THE LOST LEGEND OF THE SHWEMAWDAW, PAGODA

Donald M. Stadtner (Walnut Creek, California, USA)

Although the Shwemawdaw Pagoda in Pegu has been the most important
religious monument in Pegu for nearly a millennium , its original
foundation myth is lost. This enigma is all the more astonishing, since this
pagoda was so central to the religious life of Pegu, both for the Mon and
later during the long period of Burmese rule. The original myth – based on
a tooth relic – was completely supplanted by the current myth -- centered on two
hair relics -- sometime after Pegu and Lower Burma fell to Burmese forces in
the 1530s.

The original myth can now emerge from the shadows after a neglected Pali
inscription has come to light. Indeed, were it not for this single Pali inscription,
the pagoda’s foundation legend would likely have vanished forever from the
historical record. The complex reasons for abandoning one myth and adopting
another raises broad questions about the nature of Theravadin culture in Burma
and Southeast Asia.

The Myth today : Two Hair Relics to Two Brothers

Why suspect that the current myth is not the original myth ? None of the major
elements in the present myth find any reference in the abundant epigraphic
sources datable to 15th- century Lower Burma. Such an absence strongly
suggests that the current myth evolved sometime after the Mon lost Pegu in the
16th century. Some Mon myths from the 15th century were of course adopted by
the Burmese and changed over time, such as the Shwedagon myth, but the
original myth at the Shwemawdaw seems to have been largely written out of
history, for reasons which must remain speculative.
The well-known legend today at the Shwemawdaw begins with two
merchant brothers who received hair relics from the Buddha in India and
returned to Lower Burma to enshrine them in a freshly constructed stupa. 1 At
what point in time the current legend arose and became attached to the pagoda is
difficult to know, but at least one ‘pagoda history’, or thamaing , associated with
the Shwemawdaw was compiled in Lower Burma during the reign of Bodawpaya
(1782-1819). (Browne, 1868) This legend therefore probably arose sometime in
the 16th - 17th century or by the middle of the 18th , but it owes nothing to the
pagoda’s legend from the 15th century based solely around a tooth relic.
The present myth shows a number of variations, but all share agreement on
the basic points. The Shwemawdaw Thamaing , datable to the reign of
Bodawpaya , begins with two merchant brothers from Lower Burma visiting the
Buddha in India. (Browne, 1868) The two are named differently in various
“Shoemaoo, the Geat Temple at Pegue”, Drawn by Singey Bey, after Michael
Symes, An Account of an Embassy to the Kingdon of Ava, in the Year 1795
London, 1800.

sources, but the pair seem to always hail from the town of Zaungtu , about 20
miles north of Pegu. (Zaungtu was one of the celebrated 32 myo, or ‘cities’)
The brothers, usually called Maha-sala and Cula-sala, visited the Buddha in the
famous Rajagaha monastery during the sixth-rainy season, or vassa, and
presented food offerings. Like the Shwedagon myth, the Buddha presented the
brothers with hair relics, two in total. At Rajagaha the Buddha also uttered a
prophecy (much like for the Shwedagon) that the relics should be enshrined on
Thudathana Hill, or Sudasana (Pali) This hill is said in the thamaing to be
west of Hintha Kone, the high prominence directly east of the Shwemawdaw
and identified as the spot where the two legendary hintha birds alighted (in
Pegu’s foundation myth). At Rajagaha the Buddha then prophesized to the
brothers that the future city of Hamsavati will be created by the brothers
Samala and Wimala, to the east of the Thudathana Hill. (The earliest habitation
in Pegu appears to have been east of the Hintha Kone ; see Stewart , 1914) .
The brothers, in the company of nats and brahmas, knew they had come across
the right hill when an earthquake rocked the ground. With the help of
Thagyamin, the pagoda was constructed and the two hair relics placed inside
the relic chamber, together with many sculptures, two depicting the brothers
and many others representing the Buddha’s disciples. The ruling house of
Zaungtu, King Thamandaraya and his queen, donated lands and slaves to the

