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The youngest of the three Sh4n brothers, however — ' SiHASURA = — finds a place in our history as the founder of the capital Vijayapura 3 (in 1312) and as a protector of b. e. 674. religion. Yet in his reign there were few righteous bhik- khus and the Samanakuttaka heresy revived. Better days followed in the reign of his adopted son Ujana4 (1322) who built seven great cetiyas and bestowed gifts of b. e. 684. land with them. Religion flourished then in Vijayapura, for many thousands of theras had settled there; neverthe- less, a scandal was caused by the quarrels of the bhikkhus appointed to receive from the tillers of the soil the due share of the monastery lands. As a protest against this unseemly discord a sect was formed, whose members Hist. Bur., p. 58. 2 Thihathu {Hist. Bur., pp. 59, 282). Bastian, Gesch. Ind. Chifi., p. 53. 3 Panya, a few miles to the north of Myinzaing. {Hist. Bur., p. 59.) 4 Son of the deposed Kyautswa. {Hist. Bur., pp. 60, 282.) Crawfurd's Journal, Appendix viii. 86 A BURMESE HISTORIAN OF BUDDHISM. withdrew from the more social life of the viharas and lived in the forests. In 1342 Ujana abdicated in favour of his half-brother Kyocva ^ (p. 85). Here a group of short tales enlivens the chronicle. The author seems almost to enjoy writing of a wrestling match or describing the king's swiftest horse, but the religious aim of these anecdotes is not quite clear. Kyocva does not appear to have been a notable benefactor of religion. In his young days he had not a thought beyond hunting, till he was advised by Sakra, in a dream, to observe Uposatha, as a means of arriving at power and kingship. Later, when on the throne, he was the patron of Samanakuttakas and even had them in his service. But he was an auspicious prince ; he captured the five white elephants promised l)y Sakra, and his extraordinary luck is (consistently with the general theory of re-birth), counted to him for merit. The reign of his son Kittisihasura = (1351 a.d.) or Catusetibhinda is marked by the writing of some well- known works. Among others is mentioned the Sadda- sdratthajdlint, and a picturesque story is told of the author, Nagita, or Khantakakhipa — so nicknamed from the oddly inauspicious opening of his religious life, when he was so unwilling to be taken to study with a bhikkhu that his father, by way of rebuke, threw the obstinate boy into a thorny bush. The second Shan capital, Jeyyapura,3 and its founder Sam-kha-ya-co-yon 4 (1323 a.d.) are mentioned only with the remark that no books were written in the city. No ' Kyoaswa or NGA-st-SHENG (1342 A.D.). Hist. Bur., pp. 60, 282. 2 Kyoaswa IV. Hist. Bur., pp. 60, 282. Crawfurd's Journal, Appendix viii. 3 Sagain, on the right bank of the Irawaddy. 4 Athengkaya (1322), a son of Thihathu, who died in that year. {Hist. Bur., pp. 60, 283.) DISSERTATION. 37 record of the last forty years of the Sh&n dynasty appears in the Sasanavaiusa. A few sentences carry the history over the destruction of Vijayapura and Jeyyapura, in 1364, b. e. 726. to the opening of a new epoch with the foundation of Ratauapura' hy Sativa-r.ua in the same year (p. 87). The first episode set down in the rehgious record of the new capital is the " estabHshment " of religion by two theras from Ceylon, Sirisaddhammalamkara and Slhaja- mahasami, who landed at Kusima in 1429, bringing relics b.e. 791. from their country (p. 90). By anna,' King of Pegu, refused to allow them to settle in his dominions, and they proceeded to Sirikhetta, where the King of Burma 3 gave them a splendid recep- tion. On the arrival of the relics an earthquake took place, which made a deep impression on the people. The Ceylon theras settled in Mramma, and the spread of religion in the country is ascribed to them. Still, the earlier kings of Ratanapura had not neglected works of piety. Ma-na-kri-cok 4 (1368 a.d.) rebuilt the celebrated re. 730. Ca-nah-khum Cetiya, and bestowed on his tutor, Khema- Ava, at the confluence of the Irawaddy and Myit-nge, founded by Thadominbya in 1364. This prince, who was supposed to be of the ancient royal race of Burma, resolutely attacked the Shan power and made himself king. {Hist. Bur., pp. 63, 64; Ind. Ant., vol. xxii. p. 8.) He built pagodas in his new capital, but "he is denounced (says Phayre) in Burmese history as a man of cruel dis- position who altogether disregarded religion." He reigned less than four years. Binya-Ran-Kit (Hist. Bur., pp. 83, 290). 