King Kyanzittha also known as Htilein Min was king of
BaganBagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Division of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the ancient capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
from 1084 to 1113, known for building a large number of temples and religious monuments in Bagan, particularly the
Ananda TempleAnanda Temple is a Buddhist temple built in 1105 during the reign of King Kyanzittha. It is located in Bagan, Myanmar. The name Ananda comes from the name of Buddha's cousin and personal secretary Venerable Ananda, although it was once known as Ananta Temple, coming from the phrase ananta pinya,...
.
According to the Shwezigon epigraph, his father was a sun god and mother from bamboo showing no connection to king
AnawrahtaAnawrahta , 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....
as people believed. According to that epigraph there were rebellions and reconstruction after those rebellions, suggesting that King
SawluKing Sawlu was the son of the King Anawrahta. Anawrahta appointed an Arab as a Royal teacher for his son, Prince Sawlu. That teacher’s son name was Nga Yaman Kan. He was a friend and also could be regarded as an adopted brother because they were fed from the same breast as Nga Yaman Kan's mother...
's death was the result of a rebellion.
During his reign, Kyanzittha built various lakes and irrigation systems as well as planting trees and releasing various animals and birds into the region.
King Kyanzittha also known as Htilein Min was king of
BaganBagan , formerly Pagan, is an ancient city in the Mandalay Division of Burma. Formally titled Arimaddanapura or Arimaddana and also known as Tambadipa or Tassadessa , it was the ancient capital of several ancient kingdoms in Burma...
from 1084 to 1113, known for building a large number of temples and religious monuments in Bagan, particularly the
Ananda TempleAnanda Temple is a Buddhist temple built in 1105 during the reign of King Kyanzittha. It is located in Bagan, Myanmar. The name Ananda comes from the name of Buddha's cousin and personal secretary Venerable Ananda, although it was once known as Ananta Temple, coming from the phrase ananta pinya,...
.
Background
According to the Shwezigon epigraph, his father was a sun god and mother from bamboo showing no connection to king
AnawrahtaAnawrahta , 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....
as people believed. According to that epigraph there were rebellions and reconstruction after those rebellions, suggesting that King
SawluKing Sawlu was the son of the King Anawrahta. Anawrahta appointed an Arab as a Royal teacher for his son, Prince Sawlu. That teacher’s son name was Nga Yaman Kan. He was a friend and also could be regarded as an adopted brother because they were fed from the same breast as Nga Yaman Kan's mother...
's death was the result of a rebellion.
Reign
During his reign, Kyanzittha built various lakes and irrigation systems as well as planting trees and releasing various animals and birds into the region. He repaired a pagoda in the Mon region dated April 16, 1098, built a monastery, and copied a new set of The
TripiṭakaThe ' is the Sanskrit term used by Westerners for a Buddhist canon of scriptures. Asian Buddhists of the Theravada Buddhist school use the term Tipitaka to refer to the Pali Canon...
. He also converted a prince from South India to
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
.
Palace
Kyanzittha built a new palace in December of AD 1101 which was finished in April, AD 1102. He left an epigraph that recorded the process of building that palace. In it, the word "Myanmar" first appears together with "Mon" and "Pyu". A stone pillar in the compound of the
Shwezigon PagodaThe Shwezigon Pagoda is a famous Buddhist temple located in Nyaung Oo, a town near Bagan, in Burma. It is a prototype of Burmese stupas, and consists of a circular gold leaf-gilded stupa surrounded by smaller temples and shrines...
contains Mon language inscriptions dedicated by King Kyanzittha.
According to the epigraphs, there is no evidence that he served under King
AnawrahtaAnawrahta , 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....
or of his love stories. His final days are recorded in the Yarzakonmar epigraph.