2
pagoda. The myth then skips ahead to a period in which religion was in decline
and all of the shrines in the realm had become derelict ; this period of decline
coincided with the Third Buddhist Council convened by King Asoka. Two
arahants were therefore sent to Hamsavati and “pointed out the places where
the holy hairs and other relics were reposing.” (Browne, 1867 : 115) In some
sources the two are called Fictha and Oobhara, while in other accounts their
names and even their identities vary. (Browne, 1867 : 115 ; Halliday, 2000, II :
91) The Mahavamsa names the two as Sona and Uttara, and these are the
personal names that appear in the 15th-century inscriptions.
Seven stupas , according to the thamaing , “were cleared of the trees and
weeds . . . and were ornamented with golden Htees [htis] by the piously disposed
monarch.” (Browne, 1867 : 115) Six were in Pegu and its environs, with the
Shwedagon the only one outside this area. The others were the Shwemawdaw,
Kyaik-dewa, the Kyaik-thamwonhan, the Makaw, the Kyaik-Khouk (Syriam?)
and the Kyaik-tanoo. The king himself then gave over 500 hundred men to all
seven pagodas. The narrative then jumps ahead centuries until the mythical
founders of Hamsavati, the brothers Samala and Wimala. The former raised
the Shwemawdaw from 50 to 54 cubits, followed by a long list of kings and their
benefactions. Another Shwemadaw thamaing summarizes much of the same
information, with some differences, and adds other material, such as the famous
converted heretic Tissa raja enshrining a Buddha image found after a landslide in
Banaras. (Hsaya Ku : 1954 ; this thamaing is referred to by Tun Aung Chain,
2002).
The 16th-king in succession from Samala received a tooth-relic from a
prince in Thaton named “Theeree-dhamma-thawka”, or Siridhammasoka,
which was enshrined in the Shwemawdaw. (This reference to Thaton, a tooth-
relic and Siridhammasoka is probably a vestige of the 15th- century myth, as we
see below). The 17th king in this lineage is the notorious heretic, the animist
Tissa, whose reign is followed by the conquest by Pagan kings. Then follows the
rise of the later Mon kings which included the famous Rajadhiraj (1384-1420)
who received a princes from the king of Sri Lanka, together with a sacred tooth-
relic that was enshrined in the Shwemawdaw. The story goes up to the conquest
of Hamsavati and repairs to the Shwemawdaw by King Bodawpaya and his
hoisting a hti. Bodawpaya’s involvement with the pagoda is also referred to by
Symes. (Symes, 1800 : 188)
Another tradition involving the Shwemawdaw relics is recorded in a late Mon
text entitled Gawampati, probably datable to ca. 1710. (Shorto, 1970 : 18).
Here, Gavampati arrived to Ramanna country, with the Buddha, via Sukhothai
and Dawei, or Tavoy. The Buddha presented 9 hairs to Gavampati and Indra
and instructed them to enshrine them on the future site of the Shwemawdaw
Pagoda. This number 9 is probably tied in some fashion to the nine scythes
(Mon), nine baskets of beans (Ava) and nine gold plates (Indians) which figured
in the later foundation myth for Hamsavati ; these three distinct groups bury

3
these objects in order to lay a future claim of ownership ; different texts list
different buried objects (Halliday, 2002, II ; for a summary of a small section of
the Mon Yazawin, see Furnivall, 1915 : 9)
The model for the current myth (the hair relics from the Buddha in India) is
almost certainly the Shwedagon-story, an original Mon myth involving two
brothers visiting the Buddha in India for hair relics. The merchant-brothers are
the famous Tapussa and Bhallika of the Pali canon and its commentaries. The
15th-century inscriptions at the Shwedagon itself are the earliest datable record of
this myth in Burma, but it likely stretched back to the 14th century when the Mon
based in Pegu probably began patronizing the stupa, these benefactions recorded
in the Shwedagon inscription.(Pe Maung Tin, 1934) The Shwedagon myth
probably not only inspired the present legend at the Shwemawdaw but also a
similar myth at the Shwesandaw Pagoda in Tuntay, or Twante, where two
brothers, Tikkha Panna and Sagara Panna, offered the Buddha food and received
two strands of hair in return, on Mt. Zingyaik, south of Thaton. Of course the
narrative of the two brothers receiving relics from the Buddha in India could be
tapped from early Buddhist Pali literature at any time or place, but the
overwhelming stature of the Shwedagon provided the model for the others
pagodas in Lower Burma.

