1

M R AU K- U

A Guide to the Heritage of the Ancient Kingdom

Mrauk-U
A GUIDE TO THE HERITAGE OF THE
ANCIENT KINGDOM
 INDIA

CHINA

BANGLA-
DESH

MYANMAR

RA
KH
INE

LAOS
STA
TE

BAY
OF
BENGAL

THAILAND

ANDAMAN
SEA

LEGEND

Border

River

Rakhine State
 RA
K
HI
NE
ST
AT
MRAUK-U E

BAY
OF
BENGAL

LEGEND

Border

River

Rakhine State
6

CONTRIBUTORS
Dr. Robert Leslie Hudson
Daw Khin Than
U Win Kyaing
Dr. Shikha Jain
Dr. Jacques Pierre Leider
U Than Myint
Dr. Michele Romano
Mr. Massimo Sarti
Daw Nu Mra Zan

REVIEWERS
Dr. Aye Chan
Daw Mra Sabai Nyun
Dr. Tin Mar Aung

EDITORS
Mr. Lorcan Lovett

Published by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture,

supported by UNESCO Myanmar and Italian Agency
for Development Cooperation (AICS).
Designed and edited by Inspiral Creative.
 7

FOREWORD
Mrauk-U, founded in the 15th century, was the last capital of the Rakhine
kingdom, located strategically in western Myanmar near the Bay of Bengal in
the Indian Ocean. Established because of the geographical vulnerability of the
previous capital of Launggyet which was on a plain, this new city’s location
was not only beneficial for agricultural and defense purposes but its strategic
positioning between India and Southeast Asia and easy accessibility resulted
in its development as a commercial and cultural trading centre, later rising to a
flourishing kingdom for a period of more than 200 years.

Mrauk-U lies on the rocky plain or watershed between the Lemro and Kaladan
rivers intersected by ranges of hills and numerous canals. The temples of
Mrauk-U have more of a superstitious significance than a religious reverence.
The monuments which dotted the plain and capped the ranges of hills mostly
date from the 15th and 16th centuries. Most of them are of stone and brick, but
those entirely built of stone are generally among the best-preserved monuments
at Mrauk-U.

Mrauk-U is known for being one of the Asian hydraulic civilizations which
based its power, wealth and regional hegemony on water management. There
are numerous testimonies in the archaeological precinct of Mrauk-U and the
surrounding area of waterworks built as a complex system of interconnected
structures which local historians and archeologist attribute to defense,
regulation of runoff, water supply, irrigation etc.

Currently, the Department of Archaeology and National Museum under the

Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture is striving to have Mrauk-U included in
the World Heritage List in cooperation with UNESCO and Government of Italy.

The support of UNESCO and the Government of Italy in strengthening local

capacities for conserving and managing Mrauk-U is gratefully acknowledged.

Kyaw Oo Lwin
Director General
Department of Archaeology and National Museum
Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture
8

PREFACE

Mrauk-U, the ancient capital of the Rakhine kingdom, is one of the

most significant cultural heritage sites in Myanmar. It is home to
an outstanding example of ancient urbanisation which includes
architectural elements such as forts, temples, stupas, as well as the
remains of a complex water management system. All these elements,
combined with its surrounding landscape that was cleverly used as a
natural fortification for the city, are distinctive features that contribute
to the extraordinary value of Mrauk-U.

The site is rich both in tangible and intangible cultural heritage that
survived the passage of time and all the challenges that this brings to
heritage preservation. However, despite its wealth of historical, cultural
and religious heritage, Mrauk-U remains relatively unknown to the
outside world.

For several years, UNESCO has been providing technical assistance to

the Department of Archaeology and National Museum of the Ministry
of Religious Affairs and Culture (MORAC) to strengthen the national
capacity for the conservation and management of Mrauk-U.

At the same time, our efforts have also been directed at showing the
historical and cultural values of Mrauk-U to the public at large and, in
particular, to the people living in the local communities in and around
the site as they have a crucial role to play in safeguarding it.

The remains of the ancient capital of the Rakhine kingdom also tell
us the story of a thriving international trade that played an important
role in world history between the 15th and 18th centuries. This story
also needs to be preserved for future generations, along with all the
tangible heritage, especially now that Mrauk-U is beginning its journey
to be inscribed in the World Heritage List.
 9

This book aims to provide a better understanding of the significance of

Mrauk-U and is based on the knowledge and information gathered from
historians, architects, archaeologists and other experts who have been
involved in studying and researching this fascinating place.

We hope that this publication will serve to reveal some of the hidden
wonders of Mrauk-U and to get it better known and appreciated. This is
even more important at this point in time when Mrauk-U and the local
communities face a critical security situation. Therefore, we would like
this book to be a reminder of our shared responsibility towards the
preservation and sustainable management of this unique site.

Min Jeong Kim

Head of Office
UNESCO Myanmar
10

CONTENTS
7 | Foreword

8 | Preface

12 | Introduction

16 | The History Of Mrauk-U

16 | The founding of a capital (1430-1531)
19 | An emerging regional force (1531-1571)
21 | Rise of the warrior kings (1571-1638)
26 | Rulers of the Golden Palace (1638-1685)
28 | Twilight of a mighty coastal power (1685–1785)
29 | Under the Myanmar administration (1785-1825)
30 | British colonial rule, independence and beyond (1825 onwards)

32 | Ruins Of A Grand Capital

32 | Defence system and fortifications
36 | Palace site and walls
40 | Temples, monasteries and inscriptions
43 | Laymyatnar Temple
45 | Shitthaung Temple
49 | Koe Thaung Temple
53 | Andaw Thein
57 | Thakkya Man-aung Stupa
59 | Zina Man-aung Stupa
63 | Lawka Man-aung Stupa
67 | Laung Poon Byauk Stupa
71 | Yadanarpon Stupa
75 | Htoke Kant Thein (ordination hall)
79 | Nat shrines
 11

80 | A Land of Water
80 | A hydraulic civilisation
82 | Seasonal streams and canals
83 | Reservoirs and dams
84 | Water gates
86 | Moats, ponds and wells
88 | Defence, trading ports and royal rituals

90 | Relics Of The Kingdom

90 | Buddha images
92 | Coins
93 | Sculptures

94 | A Living Heritage
96 | Embracing diversity, spreading Buddhism
98 | Mrauk-U today

104 | Protecting the cultural significance of Mrauk-U

106 | Features
106 | Supernatural beliefs and political upheaval
108 | Epigraphy and kingship
110 | Rakhine Buddhism

112 | Glossary
12

INTRODUCTION
Surrounded by steep
hills and tributaries,
hundreds of ruined
temples, sculptures and
fortifications echo of a
mighty coastal power and
its revered last capital,
Mrauk-U.
 13

For more than 350 years, the cosmopolitan city

served as the centre of the Rakhine kingdom, which
at its peak stretched from southeast Bengal down to
Tanintharyi in southern Myanmar.

The city’s easy accessibility from the Bay of Bengal

coupled with a string of ambitious kings saw it grow from
a cultural trading hub to a flourishing kingdom from 1430
to the late 17th century.

Portuguese and Dutch travellers knew it as “the golden

city”, a nod to its rich culture, history and treasures, with
one impressed visitor, Jesuit Father A. Farinha, writing in
1639 “Venice should be called the second Mrauk-U.”

But the destiny of one of Asia’s richest cities was

determined as much by its natural environment as
by its leaders. Hilly terrain served its robust defence,
heavy rainfall helped agriculture thrive, and its location,
sandwiched between India and Southeast Asia in
western Myanmar, ensured it was a vital trading port
for goods coming from as far as Persia and Arabia.

Compilations of annals, local oral traditions, Western

traders’ accounts, diaries as well as lore and poetry from
adjoining Bengal region form an eclectic body of sources
which help us tell the story of the grand city of Mrauk-U.
 14

AN EMERGING REGIONAL FORCE RULERS OF THE GOLDEN PALACE

1531 - 1571 1638 - 1685

1430 - 1531 1571 - 1638 1685 -

THE FOUNDING OF A CAPITAL RISE OF THE WARRIOR KINGS TWILIGHT OF
 15

UNDER THE BURMESE ADMINISTRATION

1785 - 1825

1785 1825 onwards

F A MIGHTY COASTAL POWER BRITISH COLONIAL RULE,
INDEPENDENCE AND BEYOND
16

The History of
Mrauk-U
The founding of a capital
(1430-1531)
When former Rakhine ruler Man Saw Mon returned from exile and
seized power in Launggyet on the Lemro River, astrologers warned him
the old capital was no longer safe.

They insisted a new city be founded, and in 1430, or 792 Burmese Era,
Man Saw Mon established the capital of Mrauk-U.

Legend spoke of a land of wondrous natural landscape untouched by

humans that would become a great settlement, providing a fruitful
future for its kings.

So began the rise of a small but assured coastal power that would
transform the region.

Little is known about the period before 1430, but available information
from the preceding years reveal a slow march of territorial expansion.

We can assume the ruling family in Mrauk-U maintained relations with

its neighbours, the Sultanate of Bengal in East India, Myanmar’s Ava
in the east and Pegu in lower Myanmar, formerly known as Burma (see
‘Burma’ in Glossary page 112).

These eastern neighbours shared Buddhism with Rakhine, but the

prestige of the Sultanate of Bengal and the trade with major port
Chittagong pulled Mrauk-U towards India. This influence was reflected
in the city’s coins at the time, which were marked with Islamicised titles
adopted by Rakhine kings.

These kings cautiously extended their control over the central valleys
and islands along the coast, also pushing south to Gwa and north to
Ramu.
 17

But Mrauk-U’s first century was defined more by smart diplomacy than View of Mrauk-U - Schouten

conquest.

In 1454, a treaty with Ava defined the watershed of the Rakhine Yoma
mountain range as the political border between the two kingdoms,
establishing a political status quo of non-interference. Now enemies
such as Chakma raiders would not necessarily be chased when they
took refuge in another kingdom.

The treaty may also have paved the way for the further export of Shan
ruby stones towards India.

Man Saw Mon was succeeded by his brother King Man Khari (1433-
1458), who encouraged damming rivers to boost net fishing, built
numerous wells and is credited with many religious activities.

During the initial years of Mrauk-U, more focus may have been on
constructing religious monuments than urban or military projects.

Buddhism ran through its narrative since the kingdom’s inception.

Though the origins of Theravada Buddhism in Rakhine are still difficult
to trace, contact with Myanmar and Sri Lanka are often cited.

In 1475, King Ba Saw Phru was said to have received a set of canonical
scriptures from Sri Lanka, situating the kingdom in the Buddhist
orbit as much as the Bay of Bengal world of trade and ethno-religious
diversity to its west.
18

Tha-ra-pah-pa-ta (Sara-pah-bhata)

Mote-seik-taw

Mya-ta-zaung
Mya-ta-laung
Nyi Daw

Laymyatnar

Myo-u-khaung Shwe-gu-taung

Palace site

Barbutaung 4
Barbutaung 2
Barbutaung 3
Barbutaung 1

Wizaya-ranthi

Temples ascribed to King Man Saw Mon (1430-1433)

 19

An emerging regional force

(1531-1571)
Mrauk-U was recognized as a regional force, but one king would elevate
the fledgling power to the next level.

