and musians.

V-56. The Anandamadhava monastery at the residence of the Somatirtha Brahmans and also the monasterycalled Anandesvara at Naulakka are recorded.

V-57. In the quarter called Pilakka, formerly named Daumagha, he made an area with various pleasuregardens and a walk on the causeway.

V-58. Every day a session has been held in the dininghall; and because of his mercifulness, capitaloffenders have always been released.

V-59. At the place styled Dankangamargangaduvara and at that named Bhurokanaulakkavaraka, theking has dug two delightful wells named after(for?) the monastic sommunities (beloonging to theplaces) called PUndinga and Soma.

V-60. The temples of gods and holy places built by former kings which had perished have also beenrestored by him, who is wife.

V-61. A seat of the law (pulpit), an excellent cow elephant and robes, brilliant to the eye have beendispatched by the king to the noble congregation of monks in the land of king Silamegha.

V-62. Out of regard for the renowned quality of valour, religion and frame of teh monarch sprung fromthe Deva and egg-born lineage, the king of the fortunate Tamrapattana, making devout obeisance,gave to him the highest respect his daughter Dhenda. Moreover:

V-63-64. Having heard the speech of Anandacandra, monarch of the earth, scion of the egg-lineage offortunate righteous kings, speech fraught with meaning and helpful to the religion and with all thequalities of valour, high descent and bouty - the king sprung from the Saivandhra lineage, thefortunate and highly prosperous Manodhira, fulfilling his command and devout sbeisance, enteredinto happy friendship with him.

V-65. Having promptly made a well and a monastery in the district belonging to his fortunate city, hesent here with extreme devotion his daughter Dhenda, a gem among women, endowed withincomparable fortune.

LL-72-72. In the eleventh year, the fortunate victory is declared accomplished.


38. Shittaung Pillar Inscription of Anandacandra, Mrauk-U (North-face), Appendix.

It is Forchhammer, to whom goes the credit of first bringing to light a very brief idea about thenature of this inscription engraved on the North-face of the Shitthaung Pillar. Later, other scholars who havedwelt at lenght on the contents, nature of this inscription include, among others, Johnston, Gutman, San ThaAung, and U Shwe Zan. We learn from Gutman’s unpublished thesis that Prof. D. C. Sircar also offered somevaluable suggestions in regard to the reading of the text of the inscription. The script of the language is Proto-Bengali prevalent in Bengal around c. 10th century A.D. and the language is Sanskrit. When counted from theright side, the number of lines in this inscription comes to about 67. But, as has been pointed out by Forchhammermore than a century ago, the inscription is incised in a slipshod manner, ‘the lines are very irregular, and theletters badly engraved.’ The inscription appears to be divided into at least three sections.

39. Shitthaung Pillar Inscription of Anandacandra, Mrauk-U (Top-part)

On top of the Shitthaung Pillar there are traces of an inscription. Probably there were ten lines ofwriting. But due to the illegible condition of writing, it is not possible to decipher the script altogether. Faintfraces of a few letters like va, da, sa etc, can, however, be read with some degree fo certainty. The palaeographicalfeatures of these letters indicate that the period of composition of his inscription was about ninth-tenth centuryA.D. As Gutman has suggested that the same engraver engrave the inscription on the top part as well as theinscription on the north face, so the inscription on this top part can also be dated to about the same period, i.e.,ninth- tenth century A.D.

40. Kyirapran Fragmentary Stone Slab Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XII).

The findspot of the present inscription is near the village of Kyirapran, situated about five miles tothe south of the Mahamuni shrine. The inscription is now preserved in the Mrauk-U Museum. The script of theinscription is Siddhamafrika and the language is Sanskrit. The measurement of the slab is about 36 cm in length(bottom to top) and 41 cm in breadth (side to side) in writing area. The upper portion of left side which perhapshave contained about 13 lines, is badly damaged. Perhaps many important words has gone with the brokenportion. Unfortunately, much of the information contained in this portion cannot, therefore, be gleaned. Theinscription seems to have contained important infromation about the reign of Maharajadhiraja Sricandra. Theobject of the inscription seems to have been the construction of a religious structure or shrine, ‘Vitanameka,’mentioned in line 11. The words ‘Devam’ and ‘Sri Rama sara[nya]m,’ which are found in the subsequent lines,also indicate that tha aforesaid structure is associated with Brahmanical faith.

In the early part of the inscription, in line 6, there is a reference to an army consisting of cavalryemployed by Maharajadhiraja Sricandra. Whether the large army consisting of cavalry and elephants was sentagainst a neighouring ruler, cannot be precisely determined from the fragmentary nature of the inscription. Butit is of interest to note that a king named Sricandra (Thiricandra as it is presently pronounced), who was the sonof Sthulacandra (Htulacandra), mentioned in Arakanese chronicles, sent a large contingent of army under theleadership of his son, Singacandra (Thingacandra). Teh expedition was sent against a ruler inhabiting towardsthe western part of the Arakanese(Rakhine) kingdom, because the latter failed to contribute revenue to thetreasury of Sricandra, who was probably to be identified with Maharajadhiraja Sricandra fo our inscription.The palaeography of our inscription suggests that Maharajadhiraja Sricandra ruled during the latter half of theninth century A.D.


