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ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDCNCE OF BUDDHIST LINKS

BETWEEN SRI LANKA AND ARAKAN


By
C. Raymond

Arakan

(or Rakhine,

Arakanese language)

the

in

hundred and sixty miles

three

Bengal coast.

Burma

propagation

Indian

Because of

Asia.

600 km) of the northeastern Bay of

(c.

Arakan has served

of

this

occupying

the region

between India (the present-day Bangladesh) and

Situated

proper,

is

culture,

as

historically

and religion

art,

conduit for the

throughout

geographic position,

critical

vital

Arakan's

Southeast
has

history

been intertwined with both the fortunes of the Hindu and the Muslim
dynasties of eastern India and those of the

Burmese kings of Pagan, Ava,

Pegu and Amarapura.

The

historic

prowess

military
kings:

boundaries

Arakan have expanded or shrunk with the

of

and administrative

time of greatness,

in

the

of

abilities

Kingdom

the

of Arakan

Arakanese

various

extended even to

Chittagong (well into Bengal), and encompassed about twice the territory
of the present Burmese state of Arakan.

According to the Arakanese chronicles, the region's


were the

Raksha

uncertain origin.)
as

the

Mros

orbilu

The

hilly

and

Saks,

from

the

followed

fifty

by

whom

make much of

Gangetic

Dhanyadi and Vesali

some

negrito

aborigines

Khamis,

Chins,

remain to

this

day

of

tribals

such

Daignets

and

in

the

more

areas of Arakan.

local chronicles

peoples

to

Subsequent waves of immigration included

Chaungthas, the descendants of


isolated,

possibly,

(referring,

inhabitants

earliest

in

the

Plain,

the

coming

and the

foothills

to

Arakan of Indo-Aryan

founding

of

the

cities

of

above the Kaladan River Valley,

miles upriver from the present city of Sittwe (Akyab).

10

If

Mahamuni legend

the

Sappadadamapakarana
particularly

long

related

as
is

in

the

manuscript

ancient

largely historically accurate,

history

Arakan:

in

Chandasurya, king of Dhanyawadi

(the

Buddhism has

according

these

to

a.

tales,

Arakanese capital) during

first

Buddha's lifetime, was graced by a personal

entitle*

from Lord Buddha. In

visit

however, King Chandasurya did not ascend the throne of Arakan


146 A.D., some six hundred years after the death of Buddha.

reality,

until

But

Sappadadamapakarana,

in

hundred rahans

from

skies

The Buddha, with

the

(Burmo-Rahkine for the

India,

preach

to

Dhanyawadi). The Buddha's week-long


his

and

court

his

all

arahat), flew through the

Pali

sermon

great

visit

his retinue of five

Kyautaw

on

was a

great success:

were passionately converted

subjects

Before departing, the king prevailed upon the Buddha

faith.

Hill

the King,

the

to
to

(near

new

allow an

exact likeness of himself to be

made

and goodness of

The Buddha agreed, and with considerable

help

from

the

under the

gods,

was

it

close

the

famous for

With

teachings.

Buddha's

finished,
to

his

supervision.

statue

the

bronze

sacred

image

image was

magical powers for ages afterwards.

passage of time, that

the

After

cast

much pomp and ceremony on a small hill


known as the Mahamuni Buddha became

with

This

of Dhanyadi

inhabitants

personal

installed

city.

its

the

as a continual reminder of the truth

site

became

a major religious

centre for

Arakanese as well as for pilgrims from neighbouring Buddhist states


who, understandably, were extremely envious of the Mahamuni
image.
There are records which state that various kings of the historic
Burmese
the

capitals

Sri

Arakan

with

image,

considered

Pagan and

Ksettra,

the

expressed

by

the

Pegu

intention

had mounted periodic forays into


of

Arakanese

carrying

being

the

off

Mahamuni

the

palladium

of

their

kingdom, for themselves.

Many

of the Arakanese chronicles emphasize Gautama Buddha's visit


to
Arakan, dating the arrival of Buddhism at Dhanyawadi to the
lifetime of
the Great Master. In the "Vesali and Mahimsaka Chronicle"
one of more
than

forty

traditional

ancient
history

palm-leaf
of

appears,

corresponding

Lankan

Mahavamsa

Arakan
to

the

manuscripts
the

area

still

place-name
of

and the Burmese

greater

extant

relating

the

"Mahimsakamandala"
Arakan.