The 15th- Century Myth : One of 33 Teeth

The earliest myth associated with the Shwemawdaw stems from completely
different sources than the current legend. 2 Our sole surviving evidence comes in
the form of two 15th-century inscriptions, one in Mon and the other in Pali,
both located along the eastern stairway leading to the promontory of the Hintha
Kone. The 21-line Mon inscription was edited and translated into Burmese in
1965, but the editor wisely refrained from attributing it to any building phase
at the Shwemawdaw since the fragmentary inscription referred neither to a stupa
or a refurbishment. (U Chit Thein, 1965 : no. 94 ) Shorto referred to the
inscription’s presence at the Shwemawdaw but did not comment on its contents
(Shorto, 1971 : xxxii). The epigraph is absent in Durosielle’s compilation of
Mon inscriptions and also in one or two other earlier notices of Pegu.
(Duroiselle, 1921 ; Stewart, 1914 ; Page, 1917)
The fragmentary Mon inscription has never been firmly attributed to the
Shwemawdaw Pagoda itself, since only its location linked it to the pagoda.
Taken together with the routine practice of shifting loose archaeological
remains to the compounds of local pagodas, it has been prudent up to now not
to connect the inscription with the pagoda. Indeed, perhaps no pagoda in Burma
has been a greater a repository of local archaeological finds than the
Shwemawdaw since the early part of the 20th century, if not earlier (Stewart :

4
1914). Also, the fragmentary inscription itself did not refer to a structure of any
type or even a dedication.
The Pali inscription at the Shwemawdaw, however, fills the critical
gaps of the fragmentary Mon inscription. The Pali and Mon inscriptions were
almost certainly incised at the same time and made to be displayed together.
Such multi-lingual inscriptions are rare, being only reserved for the most
prestigious and important foundations, such as the Shwedagon, the Kalyani and
the Shwegugyi in Pegu. In light of Shwemawdaw’s preeminence, it therefore is
scarcely surprising to find this bilingual record. Indeed, the Pali and Mon
inscriptions were perhaps accompanied by a now lost Burmese version, as we see
at the Shwedagon.
The first part of the Pali text largely parallels the surviving portion of the
Mon text but continues for many more lines to include a great deal more
information, suggesting that the surviving portions of the Mon text represented
roughly the first half of the entire incised text.
The Mon and Pali versions both begin with three core myths that are
repeated with only minor variation in a number of 15th- century Mon inscriptions
found in Lower Burma. (U Chit Thein, 1965 ; Shorto, 1963).

The Six Hair Relic and the Six Hermits

The first involves the Buddha visiting Thaton in order to convert the Mon king.
In Thaton the Buddha was visited by six hermits who each received a hair relic,
for a total of six. One hermit returns to his dwelling and at the request of two
fellow hermits two more hairs are miraculously created from one, thus raising
the grand total to 8 hairs in Lower Burma (not counting those said to be in the
Shwedagon). One of the hermits lived on Mt. Kelasa, the famous peak near
Thaton, where an inscription has been found that speaks about the hair relic (U
Chit Thein, 1965 : no. 92). Other hermits lived “at the middle of the forest of
Randa-naguiw” and another “to the west of the middle of the forest ….. at the
east of the city of Asitanjana-naguiw.” (U Chit Thein, 1965 : no. 91). Asitanjana
is certainly present Yangon, also known in early Pali literature and also the home
of Tapussa and Bhallika in the Shwedagon inscription (Pe Maung Tin, 1934 : 27).
Randa-naguiw is perhaps the same as Rannaguiw, mentioned in a later Mon text
as a sacred hill north of the Shwedagon, or Singhuttara Hill (Halliday, 2000, II :
86). Lacunae in all of these inscriptions preclude an identification of all six
places and even the names of the hermits, if in fact names were attributed to them.
This core legend centered on the Buddha, hair relics and hermits on hill tops in
the Thaton area has endured for centuries, spawning local myths underpinning
the foundation of innumerable pagodas. The most well-known offspring of this
legend is the Golden Rock at Kyaikthiyo, with its one or more hermits and the
enshrinement one or more hair relics inside the boulder, depending on different
versions. It is extremely unlikely that the Kyaikthityo hill was one of the
original six locations, but the idea of the Buddha, the hairs-to-hermits, and a