We know of a king, named Sricandra ruling in the Comilla region of adjacent south-east Bengal, whohappened to be a champion of Buddhist faith and who had given away large plots of land to Brahmins andtemples as donations. This king ruled in the Comilla region with his capital at Vikramapura, around the middleof tenth century A.D. Whether this king was the same as Maharajadhiraja Sricandra of our record is a mootpoint, because the palaeography of both the inscription, discovered from Comilla on one hand and Kyirapranin Vesali on the other, is almost similar. However, until further evidence is forthcoming, we must reserve ourjudgement for the moment about the identification. It may be noted that Sricandra is described in the PaschimbhagCopper Plate as the son and successor of Trailokyacandra. There is no reference to any ruler named Sthulacandrain the genealogy of the Candra rulaers of Sanmatata.

41. Vesali Moat Triangular Stone Slab Inscription, Vesali (Part. II, Pl. XL1)

A triangular stone slab inscription, bearing Rakkawanna Akkhara or Arakanese script was foundin Arakan(Rakhine) from the vicinity of Old Vesali.251* The actual site from which the inscription was discovered,was a moat called “Sai-thum-tan-kyun” located on the eastern site of old Vesali City. The slab containing theinscription is said to have been dropped down from a ruined stupa on the top of the hill . The scrip of theinscription is archaic from of Rakkhawanna Akkhara and the language is Pali. U Aung Tha Oo in his book inBurmese, published in 1966 referred to this inscription.252* Presently the inscription is preserved at the Mrauk-U Museum. The letters of the present inscription betray a significant change from the Estern Indian style ofwriting in Brahmi. The script used in this inscription tends to be the precursor of what tends to be the precursorof what turned out to be the script currently in used in Araken. The inscription written in six lines containes thefamiliar Yedharmma gatha which seems to have been a prerequisite for sanctifying a stupa or caitya in theBuddhist tradition of ancient Araken. However, a few words like ‘hetu tasam’ have been omitted in this inscription.The letters show a mixed style in rectangle and round forms; but retangular letters ouit number the letters ones;characters of the inscription are stylized ; medial vowel forms are ornate ; there are even more florid for medialein ye, te and he; but cibilant sa is now where traceable.

Initial vowel form for a has two parts joined with a short bar at middle. The former part is like ahalf oval type but the letter is a long serpentine type attaching on the top of vertical. Initial e has a mouth atright with two short parallel bars on each side and the letter has acute angles. Consonant ga has equal shortvertical on both sides downwards with upper part rounded, a form developed from the Gupta character ofearler period. Consonent ca in conjunct nca is of serpentine vertical towards the right, and na in conjunctnca ,is also of serpentine vertical towards the left with hooked type on the top of left and rounded loop ontop of right limb. They are of strange forms and are found nowhere in later Vesali period. Consonent na inno of L.6, has three arms of vertical, but middle vertical is longer, probably being descended from the laterBrahmi script of Gupta period.

L.1. Yedhammahetuppabhava ta .L.2. Thagato aha teL.3. Sanca yoniroL.4. Dho evam vadhi maL.5. Ha samaL.6. No

251. Aung Tha Oo, U, “Rakhine yai-kyay-hmu-ca-caung, (Rakhine Vesali Culture Cacaung) Rangoon, 1966, p and pl. 51. Vol. I, part. I.252. Aung Tha Oo, U, op cit, 1966, p and pl. 51, Vol.1 , part.1.


42. Vesali Bronze Lamp inscription, Vesali, (Part. II, Pl. XLII).

A number of Lamps made of bronze have been found in Arakan(Rakhine). They were usuallyfound in the vicinity of old Dhanyawady and old Vesali, They have also been found in other places ofRakhine(Arakan). They are varied in designs, but all the forms of the lamp are meant for worshipping. Anumber of recent publications in Myanmar contained infromation about the discovery of this type of lamps.Recently and old Lamp bearing an inscription was found by the late U San Shwe Bu at Praing-daung village,about six miles to the north of Vesali. The lamp is made of bronze and its height including the pedestal is nineinches. It presents a woman holding out in front of her, a rather elongated spear-shaped receptacle, intended tohold the oil which is meant to be lighted before the image of the Buddha by means of wicks. Six indentations atthe edges of the receptacle may be noticed for placing such wicks. The woman stands on a high pedestal inwhich a line of inscription in Arakanese(Rakhine) characters appears.

The writing in the Lamp-pedestal may be read as “Ayana kaungmutaw” i.e, “gift of Ayana.” Thename Ayana immediately reminds us of the name of the donor of the bell from Aphaun-daw in which the namekimmayana is found. If we remove the prefix “kim” from that name, Ayana remains in the suffix, which seems tohave been a common name in Arakan in olden days. Rakhine(Arakanese) historians belive that the word “kim”is a proto-western Tibeto-Arakanese word meaning “house.” The similarity of the name prefixed with “kim”should be noticed with names of “kim” prefixed in the Copper Plate land grant from Vesali. The script resemblesthat found in Vesali Triangular Plate inscription, but initial a in this inscription has on the left a serpentine linewhile the same in Vesali.

43. Wanti-taung “Pyu” Inscription, Vesali (Part.II, Pl. XLIII)

An inscription in Pali language, engraved on a large rectangular grey snadstone slab, the reverse ofwhich bears a 16th century Arakanese inscription, was found at Wantitaung, a place associated with kingAmrathu of Vesali. The stone slab seems originally to have been used for the inscription under discussion; at alater period it was used as a pedestal. The inscription is engraved in a script akin to the South Indian charactersbelonging to the 6th - 7th centuries A.D. and the language of the inscription is Pali. The same script seems tohave been used in inscriptions discovered from Java, Funan, Dvaravati and Malaysia.