In

Sassanavamsa

both
are

the

found

11

references

Buddhist mission to Mahimsakamandala dispatched by

the

to

Emperor Asoka and led by

the Venerable Maharevata.

of the Vesali King Niti Candra (520-

The

later copper-plate

inscriptions

575

AD

"the perpetual deeds of merit

the

king

??) recording

solemn

in

towards

devotion

and charity done by

Buddha"

the

further

constitute

evidence of a comparatively early Buddhist presence in Arakan (relative

Burma,

to

We

not to Lanka).

if

have other such

also

on the Vesali

inscription

of Mrauk-U,

the

last

now

pillar

preserved

of Arakan

capital

Sanskrit

the

indicators:

the

at

"Ananda Candra"
Shitthaung temple

AD), and

centuries

(15th- 18th

epigraphically dated to the early 8th century A.D., enumerates the


all

Dhanyawadi,

kings

as well

as

Ananda Candra of

ruled over the area prior to King

If

to

of

have

Vesali.

did an estimate based on this kingly genealogy, rather arbitrarily

we

lending

each ruler an average tenure of twenty years, the reign of

to

inscribed on the Shitthaung


benevolent" can be placed somewhere near

King Candradaya of
good", and "the

"the

as

pillar

Vesali

end of

the

second or the beginning of the third century A.D.

the

The

of

use

in

affiliation,

in

Vesali who were believed

list

these

suggests

two epithets

particular

which case Buddhism would have certainly been prevalent

Arakan by the

believed to have

A.D.

2nd century

come

Arakan

to

Buddhism

However,

at a considerably

is

would seem

it

about 370

that

Dhanyawadi was

AD, followed by

inner

officials

moated
resided.

city

capital

Shitthaung

of Arakan

until

Vesali until at least A.D.597. In both cases,

the archaeological remains of the

an

the

strongly

earlier date:

According to our method of chronologically de-coding the


pillar,

Buddhist

royal

two

surrounding

cities

reveal an outer city wall and

palace

Commoners occupied and

site

where

cultivated

rice

and

royalty

within

the

confines of the outer city.

covered an area of 2.7 square

Vesali, the larger of the

two

Remains of stone

formerly leading to a pier

tide

steps

cities,

on the northwestern side of the

trading

port:

according to the

the

city.

Vesali

chronicles

"as

may be

miles.

seen at low

was once a notable

many

as

thousand

12

Under the founding Candra Dynasty (A.D.788-957), Vesali was

annually".

a prosperous Hindu-style Bengali kingdom.

Numerous Brahmanical
city

On some

site.

have been found

silver coins

coins

there

around the Vesali

in

an undecipherable Nagari inscription.

is

Stone statues from both the Hindu and Buddhist pantheon, dating as far

back as the

century A.D., have been recovered in the vicinity of

fifth

Dhanyawadi and

Gupta influences are

clearly

Buddhism (possibly of
ancient

Arakan.

carried

out

Although cruder than

Vesali.

Better

It

Mahayana

the

evidence

and planned

Dhanyadi and

evident.

by

would appear
lineage)

should

Burma's

Indian

arise

work,

that

existed

from

Department

Hinduism and

side

by side

excavations
of

and

Pala

in

being

Archaeology

at

although no significant finds have thus far been

Vesali,

reported.
In the middle of B.C.

great

Buddhist

missionary

Buddhism

order,

Mahavihara

3rd century 1

during Devanampya Tissa's rule, the

Thera Mahinda arrived

gained

the

Buddhist centre

status

was

(29-17

built

state

well-established

the close of the 3rd century B.C. 2

B.C.) 3

of

century

in

Lanka:

religion
at

later,

in

short

there.

The

Anuradhapura

Vattagamini

by

Abbaya

Abhayagiri Vihara, a second major centre of

the

monastic Buddhist learning in Anuradhapura.

By

the close

of the

century B.C., there was a surfeit of important

first

events in Anuradhapura:

the

from 43

the Buddhist

In

29 B.C., and

to

B.C.,

13

Mahaculika

was ruled by

city

Mahatissa

five

Hindu Tamil kings

King Vattagamini went

was

succeeded

into hiding.

by

Vattagamini
Abhaya's son, Coranaga. Coranga was hostile to Buddhism and destroyed
eighteen viharas,

where he had been denied

shelter earlier

when he was

staging a rebellion against his cousin, Mahaculika Mahatissa (B.C.17-3). 4

During

this

popularly

of disturbances the country was ravaged by a famine,

era

known

as

the

Brahmana Tissa famine or Brahminityiasya:

according to the myths, starving people were compelled to committ such


atrocities as killing

and

then eating those same Buddhist

monks whom

had previously venerated. With or without cannibalism, thousands


of Buddhist monks and lay-people doubtless perished. Viharas were
they

deserted,

Mahathupa

even

the

Mahavihara was

lay in complete neglect.

