Tourist Guide To Mrauk-U

Ba Saw Ye, the governor of Thandwe, gained the throne of Mraukoo in 1531 AD. He was called Min Pyin prince because he was given Lamucriminpyin by the king to govern. When he became a king, he was called king Min Pyin, but later, his name became Min Bar. He accepted giving him the title of Thi Ri Thu Ri Ya San Da Mahar Dam Ma Ra Zar at the coronation. His chief queen was Phaw Saw Min. King Min Yay Kyaw Saw fought king Min Saw Mon who was ruling Laungkyat, the last capital of Laymyo period. Consequently, he had to take shelter under king Thu Ra Tan, and he had to give him twelve Bengal cities of Rakhine in order to get back the throne of Laungkyat. Therefore, the twelve Bengal cities of Rakhine fell to king Thu Ra Tan for 125 years from 1406 AD to 1531 AD. One year later, after king Min Bar had gained the throne of Mraukoo, Shin Mya Wa and Maha Pin Nya Kyaw suggested him to recapture the twelve Bengal cities of Rakhine, which fell to king Thu Ra Tan in 1406 AD. The king let Maha Pin N...

King Min Hti Kha, the eldest son of king Min Bar, built Koethaung pagoda in 1553 AD. In the same time, Saw Than Dar, the chief queen of king Min Hti Kha, erected the cave on the hill which is fifty feet high and four hundred feet away from the west of Koethaung pagoda. That cave was called the chief queen cave because of the queen’s good deed. The Buddha image which is 100 feet high and the throne which is 5 feet high, were sculpted from the single stone. Only four walls of the cave remain. The roof of the cave is damaging.

Koethaung pagoda is situated one and half a mile away from the east of the palace site. After king Min Bar had passed away, the crown prince Min Taik Kha took the throne of Mraukoo in AD 1553. When king Min Taik Kha was ill, the prophets told humbly that the king would die next six months, but if he wanted longevity in life, he must make nine astrological contrivances in terms of Buddha therapy. According to the prophet’s advice, Koethaung pagoda was built in the east of the palace in AD 1553. He managed to finish the pagoda within six months. No sooner had the pagoda been finished then the king recovered from his illness. He was crowned as king with his queen Saw Than Dar, and he passed away after he had ruled Rakhine for three years. There is a cave tunnel around the pagoda. Nine stupas are above the cave tunnel. Nowadays, they fell down and debris of those stupas are blocking the cave tunnle. There are five levels inside the outter wall, and one hundred and eight pagodas which wer...

King Min Pha Laung, the youngest son of king Min Bar, ascended the throne of Mraukoo in 1571 AD. He was called Min Pha Laung because he was born at the time of Ba Yin Gyi Pha Laung’s arrival in Mraukoo. He built a stone pagoda by Kyatkhat city gate near Anuma lake in the south of the palace. The pagoda is called Gawyewa pagoda. His grandson Min Kha Maung ascended the throne in 1612 AD and renovated the pagoda. The pagoda was roofed with the prayer hall. He donated the golden robe for the whole pagoda. The pagoda has four walls at the base and one has a proch. The figures of two Devas making obeisance to Buddha, were sculpted at both sides of the porch pediment. The figure of minister in the form of squatijng, was sculpted under the king figure. The stone Buddha image which is three cubits high, was erected on the stone throne in the perfumed chamber. The remains of the golden robe donated for the Buddha image, can still be seen until now. Nine stone bowls in the form of the lotus flow...

Htoakkanthein pagoda is located on the hillock which is 30 feet high and 300 feet away from the western part of Chitthaung pagoda. The donors of the pagoda are king Min Pha Laung and his chief queen Shin Lat. The pagoda was built in AD 1571. While King Min Pha Laung was governing the country, it was in chaos, therefore, his friends told him, “Build the pagoda called Htoakkan if the country is in chaos, and prop it up if the house is old.” Therefore, the pagoda was named Htoakkanthein. The pagoda is 100 feet wide from the south to the north and 137 feet long from the east to the west and it stands on the hillock which is 20 feet high. The structure of the pagoda is that there is a great pagoda in the form of the stupa at the center of the substructure (base monastery) and there are four small stupas in the four corners. Dhadugappa is placed over the inverted alms bowl at the central pagoda and the surrounding pagodas. The entrance is in the south in the substructure (base monastery) a...

Buraoat pagoda is situated on the hill which is 50 feet high and half a mile away from the palace site. As the country was in chaos, after Htoakkanthein pagoda had been built, king Min Pha Laung built Buraoat pagoda as a monument in AD 1571 in order not to disintegrate the country. After the upper part of the pagoda had already ruined, one terrace only remained. The terrace has twenty nine small caves nad twenty nine Buddha images dwelled in those caves. The stone Buddha image which is 13 feet high, is on the lotus throne inside the chamber at the eastern entrance. .

Shin Mya Wa was a courtier. His father was Maha Nan Da Thin Kyan, the governor of Sinetin. His mother was Zay Ya Khay Ma, the daughter of Sin Kay Aung Tin and Saw Than Da. He was born at 4 AM on Thursday in the fullmoon day of waso in 1542 AD. Shon(Shin) Mra (Mya) Wa Image King Min Bar was also born to Saw Nan Di, the elder sister of Zay Ya Khay Ma and king Min Ra Zar on Saturday in the month of waso in 1542 AD. Therefore, Shin Mya Wa and king Min Bar were cousins. Maha Pin Nya Kyaw was born in 1539 AD. Shin Mya Wa, king Min Bar and Maha Pin Nya Kyaw were friends. Those three friends. Those three friends were educated in the monastery of monk Agga Sein Day Ya until the age of 16. And then, those three friends went to India to study further education. King Min Bar and Maha Pin Nya Kyaw returned to Rakhine after they had completed in education. But, Shin May Wa changed into an ascentic and studied under the ascentic Thi Ri Vi Tha Noe for 23 years. After he had completed in educa...