Review Comment

Views of historians and Rakhine(Arakanese) scholars

According to the view of most historians including a number of Rakhine(Arakanese) scholars,the Wethali age covers a period from 327 to 818 A.D, that is about the beginning of the fourth up to thebeginning of ninth century A.D. This phase is palaeographic traits of numismatie sources indicate that a fewsuccessors of King Ananda Candra (720-729 A.D.) continued to rule during late 8th century A.D. From theanalyzied study of the old records we understand that Anandacandra ruled ten more years and Sulasandrasucceeded him after his death. Again Sulasandra was succeeded by two more outsides kings Ahmartu (7-yrs), Pe Pru (17- yrs) and Ngaton (a) Saw Shwe Luee, son of king Sulacandra and Queen Sandardeviclosed the Wethali dynasty as a last king.*

For the reconstruction of the history of the Wethali age, there were variety of sources in theshape of inscriptions, coins and literary data complied in numerous chronicles. The founder king of theCandra dynasty shown in chronicle side is Mahataing Candra (a) Thuria Taing Candra, where aresynonymous name of the founder king in inscribtion side was Dven Candra. According to the chronicles thefirst king Mahataing Candra who as ended the throne in A.D. 327 from chronicles we get a list of 12 kingsincluding Mahataing Candra, who ruled Rakhine(Arakan) for a period of about 480 years.

A different list of Candra kings is furnished by the famous Prasasti of King Anandacandra, whoruled in the first quarter of 8th century A.D.This inscription gives a list of ruling kings who were predecessorsof King Anandacandra. Dr: Jonston of Baleyaw college of Oxford university, England and Dr: Sircar of Indiaregard Dven Candra as the first historical king who ruled from about 370 A.D. 13 rulers succeeded DvenCandra and they reigned for a total period of 230 years. Next in the third Table is handed a list of kings whowere the immediate predecessors of Ananda Candra. The total reign period of these rulers is about 200years.

The following are the lists of two sides of Wethali Dynasty:-Chronicle side Inscription side1.Maha Taing Candra, Thuria Taing Candra 1.Dven Candra2.Raza Candra 2.Raja Candra3.Marla Candra 3.Kala Candra4.Pawla Candra 4.deva Candra5.Htula Candra 5.Rajna Candra6.Kala Candra 6.Candra Bandhu7.Thiri Candra 7.Bhumi Candra8.Theinga Cadra 8.Bhutl Candra

9.Niti Candra10.Vira Candra11.Priti Candra12.Prthvi Candra13.Dhriti Candra

* pp 52 The golden Mrauk-U, an ancient Capital of Arakan(Rakhine).


14.Mahvira15.Vrajayap16.Siviren17.Dharma Sura18.Vajira Sakti19.Thiri Dhamma Vijaya20.Narendra Vijaya21.Dhamma Candra22.Ananda Candra

9.Sula Candra 23.Sula Candra10.Ahmratu 24.Ahmratu11.Pe Pru 25.Pe Pru Reign less Reign less12.Ngamin Ngaton 26.Ngamin Ngatam

N.B Please see the comparative Dates between two sides of Wethali period in next page.

If we study the chronological arrangement of sofar collected inscriptions, we learned that werecan devide four periods as 5th to 6th, 6th to 7th, 8th and 9th to 10th century A.D. respectively. Out of thosecollection of about 43 numbers of 33 numbers of inscriptions were belonging to 5th to 6th century A.D. Therest of 8 numbers were counted on two numbers in 6th to 7th, One number in eight and five numbers in 9th to10th century A.D. respectively.

Again, out of these 33 numbers of inscription belonging to 5th and 6th century A.D, some 23numbers were seemed engraved with “Yedhamma Hetu Pabava Ghatha(verse) mostly on the top lines ofinscription Plates slabs or stones. Evidently, it is the strong indication of flourishing or thriving line of TharawadaBuddhism as well as Buddhist culture and civilisation prevailed in Wethali peirod during 5th to 8th century A.D.

The saying of verse “Yedharmma Hetu Pabava ghatha”, is said to be the essense of Lord Buddha’sDoctrine. It is defined that out of all the laws, the law of cause is the origin.Tathagata (i.e, Buddha has spokenof the condition arising from a course. He also spoken of the cessation.

Serutinizing fruther, some considerable numbers of inscription were recorded with Donor’s orissuers names and their purposes of gifts and also describing about their faiths and belief.

But it is unfortunate to say that many of the inscription stones or slabs were found defaced orilligible and fragmentary in nature, it is so difficult to decipher fully. In this condition of those illigible , it makesunplesant to the readers. But the important inscription shown will be much useful in the making of WethaliHistory.


Important recovery of inscriptions and Literary Heritage

1.Copper Plate inscription from Vesali2.Yaksa Cenapati Panada inscription from Mahamuni3.Inscription of Queen of Niti Candra4.Inscription of Vira Candra from Vesali5.Inscription of Dhamma Vijaya from6.Fragmentary stone slab inscription from Lin Maung Taung.7.Anandacandra Piller inscription from Shitthaung (West-face)8.A literaturee entitled Thinkan Main Twan composed by Thuwunna devi(a) Sawpranyo, a poet Queen ofDhammacandra in inscription side and Theinga Candra in Chronicle side.

So also inportant recovery of Wethali coins are :

In Northern Rakhine Stateplace-Quidei-Sittway townshipcoins-Dhammavijaya coin -Dhamma Candra coin -Dhamma Raja coin -Sula Maha Raja coin

In Southern Rakhine Stateplace-Khayine IslandTaungokke TownshipThandway Districtcoins, -inscribed coins

-Raja Candra coins-Deva coins-Raja Candra coins-Candra Bhandhu-2 types of Pyu coins.