5
royal patron is descended from the 15th century myth. Even female nats, such as
the woeful tale of Shwe Nann Kyin, were cleverly grafted on to the major myth.
A cluster of hill-top pagodas has actually been the subject of a recent
renewal involving prominent monks and high government officials discovering,
clearing and restoring lost and derelict pagodas in the Kyaikhtiyo region,
beginning in the 1970s and peaking in the 1990s. (Cetana : 1997) Indeed, the
restoration of lost and ruinous temples is a leitmotif in much of ancient and
contemporary Burmese history and in other Theravadin countries also.
The notion of six hair relics may relate to a lesser-known Pali source, the
Chakesadhatuvasma, or Chronicle of the Six Hairs Relics , said to be from
Burma. (Strong, 2004 : 82) The hairs are given to disciples by the Buddha and
dispersed into stupas built by various patrons. It is more likely that the text
belongs to Sri Lanka than Burma, however, since the place names and characters
do not relate to Burma, such as Kesavati, Manimekhala, and Pajjuna. More
significantly there is reference to Damila (Tamil) merchants. This text is
probably later than the 15th century, but it may reflect early Theravadin traditions
that were partial to the dispersal of six hair relics . There is also in the
Mahavamsa an example where the Buddha bestowed a “handful of hairs” to the
god of Adam’s Peak, Mahasumana. (Geiger, I, 34)

The One Tooth Becoming 33

The second, related part of the myth is connected to the king in Thaton
requesting Gavampati to ask the Buddha for a tooth relic. The Buddha
demurred but promised Gavampati a tooth relic from his funeral pyre. Later,
Gavampati picked the tooth out of the ashes at Kusinagara and returned to
Thaton, whereupon the tooth multiplied itself thirty-three times. (There are also
references to Gavampati’s family connection with the Thaton king, in a previous
lifetime ; see Shorto, 1970) The king then created thirty-three stone stupas in
Thaton. After relating this episode in the story, the Mon inscription at the
Shwemawdaw breaks off, but the Pali epigraph picks up the narrative and
completes the story. The tale of the 6 hair relics, followed by the 33-teeth story,
appears in a number of 15th- century Mon inscriptions, in a fairly formulaic
fashion. (U Chit Thein, 1965)

The Discovery of the 33 Stupas

The Pali inscription records the third major mythic link which involves the
visit to Thaton of Sona and Uttara, the arahants dispatched to Lower Burma
at the time of the 3rd Synod convened by King Asoka, according to Mon sources.
This is based on the well-known account in the Mahavamsa. The time frame
occurs much later than the Buddha’s original visit to Thaton. In Thaton the pair
of arahants not only quell an ogress (in the Kalyani inscription) but also
discover the derelict and hidden shrines of the 6 Hair Relics (located probably
from the Shwedagon, Yangon, to the Thaton area) and the 33 Teeth Pagodas in