3 Meng-nan-si (1426 a.d.), a Shan, who claimed descent from Panca-setibhinda {Hist. Bur., p. 82). 4 Meng-kyi-swa-soa-kai, elected successor to Thado- minbya in 1368. He left so great a reputation as a warrior that he is counted among the five kings of Burma whose conquests brought the most glory and territory to his country (Yule, Mission to the Court of 38 A BURMESE HISTORIAN OF BUDDHISM. cara, whom he made head of the Order, the royal dignity of the white umbrella. It is at this period — in the time of Adhikaraja ^ (1400 A.D.) — that a Samghardjd is first mentioned in this chapter. Adhikaraja's tutor, on whom he bestowed the title, is expressly excluded by our author from the suc- cession of theras ; but the same king was fortunate in calling bhikkhus to his aid in temporal affairs. When liA.JADHiRAJA,=* King of Kamafifia, invaded his country and threatened his capital with a siege, it was a bhikkhu of his council who confidently undertook to parley with B. E 766. the foe, and exhorted Rajadhiraja to such purpose that he returned peaceably to his own country. B. E. 788. In the following reign (that of Mrih-na-nah, 1426 a.d.),3 the era was changed and a new reckoning established (according to the old Burmese custom) to avert an evil omen. In the Sasanavarnsa the king is said to have been counselled by two learned theras to make the change ; it is an interesting and (in our text) an unusual mention of theras acting as astrologers (their advice to the king is given on the strength of the Vedasattha). There is no hint that these two were wanting in sacred knowledge, though, in another passage, a distinction is severely made between the higher learning and secular science. Among the theras who lived and wrote at Batanapura in the fifteenth century, the most celebrated was Ariyavamsa (author of Manisdramanjusd, Manidlpa, Gandhdhharana and Jdtakavisodhana) . He is another example of a Ava, p. 269; Bastian, Gesch. Ind. Chin., p. 55 ; Phayre, Hist. Bur., pp. 64, 284). ^ Meng-Khaung, son of Meng-Kyi-swa-soa-kai {Hist. Biir., pp. 70, 284). 2 Rajadirit came to the throne of Pegu 1385 {Hist. Bur., pp. 68, 290). The Rajavamsa tells the same story. 3 In Father San Germano's abridgement of the Eaja- vamsa {Burmese Empire, chapter viii.), Saddammaraja (1426 A.D.) changed the era because of an evil omen. DISSERTATION. 89 bhikkhu with that strong influence over the kinpj, that the monks have known so well how to exercise and their chroniclers to describe. Ariyavainsa, the scholarly and uiagnaniinous teacher, stands out, a dignified figure, in 8t)me anecdotes, that occur here, together with an in- teresting list of the works produced by different writers in this fruitful period. Among the literary theras two poets are mentioned, who are not counted by the authors of the pordnapotthakd in the Succession of theras.^ A celebrated teacher in the reign of Siritribhavan- .\DITYANARAPATIVARE2 (1501 A.D.) Was the Saddham- B.B.86S. inakitti, of whom we have already heard. His name is bound up with memories of the bitter persecution of the monks that followed the invasion of Burma by the Shftns early in the sixteenth century. Saddhaimnakitti withdrew for safety to KetumatI with b. e. 912. his pupils, one of whom, Tisasanadhaja, was afterwards brought to Hamsavati 3 by King Anekasetibhinda,4 who was reigning over Pegu and Burma in 1551 a.d. Aneka- setibhinda's predecessor, Ta-beng-shwe-ht1 s (1540 a.d.), ' For further remarks on the writing and reciting of poetry by Samanas, Paiiuasami refers to his own book, Uposatliavinicchaya, where he treats of the sikhhdpada relating lo singing and dancing. 2 Shwe-nan-sheng Narapati (1501 a.d.) [an error in my transcript, observed too late, places this king three years earlier] . In his reign Salun, the Shan chief of Monyin, " after years of desultory warfare," took Ava by storm, and the king was killed escaping from the city {Hist. Bur., pp. 89, 285). 3 Pegu city.