Out of those possessing of inscriptions the following inscription were selected as a prirority which weremuch useful in the making of Wethali History.Prirority List of inscriptionsPrirorityty lists are:-1. 3 Vesali Mound stone slab inscription, Vesali.2. 6 Vesali copper plate inscription, Vesali.3. 7 Sirigutta Hill Yaksa Senapati Panada inscription, Mahamuni4. 14 Vesali stone slab inscription of Queen Niti Candra Sandoway5. 15 Sandoway Stone Slab inscription of Queen Niti Candra sandoway6. 16 Sandoway Brick slab inscription, sandoway7. 17Vesali stone slab inscription of Vira Candra, Vesali8. 18 Vesali Parakri stone slab inscription, Vesali.9. 19 Thinkyittaw hill stone slab inscription, Vesali10. 20 Ohtein stone slab inscription, Taunggouk


11. 23 Gant-ga-rwa-ma stone slab inscription, Kyaukphyu12. 24 Praing-daung Bell inscription, Vesali13. 25 Apaung-daw Bell inscription, Vesali14. 26 Nga-lon-maw stone slab inscription, Sandoway15. 35 Bhamta inscription of Dharmmavijaya, Vesali16. Anandacandra Pillar inscription (West-face)17. 41 Vesali mound triangular stone slab inscription, Vesali18. 42 Vesali bronze lamp inscription

The most useful in the making of Wethali History.Among the above 18 prirority lists, the following inscription plates are the most important and very

useful in the reconstruction of Wethali period.1. Vesali copper stone slab inscription, Vesali

This copper plate land grant was discovered from a brick mound near the outer limits of oldWethali city. The script is late Brahmi and the language of the inscription is Sanskrit.

The following chart shows the essence of teh copper plate land grant.

Chart showing

A Copper Plate land Grant

KING QUEEN1. 370AD Dveneandra Lost

2. 425AD Rajacandra Lost

3. 445AD Kalacandra Kimtondevi(great great great grand mother)

4. 454AD Devacandra Kimdaldevi(great great grand mother)

5. 476AD Yajnacandra Sukanyadevi(great grand mother)

6. 483AD Candra-Bandhu Kyawdevi(grand mother)

7. 489AD Bhumicandra Kalayanadevi(mother)

8. 496AD Bhuticandra Kimnajuvdevi

9. 520AD Niticandra Savitam Candrasriya


Purpose of issuing the charter-A village called Dengutta was granted by Kimmajuvdevi in favour of a vihara(Buddhist Monastery)

built by herself. It is probable that she was the queen of Bhuticandra.

Date of issue-It is the 11th regnal year of the king who issued the charter - i.e 496=11=507 A.D

The Seal-The obverse side of the seal seems to represent a bull which was the royal insignia of the Vesali

Kings and the reverse is probable the pericap of a lotus symbol.

Shitthaung Pillar inscription of Anandacandra, Mrauk-U (West-face)Translationstarted from V number 4V-4 to V-18-TableI verily 1060(1016) years 1st periodV-19 to V-32 -TableII verily230 years 2nd periodV-33 to V-45- Table III 3rd periodV-45 to V-65 Prasasti of King Ananda CandraExplamation of Selected inscription and litterary heritage inscription.

-By studying the Copper Plate L and grant wethali Kings mentioned in 2nd period Like 1. Dvencandra,2.Rajacandra, 3.Kalacandra, 4.Devacandra, 5.Yajnacandra, 6.Candra Bandhy, 7.Bhumi Candra,8.BluutiCandra were evidently supported as about the existance of kings were engraved in V19 to V27.

-By studying the Yeksa Senapali panada inscription of Mahamuni we clearly known that Thuriya Taing candra,(a)Mahataing synonymously Known as Dvencandra king was the founder of Wethali period i.e V number 19,20,21of Ananda candra inscriplion. Since Mahamuni shrine was renovated at that same time, it was sure to say that,the Mahamuni Image and Shrine were existed prior to foundingdate of wethali period i.e during the 3rdDhannyawady period.

-By studying the inscription of Queen of Niticandra, it is also the supporting evidence about existance ofKing Niticandra engraved in V .28 of Ananda Candra pillar in scriptions. Queen of king Niti Candra also builtpagodas the southern most of Rakhine(Arakan) State i.e in Thandway. This shows king Niticandra was theable and efficient Ruler of the state as well as the king and queen were the devout worshipper of TherawadaBuddhism and staunched the believer of Buddha Sasana.

Dr:Johnstom of Berleyaw College, Oxford University.-Viracandra name was engraved in V.29 of Anandacandra inscription, although the king Viracandra was seemedto be a powerful king, he reigned three years only.

-By studying the Viracandra inscriptions, the kings dedicatory inscription was very important for us as theinscription was very rare epigraphs of the Buddhist royal family of the Candra of Rakhine. The ruler also issuedcoins.

This inscription also give us the following information1. flourishing of Buddhism during the sixth century A.D.2. Partial confirmation of the genealogy of the candras of Rakhine given in the Anandacandra inscription3.The use of Sanskrit literature by royal families.


