Stadtner D.M.-thaton-The Buddha and Suvannabhumi

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1 6 8 THATON: THE BUDDHA AND SUVANNABHUMI 1 6 9

Thaton touches heartstrings of Mon and Burmese alike but for

entirely different reasons. For the Mon Thaton marks the spot

where the Buddha himself introduced Buddhism to Lower Burma,

while for Burmese Thaton is the place from which the Pali canonwas seized from the Mon and introduced to Pagan in the 11thcentury. Thus, Thatons small size belies its importance in the

national mythology.

The Mon name for Thaton in the 15th century was Sadhuim,from Sudhammavati (Pali). Sudhammavati derived probably from

Sudhamma, the hometown of the Buddha Sobhita, one of the 28Buddhas in Burmese Buddhism. But Lower Burma had a flourishing

Buddhist culture centuries before Pegu was made the capital in the

14th century. That monks from Aramana, or Ramanna, were invitedto Sri Lanka to launch a purification drive in the mid-12th century

is an indication of Lower Burmas Buddhist statureat that time (Wickremasinghe: 253). The monks

were likely from Thaton or Mottama, or both.

The earliest surviving mythology surroundingThaton appears in stone inscriptions from the

reign of the Mon king Dhammaceti (r. 1470-1492)whose capital was Pegu. These epigraphs identify

Thaton as the place where the Buddha came

from India to convert its first king. This mythicalruler, named Sirimasoka, had a kinsmen named

Gavampati who was a disciple of the Buddha inIndia. And it was Gavampati who persuaded the

Buddha to visit Thaton to convert his brother and

the land. At Thaton the Buddha presented sixhair-relics to the same number of hermits. Later,

following the Buddhas cremation, Gavampatibrought a tooth-relic to Thaton that replicated

itself 33 times. The king then enshrined the teeth

in 33 stone pagodas in Thaton which subsequentlyfell into ruin and became lost (Shorto 1970).

Two missionaries from India, Sona and Uttara,were sent to Thaton at the time of Asoka and

rediscovered the lost pagodas. They thendistributed the tooth-relics to stupas in Lower

Burma. The most important was the Shwemawdaw

in Pegu (see page 146). These 15th centurylegends were greatly elaborated upon over the

centuries and eventually underpinned countless

pagodas in Lower Burma, including the Golden

Rock (Stadtner 2008b). Following the 15thcentury there emerged in Lower Burma a far

greater emphasis on hair relics, at the expense of

tooth relics.Thatons first king was the offspring of a

wizard and a snake goddess disguised as a woman,a myth found in many different Mon and Burmese

versions preserved in post-15th century chronicles.

The king hatched from a snake egg and was raisedby a hermit living on Mt. Zingyaik, a sacred peak

about 26 kilometres south of Thaton. His brother,a product from this same unorthodox union, was raised by another

hermit, on Mt. Zwegabin, a nearby hilltop southeast of Pa-an inneighboring Kayin State and was reborn as the famous Gavampati.

Another tradition claims that the Buddha dispensed eight hairs at

Thaton, not six (Bigandet: 391).Although by the 15th century Thaton was dwarfed in importance

by Martaban and Pegu, even, it remained a fountainhead for Monidentity, as revealed in later chronicles. The Kalyani Inscription

records that the capital at the time of Sona and Uttaras vist was

Golamattikanagara, a site possibly identified with a walled enclosurein the village of Ayetthema, at the foot of the range containing Mt.

Kelasa (Myint Aung).

For Burmese, Thaton is immortalised as the place seized by thePagan king Anawrahta (r. 1044-77) who captured the Pali canon

from the Mon. This version of events was formulated first by theMon themselves in the 15th century and later adopted by the

Burmese. Anawrahta and Pagan kings did exert control over LowerBurma for some time, but the traditional accounts of seizing the

canon can be dismissed (Stadtner 2008a). The canons association

Thatons distinctive sculpturerivaled Pagans in quality but littlesurvives. Discovered in a moundnear Thatons Kalyani OrdinationHall, this standing Buddha is

perhaps as early as the 11th centurybut may be much later. ShwesayanPagoda godown.

Stupa foundation faced with laterite,c. 500 A.D., at Zothoke, northwestof Thaton. Such monumentalarchitecture reveals the flourishingstate of Mon civilisation in Lower

Burma in the first millennium.

The Shwesayan Pagoda, left, isnoted for tooth-relics of the

Buddha, probably reflecting alingering tradition from the 15thcentury when the Thaton kingreceived a tooth-relic from hisbrother, Gavampati, a disciple ofthe Buddha. This relic multiplieditself into a total of 33 tooth relics.This turn-of-the-century worshiphall, right, is a gem.

THATON: THE BU DD HA A NDSUVANNABHUMI

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probably reflect lingering 15th century Mon traditions which centre

on Gavampati bringing a single tooth to Thaton that multipliedthirty-three times. The Buddhas instructions and the relics of the

previous Buddhas relate directly to the themes of the Shwedagon

legend.The original shape of the Shwesayan is difficult to determine,

but it may have once have resembled the terraced Thagya Pagodaand another stupa on the platform usually called the Pitaka-taik;

all of these examples used laterite extensively, probably excavatedfrom a huge laterite-lined tank in one corner of the compound(Oertel: 22).