6
Thaton. These commemorative stupas are restored with the help of the ruling
king.
Nowhere in Mon inscriptions from the 15th century is it explicitly stated
that the 33 teeth were dispersed from Thaton during Sona and Uttara’s visit or at
any later time. But such a dispersal is implied, since pagodas in Pegu and the
surrounding area that were refurbished in the 15th century were thought to contain
teeth relics. (Shorto, 1963 : 576) The Pali inscription at the Shwemawdaw,
however, alludes to the dispersal of the 33 teeth relics from Thaton at the time of
Sona and Uttara. (Tun Aung Chain, personal communication, May 2, 007)
One of the most complete Mon inscriptions from this period enumerates the
origin of the 6 hairs and the 33 teeth at the time of the Buddha and the later
restoration of monuments commemorating these relics, at the time of Sona and
Uttara. (U Chit Thein, 1965 : no. 87) The inscription concludes by describing
the refurbishment of a pagoda by a
state officer at least as early as the
reign of Rajadhiraj. This pagoda
required repair and the work was
taken up by queen Shinsawbu
(1453-1470) and the reigning king
Dhammaceti. The inscription is
dated to 1486, or Sakkaraj 848 and
is now in a small shed next to the
pagoda that it commemorates, in
Payagyi, about 10 miles northeast of
Pegu. The enshrinement appears to
be a tooth relic but lacunae
inscription precludes certainty.
(Shorto, 1963)

The Shwemadaw : Madhava, Mudhava, Mau Tau, Muhtau

In the Pali inscription at the Shwemewdaw Sona and Uttara recovered all
thirty-three teeth and then dispersed the teeth to various shrines, one of which is
known as Madhava. None of the other locations appear to be in the inscription.
The 15th-century name of the Shwemawdaw seems therefore to be Madhava, a

7
name that does not seem to have any immediate Pali or Mon connections (more
below). Other places where the teeth were distributed are not mentioned in the
inscription.
The mythic section of the Pali inscription is followed by a list of key
benefactions, beginning with Banyu U (1369-1384) who reigned for 35 years,
beginning in Sakkaraj 710, or 1348. He replaced the “open shrine with a stupa
that his son Rajadhiraj enlarged.” (Tun Aung Chain, personal communication,
May 2, 2007) The inscription concludes by saying “that in Sakkaraj 820, or
1458, that Banya Thaw (1453-1470), or Shinsawbu, and Dhammaceti had the
minister Sihappamana and the mason Brahma enlarge the stupa and that work
was finished in Sakkaraj 824, or 1462.” (Tun Aung Chain, personal
communication, May 2, 2007) There is no mention of a reigning king, nor can we
be sure of the date of the incising of the inscription until the epigraph is edited
properly. It is possible that the inscription itself is dated to 1462, about a
decade before Dhammaceti assumed the throne, but this is conjecture. It may
date to after the reign of Dhammaceti but the contents of the text and its
literary style would make it hard to place too much later than ca. 1500 and
certainly not after the invasion of Tabinshwehti in the 1530s.
The name of the stupa is partially confirmed by a passage in the Pali portion
of the Kalyani Inscription at Pegu discussing the search for a suitable location for
the future Kalyani Sima : “During the course of their search, the king’s attendant
found on the skirts of a forest to the west of a mahacheitya, called Mudhava, a
gamakhetta belonging to the Minister Narasura, which was small and could
easily be guarded …” (Taw Sein Ko : 1893 : 47). This Mudhava is almost
certainly the same as the Madhava in the Pali inscription. These two references
(Mudhava and Madhava) are the only know appearances of this name in the 15th
century epigraphs.
In the Mon version of the Kalyani Inscription the reference to the
mahachetiya is eliminated but the same ‘search’ is repeated. (Blagden, 1928 :
241). In the concluding section of the same Mon version there is a reference to
consecrating “simas at the four quarters of the Mau Tau pagoda.” Blagden
interpreted this as “The biggest pagoda at Pegu”, by which he meant the
Shwemawdaw. (Blagden, 1928 : 265). This ‘Mau Tau’ was probably the local
Mon pronunciation of the official title of Madhava, or Mudhava, reserved for
more formal Pali inscriptions. This Mau Tau almost certainly became in later
Mon chronicle “Mohtau Pagoda” or “Muhtau Pagoda” in later Mon chronicles
(Halliday, 2000, II : 102, 111-114). The correct transliteration of the pagoda in
Burmese, Shwemawdho, reflects a descent from Mau Tau, which ultimately
derived Mudhava and Madhava. It cannot yet be determined if Mudhava (or
Madhava) is a Pali term. It is possible that the name used in the inscriptions
derived solely from Mon or that the name, Madhava or Mudhava, represents a
Mon spelling or pronunciation of a Pali word.