The informations gained out of the above Vesali inscriptions were:-.1. The issuer king or Donor king of land grant was Bhuticandra and his Queen was Kimmajuvdevi proof -V27of Anandacandra Pillar (West-face)Date - 496 A.D.The (7) predessor kings of Queens were:- (Dr: Sircar)

Date Kings Queens Relationship(1) V.19 370A.D Dvencandra - Lost(2) V.22 425A.D Rajacandra - Lost(3) V.23 445A.D Kalacandra - Kintendevi (great great great grand mother)(4) V.24 454A.D Devacandra - Kindaldevi (great great grand mother)(5) V.25 476A.D Yajnacandra- Sukaryadevi(great grand mother)(6) V.25 483A.D CandraBhandu - Kyawdevi (grand mother)(7) V.26 489A.D BhumiCandra - Kalayanadevi (mother)(8) V.27 496A.D Bhuti Candra - Kiunjavdevi

2. Yaksa Senapati Panada inscription Purpose = Meritorious deeds by Thuria Taing Candra, founder king of Wethali Kyaukhlega period. Alternatename of ThuriaTaing Candra was Mahataing Candra, inscription side, the founder king of Vesali was DvenCandra V.19 which was synonynous name to Mahataingcandra of Chronicle side.3. Inscription of Queen of Niticandra Queen’s Name - Saritauncandra surya.4. Inscription of Viracandra Issuer Donor king was Vira Candra The inscription give us the following information. (1) flourishing of Buddhism in Rakhine during the sixth century A.D. (2) The exsitance of many Buddha stuppas built by the king od that period. (3) Partial confirmation of the genealogy of the Candras of Rakhine given in the Ananda Candra inscription. (4) The name of the queen of Niticandra (5) The use of Sanskrit literature by royal families.5. Inscription of Dhama Vijaya. (1) Reign of Dharma vijaya was 650 A.D. (Dr:Sircar tentative asrigment) (2) This inscription was engraved and issued in 652A.D. (3) The king Built a Monastery by the name of Maharama for the Buddhist Sanghas. (4) Dharmma Vijaya wsa the same king inthe name of Thiri Cnadra in Chronicle side who sponsered and crnaluit a Buddhist cosuncil in Wethali Kyaukhlega city in the same year and convelled the Dater as 4th lines to 0 and started a bush Kawza era which was the era still in use by Rakhine people up to date. (5) The king Dharmma Vijaya issued coins which discovered from grazing ground of Quiday villages, together with other cions of Dhammacandra, Dhamma Raja and Sula Maharaja.6. Literary Heritage (pl. see 262) Theinkan Maintwan - composed by Thuwunna Devi saw Prai Nyo, a poet Queen of Dharma Candra of inscription side Theinga Candra of Chronicle side. In the verse Theinkan maintwan, she mentioned about the 8 seats of the Royal Deovendu which tally with the Table III of Anandacandra inscription. The following chart are the family tree of Mahavira (Table III) of Anandacandra -


Yaksa Senapati Parada inscription from Mahamuni in sanscrit - Mahashariyar shandrayaw,Na Mana shapadarai.In Pali - Mahusurirai sandra raw Na Ma NawThabbadarai paharakasThe meaning - It was ment displayed as are evidence the meritorious deed donated by king Suria

Taing Sandra /King Thuria Taing Sandra for Maha Taing Sandra synonymous name of DvenCandra the founder king of Wethali period and Wethali city were fullfilled.

In Rakhine(Arakanese) chronicle most of the moritorious deads were recorded about the renovationof Mahamuni Shrine and sima hall of Mahamuni lying on Thirigutta Hill. The sculpture of Yakasa Sanapadipanada is still displayed at the Southern east corner of second floor of Mahamuni Shrine.

The Mahamuni SculpturesAccording to SN 4 & 5 of Table I, p 168 Rakhine(Arakanese) Scholar’s dating between Sandathuria

and Thuria Ketu is 6th century BC and 4th century AD where as Phayre and Pamela’s dating of the sameperiod is between second century AD and 8th century AD.

It is the accepted fact of Rakhine(Arakanese) Scholars that the range (between 6th century BCand 4th century AD of Dhanyawady of Rakhine and Asoka range of India were contemporary to each otherand it was the flourishing time of Therawada Buddhism in both countries. In contrast to these facts PamelaGutman notion is that the range between King Sandathuria and Thuria Ketu is 2nd century AD and 8th centuryAD and the scholar wrongly equate the Rakhine range with Gupta period of India Accordingly, AustrialianScholar, author of Bumma’s lost Kingdoms: Splendours of Rakhine mistaken all the stone sculptures found inMahamuni precint were belonging to the Mahayana Buddhist Pantheon.

According to Professor U San Tha Aung, author of Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan (Rakhine).Those Mahamuni sculptures are the earliest group of speciman of the Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan (Rakhine)so far found. They consist of fine-grained red sandstone and the sculptures are rather similar in designs anddresses. The size of the slab having single image are almost the same where as the slab having diads and triadsare little smaller.

Dr Pamela Gutman described about those sculptures as deities protecting the central image(Mahamuni), they are stylistically comparable to the art of late Gupta Period in India, from around the 5th andeight centuries AD. There are indications that the deities they represent belong to the Mahayana Buddhistpantheon as mentioned above.

But Professor U San Tha Aung interpreted those sculptures quite in contrast to Pamela Gutman’sversion.

The Rakhine Scholar remarked that approximated date of making of those images as 4th or 5thcentury AD, the Buddhism prevailing at that time cannot be advanced Mahayana. He further stated that, “Whatdo these images represent then, we have known that all beings, men, nats (celestial Devas) Bramahs andcreatures of the nether world worshipped Buddha and listened to Buddha’s teachings. According to Buddhisticonographical Texts there are eight classes of beings who lisened to Sekyamuni’s preachings.

They are Devas, Yaksas, Gandavas. Asuras, Garudas Kinaras, Mahoragas and Naga. U San ThaAung strongly conviced that Mahamuni Sculptures represent those figures.