Three of the four worship halls have been refurbished but theprincipal one on the east is nearly pristine, from the early part of the

20th century. Most of the sculpture is plaster, formed around thinwire, which has been gilded or painted. It is rare to find old plaster

work in such fine condition.

The eclectic pagoda museum displays objects donated over thelast hundred years or so, plus terracotta votive tablets from various

periods recovered in the area. Panels depicting the history of theShwesayan and its relics are painted on the walls. A storeroom

behind the museum holds ancient stone inscriptions, including

the famous trap andpanditepigraphs, and sculptures. Thepandit

inscription lists all twenty-eight Buddhas, probably the earliest

reference of this concept in Burma (Luce 1974: 133).The modest Thagya Pagoda once boasted 64 terracotta panels

depicting the last tenjatakas, the reveredMahanipata (Pali). If there

were 64 plaques, then each of the ten tales would have been givenabout six tiles. In the late 19th century the pagoda was in a state of

great decayand many of the tablets have fallen out, while othersare much injured and likely to disappear also (Temple 1893a: 240).

Twelve were described in the 1880s and fifteen panels survived insitu by the 1930s. The pagoda was repaired around 1896 whichbegan a series of white-washings that has virtually obliterated the

THATON: THE BUDDHA AND SUVANNABHUMI 1 71

with Thaton is also tied to Buddhaghosa, a renowned 5th century

commentator whose home was often identified as Thaton inBurmese sources. He traveled to Sri Lanka and returned to Lower

Burma with the scriptures that were centuries later conveyed to

Pagan in Upper Burma (Vamsadipani: 116). Buddhaghosa becameincluded in the national mythology, together with an embellished

life history (Glass Palace Chronicle: 46).

Old Thaton

Early explorations at Thaton revealed a large rectangular walledenclosure. Finger-marked bricks beneath the walls and at nearby

sites suggest a first-millennium settlement (Moore & San Win 2007:215). The major pagoda complex, now dominating the centre of

town, occupies only a small portion of this ancient enclosure.Buddhism was known in the Thaton area from around the

middle of the first millennium, as witnessed by the nearby brick

monastic sites of Kyaikkatha, Winka and a stupa base at Zothoke.Three Hindu stone sculptures were also discovered in Thaton

shortly before 1900 but their find-spots are unrecorded; and thereare no surviving Hindu temples in Thaton. All three sculptures were

destroyed during World War II when on display in the library at the

University of Rangoon. They probably date to between the 8th and10th centuries. Two of the sculptures relate closely to a sculpture in

the Kawgun Cave, near Pa-an. The iconography, with three gods

emerging from Vishnus navel, is virtually unique to Burma. Twosimilar depictions of Vishnu occur at Pagan, further evidence of

Mon influence from Lower Burma at Pagan (Stadtner 2005: 144).

The Shwesayan Pagoda

The principal stupa is inside a vast walled compound facing the

main street. Its real history is unknown but the most recent pagoda

chronicle, or thamaing, probably reflects traditions current in the19th century, if not much earlier. The story begins with the Buddha

visiting Thaton and converting its first king, called Thuri-sanda, orSurya-chandra. The king offered the Buddha his crown and the

Buddha then presented his four teeth which were miraculously

replaced in his mouth. The Buddha pointed to a hill where hewished the teeth to be enshrined. The king then discovered on the

spot an old ruinous stupa containing relics belonging to the threeBuddhas preceding Gotama (hair-relics of Kakusandha, the walking

stick of Konagamana, and the emerald bowl of Kassapa). The four

teeth were enshrined with these other relics and the stupa rebuilt.Another local chronicle claims that Anawrahta from Pagan removed

four tooth-relics from the pagoda placed there by the first Thatonking, according to theShwesayan Hpayagyi Thamaing (Glass Palace

Chronicle: xxi). The spirits became so enraged at this sacrilege that

they caused the king to go mad and slip on the skirt of his queen,perhaps modeled on a similar episode in a Sri Lankan chronicle

(Mahavamsa: XXIV. 6). References to tooth-relics at Thaton

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The Thaton king, right, supervisingthe enshrinement of tooth-relics inthe Shwesayan stupa. The newrelics, on the left, are conveyedto the pagoda by Brahma andThagyamin. The 15th centuryThaton tooth-relic legend makesno mention of relics belongingto previous Buddhas. Mural.

By Than Maung. ShwesayanPagoda museum.

A terracotta votive tablet commonto the Thaton region, such as atWinka, c. 500. Private Collection,Yangon.

Vishnu reclining on his serpent,with Brahma (left), Vishnu (centre)and Shiva (right) seated on lotusesabove. This distinctive iconographyis also found at Pagan, suggesting

Mon influence. Displayed in theuniversity library in Yangon, it wasdestroyed in World War II. AfterTemple 1893a: pl. XIV.