King Man Ba (ca. 1531-1553) brought on the city’s “second foundation”,

according to the Rakhine chronicles.

Both a builder and a warrior, his near twenty-year reign saw naval
attacks against Chittagong and marked a new beginning of Rakhine
expansion towards the northwest - along with two centuries of warfare
against Mrauk-U’s competitors in the Bay of Bengal.

At home, King Man Ba turned Mrauk-U into a formidable fortress.

During his time, outlying fortifications were built and gates were
positioned. He oversaw the design of moats, canals and embankments
as well as the management of water resources.

Waterways running through the city were deepened to allow more

boats, and a system of canals and sluices were combined along the east
and west hill ranges, peppered with towers, barbicans and railings.

The city’s stunning stone temples, many of which are still seen today,
testify the strength of the manpower of the Rakhine Kingdom.

The main temple compound of Shitthaung (eighty thousand) temple

was associated with the king’s name and the Buddhist cosmology; a
figure at the northwest corner of the inner chamber represents King
Man Ba and his two queens.

The king’s son Man Tikkha, who reportedly ruled for only three years,
built Koe Thaung (ninety thousand) temple compound in 1553 before
his two sons, Man Saw Hla (1551-1564) and Man Setya (1564-1571),
contributed more to defensive works as well as the temples and
monasteries of Mrauk-U.
20

The city’s citizens would have undoubtedly felt encouraged by this Shitthaung Temple
defensive structure when in 1534 a Portuguese armada, possibly one of
many renegade Portuguese groups active along the coast, entrenched
themselves outside the city for a week before being driven away.

Similarly, Myanmar troops sparked a war of attrition near the city from
October 1546 until April 1547 when their departure was eventually
negotiated, thanks to the ability of Rakhine army to entrench the
invaders on the western side of Mrauk-U.

Not all of the action was taking place in the vicinity of the city: the
Rakhine kingdom had become strong enough to meddle in rivalries
between the Chakmas and the rulers of Tripura and Chittagong.

During the reigns of Man Saw and Man Setya, Rakhine

seemingly had sporadic control over Chittagong.
The port’s governor sent an embassy to Mrauk-U to
signify submission; in return, Rakhine provided military
support when the Chakma chief attacked the port.

But under Man Setya, Chittagong and Tripura allied against the
Chakma king, who in turn made friendly overtures to Rakhine. This
undermined relations with Chittagong and for a short while Mrauk-U
lost its grasp of the port.
 21

Rise of the warrior kings

(1571-1638)
A time of bountiful resources, political order and fleets that struck fear
in the hearts of its foes, this century was arguably the greatest for the
Rakhine kingdom.

Kings ruled undivided over their realm, due to well managed

commercial and political network and overseeing a profitable slave
trade that helped create wealth for their cosmopolitan court.

European travellers offered flattering accounts of

Mrauk-U during this period, comparing the city to
Amsterdam and Venice. The city had quarters for
Indian Ocean traders, Portuguese and Japanese, while
French, Dutch and English were grouped together,
described one visitor.

But the kings were not always present in their increasingly wealthy
home: these were warrior kings at the helm of troops waging war.

The doubling of Rakhine territory under Man Phalaung (1571-1593) and

Man Raza Gri (1592-1612) showed a willingness to impose the Rakhine
will over its neighbours.

Rule over Chittagong was established around 1580 and Pegu, capital of
the Myanmar empire, was successfully invaded in 1599.

Meanwhile, alternating alliances with minor chiefdoms, long-term

entanglements with strategic players such as the Portuguese and their
Luso-Asian micro-society and deals with foreign stakeholders such as
the Dutch East India Company bolstered Mrauk-U.

As master seafarers, fire weapon specialists, mercenaries and

merchants, Portuguese were incorporated into the Rakhine kingdom,
which was served by the economic pillar of Chittagong.

Yet the key moment in Man Phalaung’s reign was not gaining control of
the major port, but leading resistance to a Myanmar invasion led by the
most experienced military leader of his time, King Bayint Naung.

In 1586, the Rakhine navy swiftly checked a revolt led by the Tripura
king with Chakma, Afghan and Portuguese allies.
22

Shan-taung-myo

Shitthaung 1535

Shin Mra Wa
U Mra Wa (relics)

Palace site

Shwe-gu-gyi
Thein-gyi
Shwe-taung shwe-gu

Dat-phyu-taung

Legend
Earth embankments
Stone walls
Side-cut hills

Temples ascribed to King Man Ba (ca. 1531-1553)

 23

Towards the end of the century, Man Raza Gri saw an opportunity
to invade Pegu, a feat that promised booty, slaves, court women,
elephants and manuscripts, wrote the chronicler.

It was more indirect rule, more taxation, and more treasure for the
court. Palaces were built and naval garrisons along with public works
were maintained.

Trade continued as much as power plays between competitors;

agreements were settled and the city prospered.

In September 1627, a Rakhine embassy arrived in Batavia (modern day

Jakarta) with a letter from the king promising the Dutch to be able to
trade peacefully.

The ruthless deportations along the rivers of South and East Bengal
generated and fed the slave trade in the Bay of Bengal where the
Portuguese were prime actors and the Dutch East India Company
became a major buyer in the 1630s.

Under the reigns of Man Khamaung (1612-1622) and

Thirithudhammaraza (1622-1638), the Rakhine kingdom had amassed a
naval force of thousands of rowing and sailing vessels.

Bengalis deported into slavery by the thousands tilled the fields,

reaped the harvest and served the court. Mrauk-U became linked to
far-flung places in the Indian Ocean and beyond through use of Persian
and Portuguese, the lingua franca in trade relations.

Perhaps of importance to the protection of Mrauk-U was a prescient

overture by the Rakhine king. In May 1624, Thirithudhammaraza sent an
embassy with rich presents to Shah Jahan, the son of Emperor Jahangir
who was in revolt against his father.

In return he sent a letter confirming the Rakhine king’s sovereign right

over his kingdom; four years later Shah Jahan had become emperor and
during his reign, which lasted until 1658, there was no imperial threat to
the Rakhine kingdom.

Before his reign, December 1625, the Mughal threat had already been
confronted when a Rakhine armada sailed up Dhaka and sacked the
city.
24

In 1628, Thirithudhammaraza sent an embassy to the Siam court,

probably to strengthen military ties against the Burmese, but his plan
to take the ports of Myeik and Tanintharyi in late 1637 was seen by
Siam as an act of aggression.

The same year, the Mughal governor of Bengal sent an ambassador

to Mrauk-U because of on-going raids, an act hinting at the fearsome
reputation of the Rakhine navy as the terror of the sea. The Rakhine
king sent a message back defying the governor to meet him on the
battlefield the following year.

Thirithudhammaraza’s reign marked a peak in the kingdom’s power,

capped in 1635 with a new coronation ceremony commemorated by
a monolingual coin, which bore his Pali title, emphasizing his Rakhine
Buddhist identity.

But a domestic crisis during the last years of his reign led to a dynastic
break and a successful coup d’état by an ambitious minister in 1638.

His work as a builder in Mrauk-U is presented in general terms of

restoration in the chronicles.

Man Phalaung is credited with four significant religious monuments,

namely an ordination hall1, Htoke Kant Thein, the Phaya Oak stupa, the
Chin Kite (“mosquito-bite”) library and the Man Khamaung cave temple
Man Khamaung’s construction included the Thuparama Temple built
in 1613 north of the palace together with an ordination hall and the
Ratanabiman (Yadanarpon) monastery. Eight years later he built the
Ratana Prasad monastery with donations of golden Buddhas by the
queens

1
The transcription of the name of this monument is still not univocal. Throughout this book we have used the name officially used
by the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture; “Htoke Kant thein’. However, in different documents and publications the same
monuments can be found as Htoke Kan , Htot-Kant Thein, Dukkhanthein, Dukkan Thein or Htukkant
 25

Phayar Paw temple with later addition

26

Rulers of the Golden Palace

(1638-1685)
The dynastic break weakened Mrauk-U’s political centre, but the
kingdom remained wealthy and protected by its robust military forces.
During this part of the 17th century, its kings relied on the fruits of their
predecessors’ exertions.

Rakhine troops still saw bursts of action on the

outskirts of the kingdom. The troops of King Narapati
Gri (1638-1645) continued blockades of lower Myanmar
ports and Rakhine armadas penetrated Bengal
waterways, deporting thousands into slavery.

In November 1640, a huge Rakhine fleet sailed for Bengal, followed by

another two years later towards the Indian state of Orissa.

In 1643 Rakhine again showed it was a formidable force when its

vessels routed a Mughal fleet, a victory that supported the king’s
authority.

Narapati Gri was also a fervent Buddhist. His religious ardour was well
known and his meritorious offerings were numerous.

In 1644, during his last ceremony, he had seven gold Buddha statues
beset with precious stones made and he distributed alms to all
Buddhist monks in Mrauk-U accompanied by Pegu/Mon dancers and
music.

Less than one year later, in late 1645, he passed away and was
succeeded by his nephew.

The seven-year reign of Thadodhammaraza saw conflict with the Dutch

East India Company, which packed up and left Mrauk-U after several
Dutch traders were killed in a conflict about the rice trade in 1647.

The Rakhine court’s reconciliation embassy to Batavia was met with

demands for damages and apologies. When the king refused, the Dutch
fleet ravaged southern Rakhine, but retreated in the face of the vastly
superior Rakhine armada.
 27

The company would not return until 1677 by which time the population
of Mrauk-U was impoverished and without major traders. With trade
limited to rice and elephants, the Dutch lasted five more years before
leaving again.

Little else is known about Thadodhammaraza, and, though he did

re-establish authority over Chittagong, he failed to retake the nearby
island of Sandwip in 1651.

The following year, at the age of 13, King Sandathudhammaraza

ascended the throne in a reign set to last more than three decades.
Knowledge of his time comes mostly from Dutch, Bengali and Persian
sources, who overall paint the epoch as the twilight of a golden age for
Mrauk-U.

A coin from the reign of

King Abhayamaharaza
(1764 to 1774)

A pivotal moment of Indian history came in 1657 when

the death of the Mughal emperor triggered a fratricidal
struggle between his sons. Prince Shah Shuja’s abortive
attempt to take control of his father’s vast Indian
empire caused him to flee to the east, with the imperial
army in pursuit.

In November 1660 Shah Shuja arrived in Mrauk-U where he asked for

protection and help in later making his way to Mecca.

The Rakhine king did not hand Shah Shuja back to the Mughal empire
nor did he allow him to leave the city. Eventually Shah Shuja’s followers
who counted in the hundreds, tried to seize power, but the plot was
uncovered and some of the prince’s men were rounded up.

Amid rioting, parts of Mrauk-U were burned. Shah Shuja was allegedly
killed, igniting the rage of the new Mughal viceroy of Bengal, Shaysta
Khan, who around 1665 drove the Rakhine out of eastern Bengal and
conquered Chittagong.
28

Some of Shah Shuja’s followers survived the takeover attempt and were
retained by the Rakhine king as archers; officially disbanded in 1692,
they were resettled on Ramree Island where their descendants are
known to this day as Kaman (the Persian word for “bow”).

Sandathudhammaraza, who had ordered an end to the violence sparked

by the Shah Shuja revolt for fear foreign traders would leave, built at
least three temples in Mrauk-U during his reign, including
Lawka Man-aung.