Infact his interpretations are just in line with the facts mentioned in the Book entitled . “The way ofthe Buddha”, published by Ministry of Information of India, in the occassion of 2500 years anniversary ofBuddha’s parinibbana.


The line mentioned in serial No:26, Page 309 of the “book” The way of the Buddha are asfollows:

As various Local god and goddesses, Yaksa and Naga who are all represented as praying homage to Buddha. This bears testimony to the fact that during this period Buddhist emerged as a religion whichhad synthesised and absorbed within if self most of the prevailling indigenous cults.

By the way both scholars Pamela and U San Tha Aung considered about the sculptures YaksaSenapati Panada one remaining Image, is inscribed out of which two lines are stilll legible (PL: See P(160);One cand read Senapati Panada very clearly, and therefore the image is the image of the Yaksa GeneralPanada. Panada was one of the 28 Yaksa Generals. But their datings of the sculptures was not tally to eachother. The former assigned as around the middle or 5th century which was somparable to the Gupta period ofIndia. Where as the latter assigned the datings as 4th or 5th AD, the Buddhism prevailing at that time cannot beadvanced Mahayana. Those are main difference of opinions between the two scholars.

Since the latter’s opinions are in line with the interpreatations made by the authoritative Book as“The Way of the Buddha, “it is proper to accept the U San Tha Aung’s concept without any doubts.

Datharaza of Lemro period came to the throne (1123-39)was the Image discovered and lesserkings and lords were given the responsibility for its upkeep. A highway was also constructed from his capitalcity of Parein of the Mahamuni. He also took precautionary measures against and future mis-advanture ofthe shrine.

King Mong Saw Mon, the founding father of Mrauk-U, renovated the Mahamuni simultaneouslywith that of his capital. His younger brother, Mong Khari ,deposited the hole set of Tikitaka brought from SriLanka in the Pitaka library he had built in the precinct of the shrine. From then on, the Mahamuni and itsenvirons grew up as the focal point of Buddhist learning. The Mrauk-U kings throughout their regins maintainedthe shrine as the most sacred nurturing ground of Rakhing Buddhist faith. Thiyi Thuria Mong (Canda ThuriaDehmmaraza) built numerous monasteries about this responsibility of the ordination of 1,000 monks everyyears .

King Naradhipati had the Yattara bell cast and placed in the platform of Mahamuni Shrine in 1734.The magical formulas and numbered squares make it the rarest of its kind in the world. The bell inscriptions inPali , Rakhine(Arakan) and Sanskrit were used to ward off and work magical spells upon any invading troops.Detail of the procedure were inscribed on the bell. This bell was lost in 1950 and never recovered. When thebuilding was ravaged by an earthquake in 1761, King Abhayamaharaza ordered his younger brother to rebuildthe shrine.

Every Rakhine(Arakanese) king had to deposit one hundered silver coins bearing his name into aVasundhari hole on the platform during his coronation. He also had to build a small model of his place in theprecincts and observed prolonged fasthere. Until 1785 when the Great Image was carried off to Amarapurathe holy precincts wereever bustling with pilgrims and monastic schools activities.

Afterwards, for 82years the shrine was lost to the memory of men till a Shan devotee,Maung Shwe Hmung, came and restored it to a state worth visiting . U Ray Gyaw Thu built the presentstructure in 1900 and the present Great Image ,cast .

Many deva figures had to be shifted elsewhere . The Hanuman deva at the south -east corner ofthe shrine is the Chief of all 112 guardian deities of Rahhine(Arakan) . The head washing pond lies at theeastern part of the precincts . At the foothills of Oukpung daung, about a mile to the east, there areother devafigures to be found.

On the east of the Rakhine (Arakanese) New Year (mid -April) the shrine wears a festive smile--pilgrims with gala dresses bustle in and out of the serenity of the shrine.13.2/6 Inscription of Queen of Niticandra from Wethali and Inscription of Viracandra from Wethali.


CHAPTER X

Dedicatory inscriptions of Niticandra and Viracandra of Vesali 1

The first inscription, Which is the inscription of the time of Niticandra, is engraved on a slabrevocered from the ruins of an old Stupa on the Unhisska hill situated to the east of Vesali in 1956.

The second inscription, Which is the inscription of Viracandra, is engraved to a slab belonged towhat is called the Anandacandra stupa standing on Thinkyattaw hill which is closely situated to the Unhisakahill. It was found about the same time.

The name of Niticandra and Viracandra are mentioned in Anandacandra incription inscribed onthe west face of the pillar now at Shitthaung Pagoda at Mrauk-U, Rakhine(Arakan). The first part of verybriefly. “(V 28/). Then the renowned Niticandra, who removed strife by policy, reigned like Mahendra for 55years. V (29) After him. King Viryacandra reigned three years: then king Particandra (ruled) for 12 years.” Dr.Sircar’s chronology gives Niticandra’s ruling period as 520-575 A.D. and Viracandra’s 575-578 A.D. andViracandra’s 575-578 A.D.

The alphabets of both the records has a close resemblance with the alphabets used in certainEastern Indian inscriptions of the fifth and sixth centuries A.D. However, a certain amount of local developmentis noticed in the palaeography of these inscriptions. Careful study of the consonants, initial vowels and medialvowels revealed this. The inscriptions can also be dated palaeographically as those belong to the last quarter ofthe sixth century. Comparative studies of the Eastern India will reveal a very interesting about the Arakanese(Rakhine) scripts.

