Everything about Anawrahta totally explained
Anawrahta (; ; reigned
1044-
1077), also spelled
Aniruddha or
Anoarahtâ or
Anoa-ra-htá-soa, was a ruler of the kingdom of
Pagan and the first ruler of a unified
Burma.
His father was
Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu, who took the throne of Pagan from
Nyaung-u Sawrahan and in turn was overthrown by the sons of Nyaung-u Sawrahan,
Kyiso and
Sokka-te, who forced Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu to become a
monk. When Anawrahta came of age, he challenged the surviving brother Sokka-te to single combat and slew him. Anawrahta offered to return rulership to his father, who refused and remained a monk, so he took the throne in 1044.
He made a pilgrimage to
Ceylon, returning to convert his country from
Ari Buddhism to
Theravada Buddhism. To further this goal he appointed Arahan, a famous
Mon monk of
Thaton. In
1057 he invaded
Thaton under the premise that they'd refused to lend Pagan the
Pali Tipitaka, and successfully returned with the Mon king
Manuha as prisoner. From
1057-
1059 he took an army to
Nanzhao to seek a
Buddha's tooth relic. As he returned,
Shan chiefs swore allegiance to him, and he married
Saw Monhla, princess of the
Shan chief of
Moguang. In
1071 Anawrahta received the complete Tipitaka from
Sri Lanka. Buddhists from
Dai regions (southern
Yunnan and
Laos),
Thailand, and
India (where Buddhism had been oppressed) came to study in
Pagan as Anawrahta moved the center of Burmese Buddhism north from Thaton.
He also built the famous
Shwezigon Pagoda.
In the end, Anawrahta was successful in his quest, and Theravada Buddhism became the dominant religion in Myanmar within two centuries.
His rule was usurped by a general called
Kyanzittha, who allegedly fell maddly in love with Anawrahta's wife to be, the Princess of Mon Kingdom.
Anawrahta Street (Frasier Street) in
Yangon (formerly Rangoon) is named after him.
Further Information
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