During his time, the poetry of Alaol, a Muslim poet who flourished at
the Mrauk-U court, threw light on the cultural and religious diversity of
Mrauk-U. He compared the king to the Buddha himself, but the future
was not looking promising for Sandathudhammaraza’s kingdom.

Flanked by Myanmar’s emerging Konbaung dynasty and the Mughal

governors of Bengal entrenched in Chittagong, “the golden city” was
beginning to lose its shine.

Twilight of a mighty
coastal power (1685–1785)
The final century of an independent Mrauk-U: the last gasps of a
regional powerhouse, as domestic infighting gradually diminished
Rakhine authority.

In 1710, King Sandavizayaraza renewed royal power by feeding the

hunger of conquest. He rallied troops to invade lower Myanmar and
attack southeast Bengal, which, though generating spoils and slaves,
did not result in direct control over more land.

His reign finished in 1731. The last king of Rakhine who could truly claim
to rule over his realm was Nara Abhayaraza (1743-1761).

His military endeavours would become the final demonstrations of

Rakhine military might, targeting again lower Myanmar and Bengal.

After his reign there followed a rapid succession of various chiefs while
central royal power waned.

By the time of the Myanmar invasion in 1784, the kingdom was divided
among seven quarrelling chiefs and the now-debilitated role of king
was filled by Thamadaraza (1782-1785).
 29

Under the Myanmar

administration (1785-1825)
Mrauk-U fell to the troops of the Myanmar king Badon at the end of
December 1784, marking a point of no return for the fabled city.

Legend has it that the Mahamuni image was created during a visit of
the historical Buddha to Rakhine under King Sandasuriya.

The highly venerated statue was not only the paragon of the Rakhine
monarchs and an inspiration of pilgrimage, but it also encapsulated the
Rakhine Buddhist identity.

It was removed. Brought to Upper Myanmar as a trophy of victory,

together with the Rakhine royal family, the political elite and Brahmins
along with Buddhist monks, Muslim dignitaries and royal followers
resettled by King Badon (or Bodawphaya) near Amarapura.

The Mahamuni Buddha

image, now located in
Mandalay
30

Rakhine was divided into four administrative zones, with Mrauk-U as

the headquarters of the governor of Dhanyawadi, a core zone of the
former kingdom.

Ruled by a succession of seven governors until the British annexation in

1826, the local population grew frustrated by taxation and conscription
of troops along with labour for King Badon’s wars against Siam.

Ten years into Myanmar rule, the people revolted. Many fled to Bengal,
where the British East India Company’s Hiram Cox established a
refugee camp soon named Cox’s Bazaar.

But the refugees wanted to return and fight for their land. Rakhine
rebel Chin Byan led invasions from 1811 to 1815 and, though the attacks
created major disturbances, the city remained in Myanmar hands.

British colonial rule,

independence and beyond
(1825 onwards)
Myanmar and the East India Company went to war in 1824, resulting in
the British annexation of Rakhine in 1826.

Mrauk-U lost its role as capital to Akyab (now Sittwe), which was to
become the biggest rice-exporting port in the world during the 1830s.

After the British gained the whole of lower Myanmar in the Second
Anglo-Myanmar War (1852), the development of Rakhine was no longer
a priority.

But the creation of British Burma in 1862 resulted in a more unified

administrative unit that encouraged migration from Myanmar and
southeast Bengal to Rakhine.

The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 gave the rice export industry a
further boost and steadily drew more seasonal migrants and settlers
from Chittagong to Rakhine.
 31

The land played host to the horrors of many Second World War
battles including ethnic cleansing involving both Muslim and Buddhist
communities which anticipated the competing claims for local
autonomy that divided both groups after the country’s independence.

Rakhine became a part of the newly independent Union of Burma

in 1948 but was granted the status of an ethnic state only by the
constitution of 1974. Underpinning Rakhine’s nationalism was the quest
for more autonomy and, in some quarters, even the restoration of
Rakhine independence.

Geography and the upheaval of conquests and colonial determination Map of Mrauk-U depicted
by the Britishers in 1825.
have formed Mrauk-U’s unique cultural landscape. In this frontier Source – Wroughton and
region, the kingdom’s rise depended on the co-operation of a diverse Thomson, 1825

cast of actors, just as its decline was stoked by the disintegration of

such co-operation
32

Ruins of a
Grand Capital
Defence system and fortifications
Mrauk-U has a unique claim: it was the capital of a
kingdom for 354 years. Few major cities of the time
lasted as long. Its longevity is partly explained by its
exceptional defensive system, which capitalised on the
surrounding natural terrain.

Defence did not take priority during the creation of the city, though the
chronicler tells us Mrauk-U was fortified in “eight directions” and the
king built five sanctuaries for the protection of the city.

The building of the city began at the palace, where a series of stone
embankments were constructed for added protection. After 1430,
successive phases stretched out the defence from this area, where the
Ale and Pan zays merge into Min Htwet.

More safeguards were a necessity as the city grew. Foreign influences

such as the Portuguese brought opportunities as well as substantial
threats to Mrauk-U’s independence besides the powerful kingdom of
Myanmar, and as trade bloomed and the population boomed, King Man
Ba, who ruled ca. 1531-1553, sought to develop his city into a fortress.

Mrauk-U was well placed to become a military stronghold. Hills on

its north and south sides, the Kaladan River and streams on its west
side, the settlement was shielded by natural barriers. On its east side,
planners implemented an elaborate network of fortifications and
moats.

Deep creeks allowing the biggest ships of the time access to the inland
capital offered the advantages of a port city without the vulnerability of
being surprised by enemy ships on the coast.

City walls, trenches, esplanades and steepened hillsides supported the

 33

Laung Poon Byauk Stupa

Yadanarpon Stupa

Laymyatnar Temple
Andaw Thein Stupa

Htoke Kant Thein Ordination Hall Shitthaung Temple

natural hills. Mountains and watercourses were utilised by adding other Map of northern group of
temples
manmade walls, gates and moats. It was a harmonious blend of natural
and man-made components of fortification, especially among those
constructed during the 16th and early 17th centuries.

The number of structures erected throughout the whole system made

for a dominating military landscape that was executed so brilliantly that
parts have stood the test of time and can be seen to this day.
34

Laung Poon Byauk Stupa

Laymyatnar
Temple
Yadanarpon Stupa

Andaw Thein Stupa

Htoke Kant Thein
Ordination Hall

Shitthaung Temple

Lawka Man-aung Temple

Palace Ruins &

Archaeological Museum

Zina Man-aung Stupa

 35

Koe Thaung Temple

Thakkya Man-aung Stupa

36

Palace site and walls

The main palace of Mrauk-U was an ornate sight to Augustinian monk
Fra Sebastian Manrique who lived in Rakhine from around 1629 to 1637.

He described the remarkable length and symmetry of the gilded

wooden pillars, the gold-decorated rooms made of odorous timbers
such as sandalwood and wild eagle-wood that held life-size idols
adorned with precious stones.

Most of the palace itself was made of wood and unfortunately no trace
of it remains, as it burnt to the ground a number of times in the 17th
century, but its form and architecture are manifested in stone relief
sculptures.

Behind its thick brick and sandstone walls resided 49 kings over the
time Mrauk-U was the kingdom’s capital. It had three levels, each higher
than the preceding. The foundation of the first level is 1,740 feet long,
1,606 feet wide and at least 15 feet high.

3 1
2

N
0 20 40 60 80 200 m

Palace Site floor plan showing the three levels

 37

Courtiers, officials, royal family members and concubines once lived on Aerial view of the
existing palace site
the second level, the foundation of which is 800 feet long, 1,000 feet at Mrauk-U
wide and 50 feet high.

This level also had audience halls, whereas the third level belonged to
the king and the royal apartments. Throughout the palace were halls of
different thrones and functions, the chronicles tell us.

The Shwe Nan Pyathat (golden palace, prasad) Hall, a space in the
central part of the first floor reserved for receiving wishes of the public,
hosted the lion throne. In the northwest corner of North Nan Pyathat
Hall was the bee throne, a place used by the king for sleeping.

Home of the peacock throne, the North Samote Hall was where foreign
tributes were received. The Beiktheik (royal ablution, abhisheka) Hall in
the northeast corner with the elephant throne was used for promoting
the ranks of aristocracy.

The Hantha throne and a shrine with a tooth relic from Sri Lanka were
kept in the Nirvana Hall, while in the southeast corner was the Payeik
Hall and Khayu Thin (conch shell) throne, a space used for listening to
the canonical texts recited by monks.
38

Internal affairs were discussed in the southwest corner, at the foot

of the deer throne in the South Samote Hall, and the Hluttaw (royal
council) Hall in the south had a lion-based throne, which was used for
convening with ministers.

Finally, the Pwetaw (ceremonial) hall in the west had the lotus-based
throne and was used for receiving lords and ministers.

Queens and princesses once used the space between the first and
second enclosures on the west for leisure activities.

Carvings of door guardians carrying arms and dressed in apparel of the

royal guard can still be seen in the palace museum.

Many of the sandstone blocks used in the foundations and walls were
taken by the British rulers to Sittwe and used for the construction of
the harbour’s stone quay.

Ruins of a staircase at
the palace site
39
40

Temples, monasteries and

inscriptions
Temples and stupas dotting the landscape of Mrauk-U have their
origins in the 15th to 18th centuries.

In fact, 215 temple and seven ancient monastery remains have been
identified in the former capital, and, and some may eventually have
served as places of refuge.

The Rakhine architects were able to conceive massive

hollow temples surmounted by domes, whose central
shrines were entered through long passages by
combining the lessons learnt at Bagan with the Indian
experience in building arches, domes and vaults, in
which mortar played an important part in keeping the
masonry together.

This unique style is expressed in temples such as Shitthaung and

Htoke Kant Thein, which were constructed in the 16th century.

Dark grey sandstone was brought from the coast, and although some
temples were built using stone and brick, structures made only of stone
are the best preserved.

The Rakhine mortar keeping the brick core and stone slabs together
comprised lime, sand and clay. A gum-like substance made by boiling
buffalo hide, tails, crushed shells and hoofs in water was added in
to have greater cohesiveness and it is still used today for covering
surfaces of temples and making them watertight.

Outside some temples, inscriptions served different purposes such

as royal orders, donation of lands, demarcation of boundaries, or even
curses.

For instance, an inscription found in eastern Mrauk-U of a Rakhine

military commander lists a betel garden and silver coins as part of his
donations to a monastery.

It warns that if people destroy his offerings, they will be cursed to go to

hell, to be badly treated for a long time, to miss the chance to meet a
forthcoming Buddha and “to become the gays, the fools, the deaf, the
blind and the leprosy patients.”
 41

Inscription of a royal order by King Narapati in Shitthaung Temple

42

L AY MYATNAR
TEMPLE
 43

Laymyatnar Temple
In 1430, Mrauk-U founder King Man Saw Mon allegedly built the
Laymyatnar Temple, which has a cruciform plan similar to earlier
temples found in central Myanmar.

Set on a sturdy square plinth, the four-sided

temple is 45 feet high and has one projecting
vaulted entrance towards each cardinal
direction, with the main entrance on the
east. Crowning each entrance is a small finial
resembling a naga, or serpent, which are often
represented as door guardians in Buddhism.