Inscription of the time of Niticandra (See Plate 15)TEXT

1. Ye dharmma hetu-prabhava hetum tesha Tathagata2. aha tesham ca yo nirodho evam vadi Mahasramana3. sri Niticandra sya candravai-parchi na sya devi savitam4. Candrasriya nama pa re mo po si ka sya5. deyya dharmmo yamm sarvva satvanamm anuka (tta) ma

TransalationOut of all the laws, the law of cause is the origin. Tathagato (i.e. Buddha) has spoken of the conditions

arising from a Cause. He has also spoken of their cessation. This is the doctrine of the great Sramana (i.e.Buddha).

This is the pious gift of the queen of Sri Niticandra, who is likened to the moon. The queen by the nameof Savitam Candrasriya, is a devout lay worshiper of the Buddha. Let all creatures acqire the best knowledge(acquiring Nirvana) as a result of having given this meritorious gift.

Inscription of Viracandra (See Plate 15)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1. Buddhist Art of Ancient Arakan (Rakhine) by U San Tha Aung.


TEXT1. Satya-dharmmanu ragena Kritamsvarthena bhubhuja2.paratha ghatanodyoga samyanni hita ceti sa3. Sri-Viracandradevena mahi mandala mandanam4. dharmma dhigata rajyena Buddha stupa satam (ceti)

TransalationSri Viracandra deva, the king who obtained sovereignty thriough righteousness, whose heart is fully set

on exertions for effecting good to others, constructed a hundred Buddha stupas, which are the ornaments ofthe earth, with his own wealth, owing to his love for the true law.

These two dedicatory inscriptions are very important for us as they are the only epigraphic records so farfound of kings Niticandra and Viracandra of the Buddhist royal family of the Candras of Arakan(Rakhine).Of course, the names of these rulers are known from the coins issued by them as well as from the Anandacandrainscription of Shitthaung Pagoda in Mrauk-U as mentioned abouve. See Plate 4 again.

The inscriptions gives us the following informations.1. Flourishing of Buddhism in Arakan (Rakhine) during the sixth century A.D.2. The existence of many Buddha-Stupas built by the kings of that period.3. Partial confirmation of the genealogy of the Candras of Arakan (Rakhine) given in the Anandacandra inscription4. The name of the queen of King Niticandra.5. Type to scripts used during the sixth century A.D.6. The use of Sanskrit Literature by royal families.

A Land Grant made by Dharmmavijaya in the Monastery of Maharama.

A few years ago an inscription stone slab was discovered at a small range on the vicinity of oldWethali. It contains 22 lines of writing. But upper portion of the slab is in a bad condition. Now it is preservedin the Archaeological meseum of Mrauk - U .

Besides the Shitethaung Prasasty of king Anandacardra this inscription appears to be the onlyremaining Prasasti in the Rakhine collection. The stone slab , measuring 1-10 in length and 1 in breadth inwriting fields engraved with small and eat letters measuring between 15 -18 mm, excluding some ornate medialvowels. The language isSanskrit is late Brahmi of nothern class. Palaeographically, it possibly belonged toe.early 7th centuary AD.

The object of the inscription was the gift of a piece of land made by Maharajadiraja to the monasteryof Maharma. The monk residing there would enjoy the benifits gained out of that land . The name of kingDhammavijaya is in the line six of table III who are known to have ruled Vesali: between AD 605 and 701.The silver coin bearing the name of Dharmavijaya is in our possession .

Translation of Text from line 14.

(This land )has been granted by Paramabhadaraka Maharajadiraja Sri Dhammavijaya in the secondyear of his region for the enjoyment of the association of monks residing at Maharamavichara with the objectof removing ignorance of all being concerned. He who misappropriates land given by himself by other rest inthe hill along with his forefather.

From the analytical study of two records Dharmmavijaya of inscription side can be equatewith Thricandra of Chronicle side who sponsored the Buddhist Synod together with a thousand monks ofSrilanka and to mark the great occasion, the last cancellation of Kawza 560 also took place oand started anew Kawza Era from that point.


Stone Slab Inscription from Mound No.4 of Wethali

An inscription belonging to the same age as the same age as that of the Surya Stone image inscriptionfrom Shine -Nge -Det -Taung, is the stone slab inscription from Wethali. The inscription was discovered fromMound No.4 near the village of Thallawady in course of an excavation conducted by Archaeological Departmentof the Union of Myanmar in the early eighties of the last century. The inscription was engraved on a sleb of sandstone and it measures 10’ in length 4’ breadth and 7’’ in thickness. There are seven lines of writing in theinscription. The script of the inscription resaembles to that used in the Gupta period in India about 5*-6thCentury AD. The Language is sanscrit.At present the inscription is deposited at ADMC in Yangon .

The inscription records the meritorious deeds of apparently , the parents of the donor. Consideringthat the world is like a ditch full of mud , the donor expressed the wish that all other beings like this parents ,may attain merit as a result of having followed five moral precepts. The first two lines of the inscription consistsof the well known as the Pratity asamutpadagatha. The verse served as a primary necessary in every act ofdeclaration in order to sanctify the proceedings of this soft of acts .Innumerable inscriptions,engraved on slabsof stone or other meterials, maney of which, however, were fragmentary in nature are found almost everywhere in Arakan ( Rakhine) specially in Arakan’s ( Rakhine’s ) countless pagodas .

The text of the inscription is as follows;

1-1. Yedharma hetu prabhava hetutesam fathagato...1-2. Tesamca yonirodho evamvadhi mahasramanahll1-3. Yadatratpuny am matapitu purvvanga samkritva panciya1-4. cayya? prabhuti sutangga vatpa sarvvamsatvana manuttarajna1-5. Va vaptayell Samsarapanggakhannam camamsa...1-6. Jagatva ma-tvithatarayeyam avijjha-Karahpa...1-7 —dhayeye paradharmma dhosara...