8
 This major legend about the tooth relic was replaced sometime in the 16th
century or later by the myth centered on two hair relics. The reference in the
Shwemawdaw Thamaing to a king (16th in the lineage) following Samala
receiving a tooth relic from a prince in Thaton is likely a distant reference to the
earlier myth, a vestige now embedded in the Shwemawdaw Thamaing but lost in
the popular imagination today.
Is the current Shwemawdaw myth of Mon or Burmese origin ? Is it
correct to label the Shwedagon myth a Mon legend because it was formulated
in the 15th century, before the Burmese conquests of the 16th century ? Even the
Shwedagon myth is scarcely of ‘pure’ Mon origins in as much as it drew upon
Pali sources from abroad and even a medieval Sinhalese text, the
Nalatadhatuvamsa. (Pe Maung Tin : 1934) But what about the host of myths
that came into being certainly in the centuries after the Burmese seizure of Pegu
and Lower Burma ? Are they Mon or Burmese ? Some myths from that period,
such as the founding of Hamsavati by Samala and Wimala from Thaton, can be
considered Mon in content and flavor although they were composed during this
period when the Mon had lost power and influence. Indeed, this myth about the
founding of Hamsavati clearly reveals a Mon population at a loss to make sense
of their collapse. For example, in a mythic age the Mon triumphed over
competing claimants, from India and Ava , through the trickery of Thagyamin.
The stories have all the hallmarks of wishful thinking, such as the boy-hero Asah
who defeated an Indian ogre who has come from India to settle scores with the
Mon. (Halliday, 2000, II)
Certain elements of the Shwemadaw myth, such as the two brothers going to
India for hair relics, are modeled after the Shwedagon Mon myth, and to that
extent we might say it is a Mon myth but fabricated after the period of Mon
ascendancy. With the fall of Pegu and Lower Burma to Burmese forces there
was of course an active cross current of influences, and Burmese kings eagerly
paid tribute to Mon shrines and adopted former Mon legends. Many Mon legends
were re-crafted over time, such as King Okkalapu and Sule Nat who were later
inserted into the Shwedagon myth. (Pe Maung Tin, 1934) Myths, like great
rivers, draw upon a limitless number of tributaries, large and small, until it is
impossible to trace their origins. And certainly devotees through the ages paid
scant attention to if a myth was ‘more Mon’ or ‘more Burmese.’ Like
worshippers today, they attend sacred pagodas believing in the sanctity and
importance of the relics.
The six hair relics to six hermits in Thaton and the 33-teeth enshrined in
Thaton entered the Burmese Buddhist tradition of chronicles. In the
Sasanavamsa there is only a brief reference to the 33 hair-relic shrines in Thaton
but no mention of a dispersal. (Law , 1952 : 42) By that time probably the
original Shwemawdaw myth had been safely eclipsed and replaced with the
present one.