A stupa surmounts each corner between the

portals, while eight Buddha images are seated
on thrones placed facing each direction on the
N
central column, which is constructed of bricks in
an octagonal chamber. 0 5 10 20 m

Laymyatnar Temple
Facing the seated Buddhas, 20 niches on the opposite wall once held floor plan
Buddha images. The other sides of the octagon have only two such
niches, one on each side of the entrance.

The total number of images in the temple is 28, which is auspicious, as

it is believed that there were 28 successive Buddhas to guide mankind.

Laymyatnar Temple
44

SHI TTHAUNG
TEMPLE
 45

Shitthaung Temple
One of the most magnificent temples of Mrauk-U is Shitthaung, where
kings once had their royal ablutions.

Allegedly built in 1535-1536 after King Man Ba (ca 1531-

1553) attacked East Bengal and resisted a Portuguese
attempt at invasion, the monument is also called “The
Temple of Victory.”

Shitthaung refers to eighty thousand images; its interior corridors

are flanked with raised platforms holding allegedly “eighty thousand”
seated Buddha images of varying sizes alluding to the 84,000 relics of
the historical Gautama Buddha.

Its architectural and iconographic mix of Indian, Sri Lankan and

Myanmar influences produce a political statement of a Buddhist king
who saw himself as a triumphant conqueror justly ruling according to
the dhamma, the teaching of the Buddha.

Set against a steep hill, the structure is built on a 12-feet high massive
double-tiered stone terrace. Though its exterior of a bell-shaped relic
chamber surrounded by 28 smaller stupas is striking, perhaps its most
original features are the six layers of sculpted reliefs running around
the inner wall of the temple’s outer corridor.

Shitthaung Temple
floor plan

0 5 10 20 30 40 50 m
46

Inside its five vaulted passages are not only Buddha images but also Sculptures found in the
interior of Shitthaung
figures of past ancestors, kings, Hindu gods, animals belonging to air, Temple
land and water, Rakhine dances and sports, folklore, military exercises
and tales from the Buddha’s former existences.

All these sculptures are carved out of stone and glazed with multiple
colours, coming together with the design of the temple to show a
significant development of Buddhist stone architecture in the Mrauk-U
period.

The interior is packed with intricate and symbolic carvings mostly

based on the Buddhist cosmology that may depict the perception of
the king as a world conqueror after his success in Bengal.

The six tiers of Shitthaung may correspond to the six heavens of this
world of desire, with sculptures of dancing and combative men on the
lowest tier living the life of desires.

The temple was used as an ordination hall, while to the south and west
of the fourth vaulted passage is the fifth vaulted narrow passage, wide
enough for only two people to move through it.
 47

The passage is close to the so-called

Coronation Hall, where guards and aides would
accompany the king. To manage ventilation,
light and noise disturbances, there are square
slits and fish shaped slits all over the temple

Under the uppermost level of the ventilation

and entrance slits are different forms of Byala, a
leonine creature, and the nature-spirit Yakshas,
which, along with lion and naga (serpent)
Shitthaung Temple in 1921
figures, feature on the thrones of Buddhas.

Most of the successive kings of the dynasty allegedly underwent royal

ablution ceremonies during their reign in this hall.

The temple was used for worship again after restoration works were
undertaken with funds donated by the local population and managed
by a board of trustees since the late 19th century. Considerable work
was done in the 1920s. The “coronation hall”, a new addition, was
built in the 1970s in the Myanmar style. Work on making the roofing
watertight and structural re-enforcements of the platform were
undertaken since the late 1990s.
Interior of the Shitthaung
Temple showing the
corridors which have the
“eighty thousand” seated
Buddha images
48

KO E THAUNG
TEMPLE
 49

Koe Thaung Temple

Koe Thaung Temple is another example of the remarkable 16th century
architecture and design in Mrauk-U.

The largest temple in the old city, Koe Thaung was built by King Man
Tikka, the son of Man Ba, in 1553 – the first year of his reported three-
year reign. The structure is square in plan, built of brick faced with
sandstone, and allegedly holding 90,000 images.

Like most shrines in Mrauk-U, the temple is oriented towards the east,
but its location on marshlands northeast of the palace has caused the
foundations to subside.
A view of Koe Thaung
Temple from a nearby
hilltop

First that greets a visitor’s eye are the five receding terraces of the
exterior, which are ornamented with 108 small stupas. A two-tiered
stairway on the east side leads to its central image, with the first
tier reaching a wide-open platform from where two passages can be
entered.

From here, a large stone Buddha image is seated on an ornate platform,

and behind this image is an octagonal brick stupa, newly reconstructed
in the early 21st century, that would have contained Buddhist relics
when built.

Placed in the walls of the surrounding passages are seated Buddhas, in

the earth-touching posture. Their placement is according to Rakhine
numerology, relating to the number nine in Koe Thaung, which means
ninety thousand [images].
50

This temple has slightly different Buddha images than the shrines
immediately preceding it – they are flatter and more stylized, possibly
reflecting the haste in which the construction of the temple was
undertaken.

The images in the temple also slightly differ in execution, a sign that
several sculptors were involved in producing such a large number.

The central image is just bigger than life size, seated on a round
waisted throne with animals and guardian figures on the lower portion.
Its surface would have been first coated with red lacquer and then
gilded, a technique still used in Myanmar.

Sculptures of warriors with ferocious expressions,

ready to fight malignant spirits, have also been
discovered in the temple, as well as demons and
worshippers with hands joined together in prayer.

Koe Thaung Temple

floor plan

0 5 10 20 m
 51

Seated Buddha images

along the outer passageway

The roof over the interior would have been

tiled with terracotta; the terraces were
covered with glazed tiles revealing Middle
Eastern patterns.

Holes have been found on the terrace for the

grooves, which could have held wooden pillars.
These would have been gilded like the pillars
of the royal palace.

King Man Raza Gri (1593-1612) restored the

temple, building a wall around it to protect
it from fire. The shrine was freed from its
Some of the 108 stupas on
vegetation cover only in the 1990s and was the exterior terraces of
partly rebuilt in the early 21st century. Koe Thaung Temple
52

ANDAW THEI N
 53

Andaw Thein Andaw Thein

King Man Raza (1501-1513) built Andaw Thein, an ordination hall

situated close to the northwest corner of what would become
Shitthaung Temple.

Set on a high octagonal plinth, it underwent restorations by

Man Phalaung (1571-1593) and his son Man Raza Gri. The second
restoration (1596) was done for the purpose of housing a tooth relic of
the Buddha brought from Sri Lanka in 1593.

The main structure rises on three receding mouldings to an anda (bell)

with 13 small brick stupas surrounding it. Flights of stairs on three
sides lead up to the shrine, which has two passages and can be entered
through a rectangular prayer hall.
54

The building’s style represents an ordinary

Rakhine temple, but the vaulted passages
supporting the superstructure are a result of
Indian influence.

Smaller temples are placed around the

northwest and southwest corners, while a
ringed conical spire with a lotus-shaped finial
caps the main temple.
Sculptures inside
Buddha images of the Mrauk-U type can be found at the outer side Andaw Thein

of the first passage, and each side of the octagonal solid core has an
image enshrined in a niche whose bases are elaborately decorated
with deities and carvings of animals, complex pillars and auspicious
symbols.

Andaw Thein floor plan

0 5 10 20 30 m
55
56

THAKKYA MAN-AU NG
STU PA
 57

Thakkya Man-aung Stupa Front view of

Thakkya Man-aung Stupa

The Rakhine kingdom was at the height of its power when King
Thirithudhammaraza built a tall stone stupa called Thakkya Man-aung
in 1629.

Its floor plan is unique: a design of a 16-petalled lotus, creating eight

braces joined to an irregular octagon. The widest braces mark the four
cardinal points.

At the cardinal points, the first two

terraces have projections with niches
housing seated Buddha images. The
niches themselves are beautifully crafted,
with carved miniature pillars supporting a
pediment decorated with floral designs.

A design of different-sized petals is

carried to the fourth terrace of the 117-feet
high stupa. Rising from the same terrace
is a sloping bell, set on the intermediate
base with an octagonal plan.

0 5 10 20 m
Following the bell is a seven-tiered chattra
— an auspicious parasol-like construction,
Thakkya Man-aung Stupa
which ends in a double band of lotus petals that support a lotus bud floor plan
crowned by a modern Burmese hti or umbrella.

Two guardian ogre statues stand at the entrance of the structure, which
is set on a low steep hill 800 metres to the south of the palace.
58

ZINA MAN-AU NG
STU PA
 59

Aerial view of
Zina-marn-aung

Zina Man-aung Stupa Zina Man-aung Stupa

One of three stupas built by King Sandathudhammaraza during his

reign from 1652 to 1684, the name “Zina Man-aung” denotes the
Buddha overcoming (jina, in Myanmar language pronounced ‘zina’) the
king of death (Mara, in Myanmar ‘man’). Zina Man-aung, like Yadana
Man-aung and Lawka Man-aung reflect an affinity with the domes
of late Mon architecture seen in Pegu and Dagon (later Yangon) and
decorative elements showing artistic influence from Lower Myanmar.
60

With a similar octagonal plan to many other Mrauk-U temples, Zina

Man-aung is entered by brick staircases on its eastern and western
sides.

On the eastern side, the stone stupa has a porch that can be accessed
by a long narrow passage – it’s the façade of this porch that boasts
remarkable stone carvings.

Intricate details in bas-relief resemble some carvings found on the

circular terraces and angular corners of the temple. Decorating the
corners of the structure, three-feet high manuthiha (double bodied
lions with a single head showing fierce whiskers and a long beard) are
cut out of a single sandstone block.

Later additions including a band of rosettes and a frieze of pipal leaves

are found on the shoulders of the bell.

Northeast to the palace is Yadana Man-aung Stupa and west is Lawka

Man-aung Stupa – the other two monuments constructed by the long-
ruling King Sandathudhammaraza.

Zina Man-aung Stupa

floor plan

0 5 10 20 m
 61

The beauty of
Mrauk-U is not only
in its landscape and
monuments. Tangible
and intangible elements
show the variety of
different cultural and
ethnic groups that
lived in harmony for
centuries, leaving
traces of their customs
and traditions.
Zaw Htun
Mrauk-U Youth Association
62

L AW K A MAN-AU NG
STU PA
 63

Lawka Man-aung Stupa

Lion figures look out from the corners on the base of Lawka Man-aung
built by King Sandathudhammaraza in 1652.

Guinea pig figurines are also at the corners of the base and carvings of
floral patterns have been used for decoration on its three terraces.

Set northwest of the palace site, the stupa has its central shrine and
porch on the east side along with a newly constructed prayer hall
attached to the temple facing east that houses seven seated Buddha
images.

Resting on its circular ringed terraces are nine conical spires, with hti
(umbrellas) and bell shaped domes.

Lawka Man-aung Stupa

floor plan

0 1 2 3 4 5 10 m
64

Lawka Man-aung Stupa

65
66

L AUNG PO ON BYAU K
STUPA
 67

Laung Poon Byauk Stupa

The name of this temple means “coloured tile” which is perhaps a
reference to the 60 petals made in red, yellow, blue and green glazed
tiles on the square stone wall surrounding the stupa.