Wethali : The land of Historic finds 101

35. Insctiption of Dharma Vijaya, Vesali

Information(a) Reign of Dhamma Vijaya was AD 650-701.(b) This inscription was engraved during the second year of his rule.(c) Purpose of land grant was to built a monastery by the name of Maharama for the Buddhist Sanghas.(d) In Chronicles Dhamma Vijaya was called as Thiri Candra who sponsered the Buddhist Synod held inWethali period. To mark his activities, the king cancelled 560 A.D to 0 and started a new Kawzar Tira.(e) Conversion factor in Kaliyug dating is 638 A.D.(f) Conversion factor in Vikram Sambat is 677 A.D.(g) The King Dharma Vijaya issued coins which discovered from grazing ground of Quiecdai village, Sittwetownship, together with Dharmarajar and Dhama Candra.(h) The name Dhamma Vijaya was engraved in the V39 of Anandacandra inscription Pillar.

Although we picked up only a handful i.e. about seven number of inscriptions out of 43 and onenumber of literature heritage for the re construction of Wethali period, it is really helpful to confirm theexistance of Wethali period mentioned in inscription side of Rakhine(Arakanese) Land, starting from 4th centuryAD. up to early 9th century AD. We can also learn about the flourishing of Thayrawada Buddhisim in Wethaliperiod too. We found many Ye Dhamma Hetu Pabava slabs though out length and breadth of in our land,including in the above mentioned selected inscriptions slabs and stone. The meaning of Ye Dhamma HetuPabava is out of all the laws, the law of cause is the origin. The Ye Dhamma Hetu Pabava verse, therefore givesthe cream of Buddhism.

Views of Ananda Candra Inscriptions by Scholars

Scholars who took keen interest on Ananda Candra Inscriptions were:-1. U Myint Swe, Pali Department, Arts and Science University Mandalay.2. Dr: Than Tun, M.A. BL., Ph:D (London); History Department, Arts and Science University, Yangon.3. U San Tha Aung, B.Sc (Hons), Physics, M.A Physics Harvard University, U.S.A, Director General, Higher Education Department, Yangon.4. Dr: Pamala Gutman, Australian Scholar.5. U Aung Tha Oo, B.A, BES. (Retd:)6. U Oo Tha Tun, Arakanese(Rakhine)/Myanmar Pandit.

1. U Myint Swe's View

(a) Ananda Candra inscription, Pillars had recorded with many Rakhine kings together with their reigns, is really a wonderful and rare inscriptions Pillar and moreover such kind of inscription cannot be found in Myanmar proper, is a must to study, that inscriptions by Shcolars without fail.(b) Although, the Ananda Candra inscription Pillar recorded the successive reigns of the rulers, it was surprier to say that one cannot trace out the original place which was the most important things to be known in History was unknown yet.(c) It is probable to say that those place cannot be in India but in Mrohaung (Mrauk-U), the Rakhine (Arakanese) land.(d) Dr: Johnston of Beleyaw collage, Oxford University, a famous Palaeographist followed the concept of Sir Arthur Phase who dated the reign of King Sanda Thuria of chronicle side as 146 AD which can be compared with the date of Candrawdra of inscription side on which U Myint Swe agreed the European Scholar's concept as the two king's Sanda Thuria of Chronicle side and Candrawdra of inscriptions were the same king with two different names.(e) Since Candra Kings were decendents of Shrines and also the King Dhammajaya went to heaven after death, Candra Kings were devotees of Mahayana Buddhism.(f) Scripts of Rakhine inscriptions came from north east of India especially East of Bengal, it is to be decided the East Bengal as the source of Rakhine(Arakanese) inscriptions.

2. Dr: Than Tun's View

(a) Since Cnadra kings belong to Shivers group Candra kings were possibly the devotees of shiver group.(b) By looking abstracts, ancient kings of Rakhine dynasties and the kings of Inscription sides were not tally each other.(c) By looking the Inscriptions side, the King Ananda candra called himself as Upadaka adevotee of Mahayana Buddhism. He was a benevolent and brave king who made an enomous gifts without satisfactions.(d) If we consider the earliest kings as in doubts one can neglect those kings out of the list was his opintion.

U Shwe Zan : B.Sc, B.C.S. 102

Wethali : The land of historic finds 103

3. U San Tha Aung's View

Most of the inscriptions belonging to 5th to 9th A.D. were engraved with Pali verseYeddhamma Hetu Phahava. It indicates that Thervada Buddhism was flourished in Wethali period.

Gathar Yeddhama Hetu Phabava - Out of all the laws, the law of cause is the origin. YedhammaVerse, therefore gives the cream of Buddhism. U Oo Tha Tun's view was the same with U San Tha Aung.

Dr: Pamela Gutman's View

Since Wethali period were contemporary to Gupta Period of India, the kings of Wethali Periodwere the believers of Mahayana Bhuddism.

N.B Dr: Parmela Gutman was the follower of wrong concept of Sir Arthur's P.Phayre's periodisations shealso made the wrong as decisions Mahayana instead of Therawada Buddhism. Another wrong concept wasthe first king of Wethali period mentioned in inscription Dven Candra started to rule from Dhanyawaddy cityand after the lapsed of 59 years, Kings from Chronicle side continued to rule Wethali in 788 AD and endedin 1018 AD instead of 818 A.D. i.e. 200 years of difference than actual date.

These are the views of above mentioned scholars which were presented food for thought to thereaders.

Documents

History Book (Part 2)