9
 A connection between the 33-teeth and the well-known 32-myo of later Mon
polity was made by the late H.L. Shorto. In the Mon text entitled Gawampati, ca.
1710, the Buddha proclaimed : “When My tooth which is to be in 33 places is
brought here [Thaton] all those localities to which their relics are translated shall
afterwards constitute the domains and possession of the Mon country. From the
time that My tooth is kept here, truly all creatures shall be free from
famine.” (Shorto, 1963 : 574). Moreover, the 33 wives of the local Thaton king,
Sirdhammasoka, wished to enshrine the teeth themselves ; the 33 wives are
presumably from the important ‘myos’ of the realm. (Shorto, 1963 : 574 ) This
text implies that the 33 teeth relics were already dispersed by ca. 1710.
The Shwemadaw certainly received prominence after Burmese forces took
Pegu. Indeed, it dominated the northeastern quadrant of the newly built brick
city enclosure, as it does the same part of Pegu today. Bayinnaung gifted his own
weight in gold, multiplied four times, to his pagoda, the Mahaceti, and the
Shwemadaw, suggesting its continued importance after the fall of Pegu earlier in
the 16th century (Hmannan, 2 : 339-40, 393, referred to in Tun Aung Chain, 2002 :
44)
Perhaps a careful review of the documents from the Burmese period will
uncover the process by which the myths were switched. Michael Symes quizzed
the chief sayadaw in Pegu in 1795 about the “Shoemadoo” pagoda who
repeated the story of the two merchant brothers “who came to Pegue from
Tallowmeou, a district one day’s journey east of Martaban.” (Symes, 1800 :192)
It is unlikely that it happened over night, such as by proclamation, but over many
decades, as the tangled histories of other shrines suggest.
Perhaps Gavampati was too closely associated with Mon identity, and this
had something to do with the myth’s replacement sometime during or after the
16th century. True, the Shwedagon legend involved two Mon brothers, but neither
Gavampati nor a Mon king in Thaton figure into the myth. Indeed, it was during
the Burmese era that King Ukkalapa was introduced and he ruled in the present
Yangon area. The triumph of the current Shwemawdaw myth (with two hairs)
probably reflected the overarching prestige of the Shwedagon myth.
Also, hair relics, for unknown reasons, were far more popular in Burma than
teeth relics, from at least the 16th century onward, if one made an informal survey
of shrines in Lower Burma. This is perhaps another reason why the myth of the
tooth relic receded quietly after the 16th century, simply based on the greater
popularity of hair relics and specifically the narrative of the Shwedagon. But
these are guesses, since there are too many gaps in the record.
But this new evidence in the form of the Pali inscription at the Shwemawday
has likely solved one of the most vexing problems in Mon history, that is, the
foundation myth surrounding the Shwemawdaw temple in the 15th century.
While the Shwedagon celebrated the hair relics brought to Lower Burma by
Tapussa and Bhallika, the Shwemawdaw embodied the story of Gavampati

10
and his personal relationship and intersession with the Buddha on behalf of the
Mon.

ENDNOTES
I want to thank U Tun Aung Chain, Yangon, who shared with me a summary of
the Pali inscription and his interpretations (personal communication, May 2,
2007). Without bringing this Pali inscription to my attention, this article could
not have been written. I also wish to thank Patrick Pranke and Jason Carbine for
making valuable suggestions, together with Nai Pan Hla for providing
translations of many Mon inscriptions during my residence in Yangon in 1987.
To the extent that the Pali epigraph in question has not been translated or edited
properly, the conclusions here are tentative.

1. More than one thamaing focused on the Shwemawadaw, which also included
information on Pegu. One has been translated by H.A. Browne into English and
appeared in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Bengal. Another Shwemawdaw
thamaing is referred to in J. A. Stewart’s account of Pegu and more fully in the
Pegu and Syriam District gazetteers. Perhaps yet another, Shwemawdawpaya
Thamaing, was published by Hsaya Ku (see bibliography).

2. The ‘original myth’ is here defined as the myth that was, strictly speaking,
current during the second half 15th century. It is difficult to know precisely
when this myth formed, but it is possible that that it was in place in the 14th
century when Pegu became the major Mon center. The earliest date for for a
shrine , or stupa, on that very hill is unknown. However, Pegu was probably a
place of some importance during the first millennium, and there was likely a
shrine on that very hill, much like what one suspects for the hill crowned by the
Shwedagon. However, it is impossible to reconstruct the myths associated with
the ‘first stupa’ or to determine the nature of its relics. The Mon evidently made
Pegu their most important administrative center in the first half of the 14th
century, during the reign of Banya U (1369-1384), and it was perhaps at that
time that some of these major myths were formed, or attached to pre-existing
stupas, such as the Shwemawdaw.

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