Built in the early 16th century

to ward off ill omen, the
temple’s restoration by King
Thirithudhammaraza a century
later has stylistically brought it
closer to the late phase of Mrauk-U
architecture.
Stone staircases lead up the six-feet high Glazed tiles on the wall
surrounding
plinth to the stupa, which rises in receding Laung Poon Byauk Stupa
tiers to a height of about 120 feet, finishing
with anda and chattra rings.

More floral designs are elaborately carved on

16 Buddha images enshrined in the niches on
the eight faces of the first tier.

Ornate cornices and flame-like pediments of

the temple resemble designs of the Pagan and
later Mon periods, while atop of the pediments
is seemingly a naga (serpent) design, locally
said to represent a peacock’s chest.

0 5 10 20 m

Laung Poon Byauk Stupa

from above
68

Laung Poon Byauk Stupa

69
70

YA DANARPON
STU PA
 71

Yadanarpon Stupa
Legend says that one Mrauk-U temple was built to house treasures
such as gold, jewels and valuable images.

The myth of tantalising riches surrounding Yadanarpon Stupa — which

means “pile of jewels” — has drawn generations of treasure seekers to
the site.

But not one is yet to find the treasure, meaning the real riches behind
the temple may be of the spiritual and not material kind.

Built by King Man Khamaung (1612-1622) and queen Shin Htwe in 1612,
the solid stupa is largely made of hewn stone; circular at its base, it
rises in concentric receding tiers.

During the heyday of Mrauk-U, the monument would have been

adorned with glazed tiles just like other religious buildings.

A circular wall around the stupa and the platform is coated with blue
and green tiles over a white ground, with its designs including floral
patterns, stars, circles and animal motifs.

Yadanarpon Stupa
floor plan

0 10 20 50 m
72

Yadanarpon Stupa at sunrise

73
74

HTOKE KANT THEI N

(ORDINATI O N HAL L )
 75

Htoke Kant Thein (ordination hall)

The fortress-like Htoke Kant Thein is set on a 30-foot high hill near the
temples of Laymyatnar and Shitthaung.

King Man Phalaung (1571-1593) built this ordination hall and it has a
similar bell-shaped dome on receding terraces as Shitthaung, which was
completed 35 years earlier.

This dome and four smaller stupas rest on a sloping roof held by walls
that incline inwards from a large stone platform.

The central stupa is hollow and has a Buddha image; at the lower level it
is connected to a barrel-vaulted passage and clerestory windows bring
in the natural light. Windows on the east walls are bigger, bringing in
more light and dramatizing the frontal body of the central Buddha.

The main entrance on the east side of the monument leads to a 700
feet-long circumambulating passage that reaches a peculiarly shaped
room with a rising floor.

Ground floor plan of

Htoke Kant Thein

0 5 10 20 m
76

The passage has 179 Buddha images in niches,

and, along with the central image, this makes
an auspicious number of 180. On either side
of the niches are seated male and female
worshippers holding lotuses, depicting the
nobility who donated for the construction of
the shrine.

Different hairstyles of the female figures are

clearly visible.

An adjoining vaulted hall on the southwest

side may have been used for meditation or
for monastic ceremonies, while a snail-shell
shaped passage leads to an egg-shaped
shrine room with a vaulted dome ceiling.
Seated on a high throne in this room is a large
Buddha image.

Htoke Kant Thein

77
78

N AT SHRI NES
 79

Nat shrines
Ritual practices linked to spirits, or nats, form
part of pre-Buddhist religious belief. Spirits
are said to protect important places.

So far, nine nat shrines have been found in

Mrauk-U. These are small freestanding steel
or wooden structures, often sheltered by
corrugated sheet roofing.

Like other Buddhist kingdoms, Rakhine

incorporated ritual practices linked to the
nats into its belief system. A guardian spirit
watched over the village, the residents,
and the city. This belief was extended
cosmologically to the role ascribed to divine
lokapalas who guarded the kingdom.

The belief has never disappeared: spirits are

said to guard fields and villages, dwelling in
trees and hills. Some spirits still guard the old
temples and others the palace site despite the
loss of the original buildings.

One such spirit, Wunti, assisted King Pephyu

in driving out invaders from the northwest in
976 CE, according to legend. The king then
built a shrine on a hill covered with bricks and
dressed stones which includes sculptures and
inscriptions.

A Pali inscription in Pyu script and a standing

Vishnu image from the 6th century are among
the earliest remains found in Mrauk-U. At the
back of the image, there is a record of the
repairs made to the shrine in 1521.

Two weathered sculptures that can now be

seen in the Archaeological Museum were also
found at the Wunti Nat shrine site. They bear
resemblance to images of the Shakti cult of
medieval Bengal and are said to represent the
Wunti spirit.
80

A land of water
A hydraulic civilisation
From trade to defence to agriculture, water management was key to the
ascent of Mrauk-U.

Heavy rainfall five months per year flooded the rice fields of the
lowlands. Rain water also filled storage tanks, reservoirs, ponds, moats
and lakes.

Nested into the hilly landscape, the city was nearly out of the reach of
floods, though tributaries flowing around Mrauk-U served as waterways
for transportation and communication, complemented with manmade
canals.
 81

What is left of the network of tributaries suggests a complex system of Ponna Myaung and Mya
Taung fortress seen from
interconnected waterworks for irrigation, water supply and regulation Anuma reservoir
of runoff.

This unique system of ingenious hydraulic engineering worked along

with a series of moats and fortifications. Watergates and sluices
controlled the flow while engineers also took advantage of the rise and
fall of the tides of the seaside streams for hydraulic energy.

Centuries have passed, but visitors to the town still get a fair idea of
the hydraulic engineering of Mrauk-U – large lakes and reservoirs are
partially functioning for water management to this day. Cutting edge
designs at the time, the manipulation of water at Mrauk-U cemented
the kingdom as one of the Asian hydraulic civilisations.
82

A seasonal stream located

to the north of urban
Mrauk-U

Seasonal streams and canals

Rushing to life during the monsoon season and drying up during winter,
the network of streams around Mrauk-U has existed for centuries.

Paung Doke on the southeast of the city flows south and joins with
Naya-kauk, coming from the west. Naya-kauk, a crucial stream on the
far-south, connects the two rivers of Lemro on the east and Kaladan on
the west.

In the western plain, Thare Chaung on the west, Yanwa Chaung on

the east and Thinbaw Chaung (ship creek) on the south are useful for
agriculture and transportation.

Some creeks such as the Chaung Thit have been documented in

historical sources. These streams were assisted by manmade canals
to catch water from the Lemro River to supply the fields and the city
during the dry season. Many engineered tributaries were sourced from
dammed reservoirs of the area; evidence of some can be seen today.

This system of water capture and distribution supported the life and
economy of the city during times of shortage.
 83

Aerial image showing the

trenches near Anuma Lake

Reservoirs and dams

The Mrauk-U foothill is peppered with 15 large water bodies, all of them
made by damming the valleys debouching into the Kaladan plain.

These reservoirs fed underground water that helped sustain wells

around the city. Some were interconnected using short canals and
sluices to allow a transfer of water from north towards the city.

Providing water to the city is the Let Se Kan, an urban reservoir

dammed along its northern side by the city wall. The stone-walled
spillway at its southernmost end transfers excess water during the
monsoon season to the Baung Dut reservoir, a historical water source
dammed on its southern side by a recently renovated embankment.

In the urban area, the swampy Pan Zay is a silted ancient lake regulated
by watergates during the Mrauk-U period.

Dams, dykes and embankments are also common feature of Mrauk-U.

One of the biggest constructions, the central dam belonging to the
system of five parallel dykes south of Ywahaungtaw, is connected
on both sides to hillcrest fortifications and evidently had a defensive
function.
84

Water gates
When floods charged the rivers or control was needed over the flow
from reservoirs, Mrauk-U relied on water gates, a tool now found as
ruins in fields.

Ten water gates were built at curved points of streams and urban
rivers where strong bedrock was available, and the sea tide was more
manageable.

But little evidence of the gates’ original design remains, except the
Min Htwet reservoir gate along a branch of the Ale Zay in downtown
Mrauk-U.

Here, a series of holes are dug into the rocky riverbed to host
supporting structures of the gate. Wooden poles may have been stuck
into the riverbed, operating as guides for sliding doors being raised and
lowered by pulleys and leverages to control the flow.

Some gates, such as the Pan Tin Khon and Min Htwet, have the
evidence of ancient stonework on both banks plus pillar holes on the
riverbed that are visible when the water gets shallow.

Vaulted tunnels smaller than the regular city gates and too narrow
to allow carriages to pass under have been found in the area. These
conduits most likely had a hydraulic function too, such as the
Minthamee Paung water gate, which is connected to a channel from the
Pan Zay and the Ngwe Taung water gate.

Efficient management and effective

use of natural environments and
water resources are what make
Mrauk-U an invaluable site.
Tin Mar Aung
Dr Saw Mra Aung Foundation
 85

Conceptual reconstruction of Mrauk-U water gates, using timber poles as support of sliding sluice gates
86

Moats, ponds and wells

Mrauk-U moats were mostly like large lakes and tanks that
complemented the city’s defence system, spilled excess water into
streams and stored water for the dryer months. Some have even
maintained their purpose of holding annual water, though others have
declined over time.

A more common way of holding water was through the use of ponds, a
common sight near most households in Mrauk-U. A stone inscription
records a royal donation to mend some ruined tanks 900 years ago.

Hundreds of these ponds are scattered around the old city and came in
two types: rural and ritual.

Excavated ditches of crude rectangular shapes make up the rural

type, which was used to support families. Clusters of ponds in the
countryside may have once hosted villages nearby.

The ritual type was designed to complement a religious building and

some set near temples or stupas have a more elaborate structure, with
steep sides lined by bricks.

The defensive system was designed

based on the natural landscape.
The strategic positioning of
Mrauk-U makes it one of the best
fortress cities in Southeast Asia.
Daw Khin Than
Mrauk-U Heritage Trust
 87

Near some temples and monasteries, you may also find ancient wells
that were likely used through the reigns of several Rakhine kings. Some
can still be seen in the courtyard of the Shwe Kyar Thein monastery
and in the Myin Khone Tan Ward.

Wells were long the main source of water for the people of Mrauk-U,
and with the fresh water table lying seven metres above the brackish
water stirring at the sea level, the city was a good place for them.

Ponds around Mrauk-U continue to be used by the community

88

Defence, trading ports

and royal rituals
Time and neglect may have deteriorated the defence and hydrological
system of Mrauk-U, but the ruins of the ancient set-up are still enough
to impress.

The city is surrounded by a system of mounds, hills, water and

mountains. Meanwhile, summits around the community are capped with
stupas and the flat plains are agricultural lands.

Traditionally, Myauk (north) Myint-mo (Meru in Indian mythology) was

believed to serve as a Buddhist ceremonial place and Taung (south)
Myint-mo having administrative functions. Bushes and trees now cover
these features, the moat is used as paddy field and the central portion
of each platform is covered by grass or used for horticulture.

A sign of Mrauk-U’s historically formidable navy is also fading with time

– the sites of shipyards and jetties. Of the 15 sites found, some of the
land has been developed for housing or agriculture, but a conservation
drive has since protected the areas with fencing and noticeboards.