Detail of an intricate plastersculpture created on a wirearmature, early 20th century. The

Buddha cuts his hair after leavingthe palace, the god Sakka waitingabove to collect it. East entrancehall, Shwesayan Pagoda.



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1953). The stones were sculpted on one side with the last ten jatakas

which have been compared to sima stones in northeast Thailand(Krairiksh 59-63; Murphy Chapters 4 & 5). Two of the jatakas are

accorded two stones, and the others were also probably given two

stones, for the sake of symmetry. This would make a total of twentysima stones. The two stones for eachjatakawould perhaps have

been placed one behind the other in ten spots equidistantly aroundthe missing hall.

Towering behind Thaton is a peak famous for the Myathabeik

Pagoda containing an emerald bowl (myathabeik) and hair-relicsof the Buddha associated with King Asokas son and Sri Lanka.

The hill was visited by a previous Buddha named Anomadassi whowas offered earth by two white mice. The Buddha then prophesied

that the mice would become the future royal family of Thaton.These are probably 19th century legends but it is hard to be sure.

The hill is also the site of an inscription by Kyanzittha (r. 1084-1113)

commemorasting the restoration of a nearby shrine (Luce 1969 I: 56).Later, Burmese traditions wove the nats into Thatons history by

claiming that the city was protected by the body parts of an Indianburied with diverse charms and rites around the city walls (Glass

Palace Chronicle: 78). The Indians brother escaped to Anawrahtas

court and defused the black magic shielding Thaton, enablingAnawrahta to seize the city and the canon. This same brother

coupled with an ogress on Mt. Popa and their two sons became the

famous Taungbyon nats. In this way, Thaton and the capture of thecanon was tied at some time to a key nattradition of Upper Burma.

THATON: THE BUDDHA AND SUVANNABHUMI 1 73

jatakas. The pagoda has three staircases today but there were

originally four. The dome of the stupa is restored, but its ancientsize was probably somewhat larger. Old photographs show the

horizontal registers of the laterite base with projecting geometric

motifs (OConnor: 337). The Thagya pagoda is testimony to theimpressive monumental architecture in the Mon country by the 11th

century, if not earlier. It is possibly the same age as the octagonalMaung Di Pagoda, across the Yangon River near Twante.

The narrative sequence of the tiles matches the special Mon

order of the last tenjatakas, an order that differed somewhat fromthe sequence in the Pali canon favoured in Sri Lanka (Krairiksh).

The same Mon sequence is repeated in the panditinscription in thestoreroom and is adopted at Pagan. Luce and others long ago

recognised that this ordering of thejatakas at Pagan likely indicatedMon influence from Lower Burma.

Only one plaque, cleaned of whitewash, is preserved in the

storeroom. It has been identified as Mahosadha fleeing to a pottershome, bottom register, while the top half shows Mahosadha sitting

in a carriage en route to the palace. Other plaques are also dividedinto two horizontal segments. None of thejataka tiles at Pagan are

separated into horizontal divisions in such a fashion, suggesting a

mode of depiction local to Thaton.One corner of the compound is occupied by over 500 large

stone slabs incised with the Pali canon. Two sets were commissioned

in 1912 by the famous hermit from Mandalay, U Khanti, one forSandamuni Pagoda in Mandalay and the other for the Shwesayan in

Thaton. For unknown reasons, over 200 of the slabs were nevershipped to Thaton and are still stored in the compound of the Kyauk-

taw-gyi Temple, Mandalay (Myanmar Times, 8 September 2008).The Kalyani Ordination Hall is outside

the compound wall on an adjoining street.

The present structure has suffered manymodern refurbishments, but it probably

marks the site of a 15th century ordinationhall used in Dhammacetis huge re-ordination

of monks launched from the Kalyani

Ordination Hall in Pegu. The KalyaniInscription in Pegu contains a long list

of ordination halls in Lower Burma whichincludes one called Gavampati ordination

hall in Thaton, or sim gawampati sadhuim

(Mon) (Blagden 1928: 276). This hall fromthe 15th century was also probably the

location of a much earlier ordination chamberfrom the 11th century, evinced by sculpted

pillar-like boundary stones placed randomly

today around the basement terrace and adedication stone (Luce 1985: 172; Luce:

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Over 60 terracottajatakaplaques,featuring the last ten tales, wereonce placed inside niches on theterrace. The base and terraces were

plastered and whitewashed in theearly 20th century. Only some ten

plaques survive in situ.

Mahosadha taking refuge withpotters, below, and returning to thepalace in a carriage.

This early 20th structure probably marks the spot of an11th century ordination hall. Sima-stones from the periodwith scenes from the last ten jataks encircle the base.

Fragment of one of the 11th century sima stones devotedto the last ten jatakas. Most were around 1.35 metres.This example from the Vidhura Jataka shows four kingsaround a square lake. After U Mya, Exploration in Burma.

The earth goddess, Wathundayaor Vasundari (Pali), rescues the

Buddha from Mara and his armyby wringing her hair to produce a

flood. Late 19th-early 20th centurylacquered, carved wood, ShwesayanPagoda Museum.


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Stadtner D.M.-thaton-The Buddha and Suvannabhumi