Information AboutAnawrahta |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT ANAWRAHTA | |
| history of myanmar | |
| burmese monarchy | |
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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 had 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 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. REFERENCES
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