The connection between man and

nature in Mrauk-U is incredible.
Ancient inhabitants were able to
design Mrauk-U, taking advantage of
a complex environment.
U Than Myint
Mrauk-U Heritage Trust
 89

An old port in Baung Dut

area still functioning today

Let Se Kan gate

90

Relics of the
Buddha image in Shitthaung
Temple with ushnisha style
of Mrauk-U Middle Phase

kingdom
Buddha images
Some lie broken in pieces on the ground, some have been half
swallowed by vegetation, but many of the Buddha images of Mrauk-U
survive intact – and their different appearances reflect chapters in the
history of the kingdom.

Nearly one hundred Buddha images have been found around the city,
most made of sandstone, brick or both. Set near temples, stupas, and
on hills and fields close to villages, locals have reconstructed some of
the figures that they continue to worship.
 91

The look of the stone images traces something of a timeline to the rise
and fall of Mrauk-U. In the earliest structures, the Ushnisha (the oval
top-knot of the head of the Buddha) is flattened and the hair is rows
of dots separated from the forehead by a narrow strand bulbously
springing out.

Often carved together with the figure, the thrones are either
unornamented or have a band or two of lotus petals.

The central image of the Nyi Daw was made during this period; it shares
its aesthetic with the contemporary Thai sculpture and reflects an
increasing Sinhalese influence.

By the late 17th century, the images have a more horizontal look; the
face is broader with the head bent slightly forward and the eyes
downcast in contemplation.

The ears are long and protruding and almost reach the shoulders,
which are square and broad with a wide chest diminishing to a slightly
narrower waist. The heavy limbs continue the massive effect of the
whole.

Only the garments and nipples rise from the otherwise fluid and smooth
body. Most sit in virasana, right leg over left, with the right hand
nearly touching the earth in bhumisparshamudra. The body is stiffer,
upright rather than inclined, and the facial features are treated in an
almost abstract, geometrical fashion, which tend to render the face
expressionless.

The central Buddha image

The Mahamuni legend says the Buddha tied his robes while flying at Koe Thaung Temple with
to Rakhine to prevent them flapping in the wind. In this style, called virasana and bhumisparsha-
mudra features
zenthaing, is the way the Buddha’s upper
garment is tied in many of the images, leaving
the right shoulder bare.

Slightly larger than life-size and decorated

with animal and guardian figures, the central
image in the Koe Thaung Temple has the same
features.

In the entrance hall of the Shitthaung Temple,

a large image from the ancient Rakhine city of
Vesali is now enshrined. The Buddha is solid
and heavy, sitting while touching the earth in
the manner of the late Mrauk-U period.
92

Coins
Silver coins in circulation throughout the time of the Mrauk-U kingdom
have been unearthed in and around Mrauk-U.

The earliest Mrauk-U period coins date from the late 15th century and
show the influence of the Bengal sultanate. In the late 16th century the
trilingual coins of the warrior kings using Rakhine, Sanskrit and Arabic
display the claim of multicultural sovereignty.

After a wave of expansionist kings, Rakhine rulers of the 17th century

tended to spend more time at the centre of the kingdom in Mrauk-U.
These kings termed themselves “Lords of the golden palace” or “shwe
nan thakin,” a title that appears on their coins from the late 16th century
to the end of the Rakhine monarchy.

Starting in 1635 under King Thirithudhammaraza, the rulers

emphasized their Rakhine Buddhist identity by reverting to monolingual
coins using their regnal titles in Pali.

Rakhine Script on coin of

Sandathudhammaraza
(1652-84)

The stone architecture of the

temples and the sculptures of
Mrauk-U are unique!
Mra Sabai
Social Education and Development Association
 93

Sculptures Buddha images seen in

Mrauk-U

Extraordinary sculptures were crafted over the time of Mrauk-U.

Seen in temple figures of dancers and warriors, in Buddha and nat

images, the indigenous art reflected the beliefs and traditions of the
majority Buddhist population in the urban setting of Mrauk-U.

The sculptures that still exist are a testimony to the magnificence of

the early modern Rakhine civilization.

They demonstrate the significance of the Buddhist religion for both the
elite and the society at large.

The Archaeological Museum on the former palace ground houses some

of the art that traces back to pre-colonial Mrauk-U.

More than 200 smaller objects made of sandstone, brick or both have
been discovered in recent excavations. The remains are scattered in
villages, fields, temples and near new construction such as the Mrauk-U
Princess Hotel.

The museum also houses exhibits from the Dhanyawadi, Vesali, Lemro
and Mrauk-U period. There are five main exhibition rooms displaying
selected pieces of stone inscriptions, Buddha images, art objects,
glazed ware and ceramics, and a model of the ancient city.
94

A living heritage
Rice, ivory, elephants, slaves, indigo and beeswax were shipped out
from the jetties of Mrauk-U. As the exchange of goods and the use of
coins encouraged further trade, the city grew wealthy.

Crowding the streets were foreign merchants from

neighbouring countries as well as from far-flung places
such as the Netherlands, South and East India, Middle
East, Java, Aceh and Portugal.

Trading ships sailing from Bengal to the Dutch East Indies stopped at
the city to restock for the voyage, helping cement Mrauk-U’s stand on a
global level as a port of trade.

By the 16th century the Rakhine capital had already become one nodal
point of the trade on the eastern shore of the Bay of Bengal.

For the Rakhine, Mrauk-U was the royal capital, site of the ‘Golden
Palace,’ while European maps dubbed Mrauk-U “the city of Arakan”.
Schouten, a Dutch traveller to Mrauk-U in 1660, described it as the
richest city among the ports of Asia.

Positioned in such a strategic location, Mrauk-U not only spread its

riches but also its beliefs, particularly the veneration of the Mahamuni
Buddha beyond the borders of Rakhine.

This urban settlement near the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal
played a pivotal role in Myanmar’s, East India’s and Siam’s history by its
role in the trade of the Bay of Bengal and the Indian Ocean.

Developing into a multi-ethnic, multi-religious and multi-lingual trading

city, its unique journey spanned over more than two centuries.
 95

A market in Mrauk-U
96

Embracing diversity, spreading

Buddhism
Trade also brought foreign ideas and religions to the local people of
Mrauk-U.

As early as the 7th and 8th centuries, Rakhine’s early urban sites
enjoyed trade links with eastern India, where Mahayana Buddhism and
Brahmanism flourished in hybrid forms.

The eastern influence shows in the material evidence of architecture,

art, epigraphy and iconography. When centuries later, Mrauk-U became
both a market and a place of consumption of foreign goods, more
traders and travellers mingled with the local population.

Some of the visitors stayed, transforming Mrauk-U into a cosmopolitan

city where the biggest religions of the world – Buddhism, Islam,
Brahmanism and Christianity – were represented, nonetheless, very few
material vestiges remain that testify to this former diversity of
Mrauk-U’s inhabitants.

Warfare and territorial expansion also brought in technical and

artistic innovations, such as the glazed kilns that were used for the
ornamentation of religious monuments.

Although the diversity of Mrauk-U was enriched by outside forces, the

kingdom also had its own message to spread.

The spread of the Mahamuni cult of Buddhism in the region, including

Rakhine State, but also southeast Bangladesh and Myanmar, is seen in
archaeological remains, Buddha images, pictorial representations of the
Mahamuni story and a number of temples and stupas embedded in the
landscape even long after Mrauk-U faded away.
97
98

Mrauk-U today
The Mrauk-U of today still makes for a stunning experience. Mist
sweeping across rolling hills to reveal stunning temples and stupas is a
sight many visitors are willing to travel long hours for.

The old city retains most of its core characteristics and its historic
boundary is identifiable with the features of mountains, embankments
and moats.

Paddy fields are still tended in the area. Local people also continue
to worship and hold ceremonies at many of the hundreds of temples,
as their ancestors did when the city flourished as the capital of a far-
reaching coastal kingdom more than 300 years ago.
 99

Traditions live on too, from pagoda festivals to wrestling tournaments A view over Mrauk-U at
sunset
to boat racing.

In fact, the old skill boatbuilding is still active in Mrauk-U, where a river
or creek is never far away.

Running these waters since ancient times are the laung, a traditional
boat–still used for races, and a row boat called bauk-tu–mainly used
for travels and transports. The process of building a laung starts with
finding the right tree, which is decided by an old ritual. A wooden axe
handle is placed at the bottom of a trunk and if the handle remains
untouched over a period of time the tree is deemed lucky enough to be
an appropriate building material.
100

An example of a traditional laung made

from one tree is seen at the base of Thin Chi
Mountain near Shitthaung Temple. No metals
are used in the building of these boats –
instead, planks of timber are tied with rattan
rope, earning them the nickname “sewed
boat.”

Jack, wood oil and pomegranate are among

the trees used by the boat makers around
Mrauk-U to build laung. They receive about 30 Laung boat-making

to 40 orders per year and the nifty skiffs go

on to transport people and goods to riverside
villages.

On the land, ancient traditions thrive through

local food, crafts and music. The auspicious
Rakhine drum, for instance, is depicted on the
walls of the Shitthaung Temple, suggesting the
instrument was played in the early days of the
Rakhine kings.
Laung boat in use
Once heard amid the thud of footsteps as
troops marched into battle, the drum now
energises competitors in the kyin, a traditional
wrestling competition, although with only one
traditional drum-maker remaining in Mrauk-U,
the beat of the Rakhine drum may be fading.

Many of the wrestlers will enjoy rice noodle

dish mont-ti as a main staple of their diet – the
same meal that fuelled their ancestors.

Drum-making
Squeezing rice paste from a metal drainer
fixed in a wooden pillar makes the Rakhine
favourite. The biggest round noodle, known
as nan thay, requires four people to work the
apparatus. Mont-ti is served all-year-round
but the largest orders come during birthdays,
public holidays and pagoda festivals.

Making mont-ti noodles

 101

Visitors to Mrauk-U will be struck by the

stone carvings of its pagodas and temples.
A small group of masons continues to sculpt
sandstone for homes, monasteries and hotels
in the area.

These masons have vowed adherence to

the Five Precepts of Buddhism – five basic
moral rules laid out by the Buddha – and their
creations range from mythical creatures and
spirits to humans and animals. Stone carving

Only men are allowed to sculpt Buddha

images, which three monks usually bless on
completion, whereas women are responsible
for carving human figures.

A more widespread form of traditional

handicrafts is bronze casting, which exists as
a cottage industry and also on a larger scale
through established businesses.
Bronze casting
The practice produces similar figures to the
stone carvers, except that in bronze casting
women produce mythical creatures and men
make Buddha and nat statutes. Monks are also
invited to bless the creations, and the bronze
casters themselves pay homage to their newly
produced figures.

Goldsmiths creating traditional patterns

can still be found in Mrauk-U although this
practise is dwindling as modern jewellery Goldsmith
designs become more popular and orders
are increasingly diverted to bigger goldsmith
businesses of Yangon and Mandalay.

Some products, though, are uniquely Rakhine

and can not be easily replaced. The Mro,
a Rakhine ethnic group, are celebrated for
their traditional weaving, while bamboo is an
important material for the broader population.

Backstrap weaving
102

Shipped from forests in the upper region of

Lemro, the plant is used by small businesses
to make mats as well as thalu fans, which also
incorporate thalu leaves.

The leaves must first be dried, and then

soaked into water for 30 minutes to make
them malleable. Mostly women work in this
business, producing 50 to 60 fans each day
and selling them to local markets.
Women making hats in Mrauk-U

The raw ingredients for Rakhine rice wine can

also be found at the markets, brewed by old
family-run liqueur makers who deploy a tried-
and-tested process.

The rice is cooked and cooled to room

temperature before being mixed with crushed
yeast powder and left in a pot for five days,
with a small amount of water poured in on day
three.
Bamboo hat weaving

Rice wine-making Fermentation for rice wine

Mro weaving Unfinished hats

 103

Stone carving
104

Protecting
the cultural
significance of
Mrauk-U

What started life as a safer alternative to the more exposed former

capital of Launggyet became an impenetrable, cosmopolitan city with a
strong influence in coastal South and Southeast Asia.

Mrauk-U’s success partly lay in the ingenuity of its people, who built
fortifications along a series of moats and implemented a unique water
management system to protect against floods, droughts and enemies.

Its growing reach through newly conquered lands and outsiders

settling in the city enriched its already impressive architecture and art.

The remains of this grand city that thrived as the capital of the Rakhine
kingdom from the 15th century to the 18th century are exceptional
testimony to the diverse cultural landscape of both Eastern India
and Southeast Asia. Therefore, they need to be protected for future
generations.

Since 1891, Mrauk-U is protected by law and under the management

of the Department of Archaeology. In recent years, a number of
national laws and protocols have been adopted to ensure that the area
demarcated for its cultural significance is safeguarded and maintained
according to the highest international standards.
 105

Local appreciation has long been a form of protection for Mrauk-U, Mrauk-U stupas at sunset

even before it was added to the World Heritage Tentative List in

1996. More than 20 years later, this commitment was reaffirmed when
local authorities appealed for international support to improve the
conservation efforts of the site, in order to set out on the path towards
UNESCO World Heritage status.

Since 2018, with the support of the Italian Government, UNESCO is

providing technical assistance and capacity building to support the
sustainable conservation and management of Mrauk-U and to engage
local communities for a better understanding of the exceptional
cultural significance of Mrauk-U. Once an international centre of trade
and commerce, Mrauk-U is now on the path towards UNESCO World
Heritage status so that the local community and visitors will enjoy its
architectural, technological and sculptural qualities for years to come.
106

Features
by Rakhine history expert Dr. Jacques P. Leider

Supernatural beliefs and political

upheaval2

The dynastic break of the year 1000

The year 1000 of the Myanmar-Rakhine sakkaraj era saw a break in
royal succession and a rupture in the history of royal dynasties in
Mrauk-U. It matches with the year 1638 of the Christian Era and thanks
to indigenous sources, Dutch reports and a Portuguese missionary
account, we can gain an exceptionally lively picture — less of the actual
events and associated supernatural practices which remain confusing
— than the mystic beliefs that permitted contemporary interpretations
of political contestation, sudden political change and acts of harsh
violence.

The last ten years of the reign of King Thirithudhammaraza (fl. 1622-38)
were overshadowed by the rivalry of the king’s Minister Nga Lat Ron
and the Lord of Launggyet Ngakuthala involving matters of on occult
and astrological calculations. However, the Dutch VOC representative
in Mrauk-U underscored the role of the Muslim minister, Ashraf Khan,
who dealt with military and trade affairs. The most powerful person in
the inner circle of the political elite was Queen Natshin May.

The Launggyet lord was said to have attempted to kill the king in the
late 1620s, yet the lord still played an important role at the court for
years to come. Nga Lak Ron, strongly advised the king to take action
and counter the lord’s devices of black magic. Queen Natshin May who
had fallen for Launggyet Lord Nga Kuthala, allegedly plotted together
dissuading the king from heeding the minister’s advice. Finally, Nga Lak
Ron whose family ancestors had served the successive Rakhine Kings
left the palace and became a monk.

2
This feature addresses a controversial, but important moment in Rakhine history where interpretations often diverge due to
the nature of the archival record.
 107

On 31 May 1638, King Thirithudhammaraza passed away. Was he

poisoned as rumours would have it? His wife, Queen Natshin May, was
a primary suspect. Had she not betrayed her husband and fallen for the
Launggyet lord? There was worse to come.

The king’s son, named Prince Saturday (Man Sanay), had barely been
installed in the palace when he passed away with smallpox, less than a
month after his father, on 26 June of the same year. Once again, Natshin
May was suspected to have hastened the death of a son who had fallen
ill.

Court members were called in for a meeting by the queen herself

summoning them to pay obedience to the new lord. It was the governor
of Launggyet whom the Dutch East India Company saw as their man.
During the night, opponents were singled out and massacred. Now
he had won the power contest and made himself the king of Mrauk-U
adopting the title Narapati, “lord of men”. Those who had advised the
previous king were fleeing, some were caught, others made it into
Mughal territory threatening from near the borders, but many of those
who could not flee were eliminated.

Surely, the dynastic break did not undermine the kingdom’s stability,
but it shook the belief in royal continuity among the elite. The dearth of
the chroniclers’ narrative after 1638 reflects a deep seated disdain for
the newcomer (and his descendants) who put an end to the line of kings
who had founded Mrauk-U and built the kingdom over the preceding
two centuries.

The usurper king Narapati himself quickly locked the queen up

to a palace on the outskirts of his own residence. He became sick
and invalid and would not be seen for extended periods of time,
undermining his authority. By multiple acts of pious donations to the
monkhood, he was desperate to recover his health, but failed. An
ardent practitioner of black magic, he turned eagerly to Nga Lak Ron, to
presage him a better future. His reign was relatively short, seven years,
and offers a stark and gloomy contrast with the previous expansive
rulers.
108

Epigraphy and kingship

Queen Shin Htwe, Mrauk-U’s elite and royal
donations

Among the many aspects of Mrauk-U’s ancient culture which may

easily escape the notice of a visitor are the stone inscriptions. Writing
on stone is a special act of commemoration. Some inscriptions enjoy
a fame of their own, like the huge Anandacandra pillar inscription
at the Shitthaung Temple written in Sanskrit and dating back to the
second half of the first millennium CE. Sanskrit yedharma inscriptions
consist of a single line citing the basic Buddhist creed of dependent
origination. Most stone inscriptions date from the Mrauk-U period
and commemorate donations by members of the royal elite. Only
some were recorded and translated since the early colonial period,
several transcribed by Emil Forchhammer during his mission to Arakan
in the late 1880s are barely readable today in the original. Many of
those which can currently be explored at the Mrauk-U Archaeological
Museum were collected since the 1950s and long stored in various
premises. Still, available information is limited and inscriptions are still
waiting to be explored by curious minds.

Inscriptions document one of the most important Buddhist practices,

meritorious donations made for the upkeeping and perpetuation of
Buddhist practices. They do also include royal donations to brahmins
to provide for their income. Besides land donations, such inscriptions
would mention the construction of monastic buildings, the offering of
Buddha statues or the offerings of silver, gold and other acceptable
items to the sangha (monks). Blessings to those who would respect
the will of the donator and curses to those who would fail to honour
his good deeds reflect cosmological and supernatural beliefs in the
efficacy of deeds and an individual’s fate in the cycle of rebirths. A
blessing would be the promise of reaching nibbana, freedom from the
cycles of future reincarnation, while a curse would vow a being to eons
of lives in the lowest of hells or worse, the prospect of never hearing
about the liberating message of a Buddha, an Awakened One.

In rarer cases the epigraphic content throws some light on the donors,
Mrauk-U’s elite. This is the case of the Alay Zedi temple inscription (A
28) of 1640 (year 1002 Myanmar-Rakhine era) which is seen on a stone
slab of nearly 1.5 meters in height at the Mrauk-U museum.
 109

It does not only contain an impressive list

of donations, including a monastery, rice
fields, gardens and temple slaves, but also a
description of the status of the donor, Queen
Shin Htwe, the wife of King Man Khamaung
(1612-1622) and queen dowager mother of
King Thirithudhammaraza (1622-1638).
The date of the inscription shows that she
outlived both her husband and her son who
was allegedly poisoned. She is also presented
as the sister of King Man Raza Gri (1597-1612),
her husband’s father, which is surprising
because it implies that her husband was
also her nephew. This information about
intermarriage of very close relatives confirms
other sources such as Father Manrique’s
travelogue which, for example, mentions that
kings could marry their half-sisters.
Alay Zedi temple inscription
While the close family relation to no less than three kings makes Queen from 1640 now at the
Mrauk-U archaeological
Shin Htwe and unusual person, the inscription also mentions that she museum
was the mother-in-law of King Narapati, the former Launggyet governor
who violently seized power in 1638 after the sudden death of Man
Sanay who barely reigned a month in June 1638. Queen Shin Htwe
and more so her daughter, appear therefore as links between the old
dynasty of kings who descended from the founder of Mrauk-U and the
new dynasty founded by the ambitious Launggyet governor.

Each king (with the exception of Narapati) is referred to as “lord of

the white and red elephant”, a standard appellation of Rakhine kings.
The possession of a white elephant was prestigious and perceived
in a Buddhist context as a supernatural validation of royal status.
Though we have no details about Queen Shin Htwe’s life, her presence
at the court throughout several generations, her elite status and our
knowledge about Mrauk-U’s greatest phase in the early 17th century
suggest an extraordinary life in the centre of the political powerhouse
and its rich cultural setting.
110

Rakhine Buddhism

The Mahamuni and Rakhine kingship

Buddhist beliefs, practices and the monastic institution in Rakhine

belong to the same Theravada Buddhist tradition transmitted in the
Pali Buddhist canon which prevails in Myanmar, Thailand, Sri Lanka
and a few other countries. This form of Buddhism exists often in
association with local textual traditions and supernatural practices
which individualize the religion beyond its canonical setting. The belief
that the historical Buddha who passed his life in northern India, paid
visits to various sites in Southeast Asia, is widely shared. For centuries,
Rakhine Buddhists revered the famous statue of the Mahamuni Buddha
as a replica of Lord Buddha made during a visit to Rakhine.

The story reported in the Mahamuni Thamaing, a religious chronicle,

tells about a pious king named Candasuriya whom the Buddha visited
with 500 followers, landing on Selagiri mountain near Kyauktaw. Before
the Buddha’s departure to other sites in Rakhine and the Mon country,
the king requested the favour of making a life-sized replica with
precious materials, a work executed with the support of both gods and
men.

As the Buddha inspired life to the statue referred to as his younger

brother in the apocryphal texts, the statue has been treated with awe
and enormous respect for centuries. For Rakhine kings, a pilgrimage
and mediation to the statue’s abode in Dhanyawadi, north of Mrauk-U,
before their coronation was more than an act of piety. The statue was
the kingdom’s paragon said to demonstrate physical signs of worry
in times of crisis. To be sure, kings could not ignore interpretations
of their fortunetellers, advisers and brahmins who would explain
these signs and suggest remedies. The Myanmar king Badon (or
Bodawphaya) whose son conquered Rakhine in late 1784, took the
statue to Amarapura. In over two centuries the Rakhine cult of the
Mahamuni became a national Myanmar cult and the statue one of
Myanmar’s holiest Buddhist sites.

Despite the obvious loss for the Rakhine, many locals were in denial
and seemingly held the belief that the real statue had fallen off the raft
and disappeared into the water, thus denying an effective transport to
Myanmar.
 111

The site in Dhanyawadi where people today still visit a temple which The Mahamuni Buddha
image now located in
actually has two statues vying for attention, was apparently abandoned Mandalay
for many years before it enjoyed a revival with the rise of fortunes

of Mrauk-U’s partly restored temples and stupas since the late 19th
century. Rather than the ethereal Western conception of Buddhism,
practical Buddhism in Southeast Asia was always a religion grounded in
the soil of the lands where it flourished. Legend has it that the Buddha
during his visits made pronouncements on places where he stated
to have lived in former forms of existence and where relics could be
found, thereby sanctifying the land. Rakhine Buddhists have always
seen their land as a place prophesied by the Buddha’s visit, eventually
without need of reforms as the master himself had planted the true
teaching. The diffusion of Buddhism was also physically present with
many smaller Buddha statues in the region said to have been made
with leftovers of those noble materials which had been used for the
Mahamuni statue itself. Examples exist both in Lower Myanmar and the
southeast of Bangladesh.

The ongoing high veneration of the Mahamuni is not the expression

of a variant or local form of Buddhism, but rather a reflection of
religious intimacy and devotion and the deep-held belief in the ongoing
correlation of the macro- and microcosmos of natural and supernatural
existence. It is also, more mundanely, within the constructed identity
of the Rakhine people today, the symbol of their ancient historical and
religious identity.
112

Glossary
Ava City in Mandalay Region, former royal capital, see Inwa

Bago A city in Lower Myanmar and several times a royal capital, see Pegu
Bengal The Bengal sultanate was a Sunni Muslim, yet multi-ethnic and multi-linguistic
sultanate empire flourishing between the 14th and 16th centuries. Cultural and commercial
contacts with neighbor regions such as Rakhine underscored its regional role
for trade and the spread of Islam.
Burma Burma is the name established in Western languages since the early 19th
century to refer to the kingdom of Myanmar. It remained the official name at
independence (Union of Burma, 1948) before “Myanmar” was adopted in 1989.
Both terms have the same etymology designating the dominant ethnic group of
Bamar (Burmese) people.

Cave The term “cave temple” (Burmese gu) is used for stupas that have a passage
temple towards a chamber with a Buddha statue that can be accessed by the devotees.

Chakmas Chakmas are a Tibeto-Burman ethnic group living today in Southeast

Bangladesh. They speak a Bengali dialect and their Buddhism has been strongly
influenced by the Pali-Theravada Buddhism of Rakhine. Their lords competed
against Rakhine and Tripura and were subdued during campaigns led by
Mrauk-U kings in the second half of the 16th century.

Chittagong Port city of Southeast Bangladesh, officially spelt Chattogram, Chittagong has
a history going back to the first millennium. Arabs and Persians settled in the
region between the 13th and 16th centuries followed by Portuguese making the
city one of the most important ports of the Bay of Bengal in the early modern
period. The city and its hinterland became integrated to the Rakhine kingdom
around 1580. Chittagong was a pillar of the kingdom’s economic life. In 1666, the
Mughals conquered the city.

Dutch The Dutch East India Company (Dutch acronym: VOC) based in Batavia (today
East India Jakarta in Java) displaced the Portuguese as a major European trading nation
Company in the Indian Ocean in the 17th century. The VOC needed rice and slaves for its
spices-growing colonies in what is now Indonesia. Mrauk-U could provide both
because it was a major rice producer and the annual raids against Bengal’s
lowlands turned out thousands of captives. A stable VOC settlement existed
only in Mrauk-U for various periods of time but the Dutch presence was of
eminent importance for Mrauk-U’s kings.

Gaur (or Capital of the Bengal Sultanate from 1450 to 1565. See also Bengal sultanate.
Gauda)
 113

Inwa A city in Mandalay Region, it is situated at the mouth of the Myitnge River
flowing into the Irrawaddy. Also known by its Pali name, Ratanapura (pron.
Yatanapura), it was several times the site of the royal capital between the 14th
and 19th centuries. Spelt and pronounced Ava, the name was commonly used
by foreigners before the 19th century to refer to the Upper Myanmar kingdoms.
It was first founded as the capital of a Myanmar kingdom from 1365 to 1555.
Regaining its role briefly between 1599–1613, it was the capital from 1635–1752
when territorial rule moved away from the south towards the northeast. Inwa
became once more the capital under several Konbaung rulers from 1765–1783
and 1821–1842.

Launggyet Launggyet, situated south-east of Mrauk-U, was the seat of Rakhine ruler
previous to the rise of Mrauk-U (13th-early 15th century). A very limited
archaeological archive and discording dynastic lists leave us in the dark on the
history of this kingdom.

Lokapala Supernatural guardian of the kingdom in Indian cosmology, see also nat

Man Aung In Mrauk-U, a series of five stupas built by King Thirithudhammaraza (1632-38)
stupas and King Sandathudhammaraza (1652-84) include in their name the term “man
aung” indicating a proud victory and hinting at political overtones in the context
of threats faced by Mrauk-U.

Manrique The name of the Augustinian monk Fra Sebastiao Manrique gained an indelible
reputation with the publication of Maurice Collis’ romanticizing book The Land
of the Great Image being experiences of Friar Manrique in Arakan (1943). The
book embellishes facts and was based on the translation, published in 1927, of
the missionary’s travelogue written in mixed Spanish Portuguese. Manrique’s
account boasts of heroic feats at the service of the local Portuguese community
and his often-painful stay in the Rakhine kingdom to defend the Christian
cause.

Mon Mon people are an ethnic group of Myanmar. The memory of their kingdoms
in Lower Myanmar and their entangled history with the Myanmar kingdom
starts with the history of Bagan, Myanmar’s first kingdom (11th to 13th century).
It is generally connected to the history of Pegu/Bago, a city in Lower Myanmar
which was during centuries a centre of political power

Mughal The Mughals conquered west and central Bengal in the middle of the 16th
governors century, but their governors in Bengal could extend their territorial control
towards the East and Southeast only after fighting local Hindu and Muslim
lords and the powerful Buddhist Mrauk-U kingdom for over a century. Mughal
campaigns to conquer Rakhine by land and sea failed repeatedly between 1613
and 1665. Chittagong, the major prize of the conquest, fell only in 1666.
114

Myint Mo Myint Mo is the Myanmar rendering of Mount Meru, the mountain in the centre
of the universe in Indian cosmology adopted by Buddhists, surrounded by seven
rows of mountain chains and four continents situated in the cardinal directions.
As the royal city was seen as a replica of the universal order, the concept of the
palace as a site where the king rules provided the cosmological dimension of
Buddhist kingship with a visible material expression.

Nat A nat is a spirit and the belief in nat is widely spread in Myanmar and Rakhine
and integrated to Buddhist beliefs and practices where spirits are often
assimilated with godly figures (deva). The origins of spirits are linked to forms
of violent death and spirits need therefore propitiation by specialists (mediums)
to prevent negative interaction with the life of humans. At the same time, nat
are venerated as protector deities and their association with particular places,
gives them an integral place in the existence of a village, an urban site or a
palace and how the lives of locales are imagined in supernatural terms. In
association with these beliefs, we find on a cosmological level the reference to
lokapalas, supernatural guardians of the kingdom.

Ordination Theravada Buddhist monks practice acts of faith and discipline which require
hall a separate space which excludes lay people. Such is in particular the role of
an ordination hall (sima (in Pali), or thein in Burmese). An ordination hall is one
among various religious buildings frequently built by kings and forming part of
a monastic complex.

Pegu Name of a city today more often referred to as Bago and alternately known by
its classical name Hamsavati (pron. Hanthawadi). Pegu/Bago was several times
the capital of pre-colonial Mon and Myanmar kingdoms. As the royal seat of
a predominantly Mon kingdom between 1369 and 1538, it competed with the
kingdom of Inwa/Ava (see “Inwa”) for the control over Rakhine. It was the capital
of a powerful empire in the late 16th century famed among foreign traders for its
flourishing trade.

When this Myanmar empire founded by Mintayashwethi and enlarged by Bayint

Naung declined under King Nandabayin, Mrauk-U took part in the conquest of
the city. We find traces of the transfer of Mon people from Pegu to the Rakhine
kingdom in references to artists and royal guards.

Portuguese Portuguese (also referred to as Luso-Asians, because of their ethnic mix with
local people) were present in the Northeast Bay of Bengal since the early 16th
century. They settled numerously in the Chittagong region. From the 1530s to
the 1620s, Portuguese tried to carve out autonomous territories competing
against the regional lords, including the kings of Mrauk-U. From the late 16th
century onwards, they played an important role in the Mrauk-U kingdom as
traders, military specialists and ship captains though few material remains
document their presence.
 115

Ramu Ramu is today a village in Cox’ Bazaar District of Bangladesh. Its Rakhine name
is Panwa. Under the reign of the Mrauk-U kings and probably until the middle of
the 18th century, it used to be the site of a garrison.

Stupa A stupa (Sanskrit term) is a hemispherical or cone-like full-bodied Buddhist

religious structure which contains relics. It can stand alone or within the
compound of a temple or monastic complex. It is both a site and an object of
veneration as the relic materially signifies the person of the Buddha and the
Buddhist teaching. In Myanmar, terms such as zedi (from Sanskrit chaitya) or
phaya (a generic term for Buddha statues and religious constructions) may be
used.

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, a Theravada Buddhist land, is a site of religious and historical
reference for other Theravada Buddhist countries being the place of origins of
the canonical Buddhist scriptures of the Tipitaka written in Pali. Rakhine and
Sri Lanka exchanged royal and monastic missions during the Mrauk-U period.
Sinhalese historiography (Mahavamsa) has been a model for the chronicle
writing in Southeast Asia. (see also Theravada Buddhism). The arrival of sacred
texts or relics requested from Sri Lanka (or presented by fellow kings) were
important moments in the religious life of the kingdom.

Tanintharyi Tanintharyi (known until 1989 as Tenassarim) is today the southernmost

administrative region of Myanmar, but historically the name was applied to the
whole coastal strip including what are today the Mon and the south of Kayin
regions. Under Myanmar rule in the Pagan period and in the late 16th century,
the south of Tanintharyi came under Siamese rule during the 17th-18th centuries
when the port of Myeik (Myeik) was flourishing in the Bay of Bengal. Tanintharyi
came finally under Myanmar control in the late 18th century.

Tenasserim Region in Southeast Myanmar, see Tanintharyi

Thein In Pali, sima, see “ordination hall”

Theravada Theravada Buddhism is spread in Sri Lanka and various Southeast Asian
Buddhism countries, including Myanmar. It is based on the canonical scriptures in the Pali
language originally treasured in Sri Lanka. Rakhine, like Myanmar, entertained
contacts with Sri Lanka by monastic missions. First millennium inscriptions
in Sanskrit and the myth of the Mahamuni statue point to the early origins of
Buddhism in the region. The practice of Theravada Buddhism in Rakhine was
emphasized throughout the Mrauk-U period. (See also Sri Lanka)
MRAUK-U
A Guide to the Heritage of the Ancient Kingdom