The country was physically and

abandoned

Many monks

spiritually

to
left

the

jungle

and the

the island for India.

devastated.^

13

monks perceived

Sinhalese

Elder

Buddhism

of

future

the

that

was

endangered, since the continuation of the oral tradition of conveying the

Tripitaka from teacher

and

tragic

to

murderous

appeared no longer possible in such a

pupil

Attempting

period.

preserve

safely

to

the

Teachings of Lord Buddha in a time of chaos, the far-sighted mahatheras

under
Matale

patronage of the

the

the

(in

assembled

south of the island), and for the the

commited

history,

chief

local

to

Aluvihara

at

at

time in Lankan

first

writing the whole of the Tripitaka, along with with

the full commentaries, in order that the True Doctrine might endure. &

In the

A.D.

which

had

century,

first

Mahavihara.

Later,

the

separated

from

eventually

became

According

been

under

united

Dhammaruci

Mahavihara

and

founded

201-221), 8

(A.D.

Jetavana

Vihara

the

group)

which

vihara,

Lanka and Arakan

Sri

A.DJ

Lanka

Sri

religious

During the reign of King

Arakanese

twelve

Mahatera were sent to

Nanasiridhipati

of

influence

the

Mahayana-oriented.

exchanges began from the second century


Suriyasiri

Sangha,

the

in

Abhayagiri

(the

sect

Arakanese Chronicles,

the

to

had

then

till

began to show up

dissension

monks

missionaries,

as

by

led
after

period of Hindu ascendance there.

According
with

to the

valuable

seeking

Culavamsa, Vijayabahu

gifts

assistance

to

Anirudda,

against

the

king

Cola invaders.

1065-1120) sent envoys

(A.D.

Ramanyadesa

of

(Pagan),

(No indication of Anirudda's

assistance, if any, has been found.)

K.L.Hazra
flourishing

1057

says,

"during

condition

in

Pagan marks

by

time,

this

Buddhism

Theravada

was

Lower Burma. The conquest of Thaton


as

landmark

in

Burmese

history,

in

in

A.D.

and Pagan

eventually evolved into a famous Buddhist centre in South-East Asia. "9

According

the

to

Arakanese

Chronicles,

Kingdom

the

conducted religious exchanges with Sri Lanka during


although

Sri

Lankan sources

are

silent

on

this

this

matter.

of

Arakan

same period,

But Arakanese

chronicles note the sending of religious envoys to Arakan by the King of


Sri

Lanka,

delegation

during
sent

by

the

reign

Datharaja

of

Datharaja

was

(A.D.

comprised

twenty-seven

of

headed by the Venerable Atulavijaya Mahathera. 1

1123- 1139). 10

The

monks,

14

The
1

Polonnaruva

157)

of

inscription

Velaikkaras

the

reign of Vijayabahu

the

Arumana.

from

Arumana

can be one of the names for Arakan.)

(According

King Nga-ra-man (who

who had

established

his

1 1

86).

capital

consideredas

be

K.L.Hazra,

"during

Sassanavamsa and

dark

chapter

this

period

Dhamma,

Age

Golden

beginning

of

cooperation
indicates

of

religious

Mrauk-u,

or

can

According to

history.

sources

such

the

as

betweeen
close

Arakan

political,

from

was

century,

and

Lanka.

Sri

cultural

between

contact

political

extending

seventeenth

the

the

(1153-

and Parakramabahu

Burmese

neither

36

of

delegation

Parakramabahu

to

Lankan

Sri

in

sent

Burma". ^

Lanka and

chronicles,

"the Glass Palace Chronicle", nor Sinhalese sources like

thcCulavamsa mention any

The

Parein)

at

But the period between Vijayabahu

Arakanese

the

to

1156, succeeded his father Min-zu-thein,

in

Buddhist monks, led by Ven.Uttara


1

with the help of Sangha

I,

delegates

Later,

1137-

(A.D.

mentions a purification campaign conducted within three sects

Lanka during

Sri

in

stone

the

also

fifteenth

high

to

of

evidence

then

ties

the

point

Considerable

and religious

Sri

existing

between these two countries: King Ba Saw Phru (1459-1482) received


the Tripitakas from Sri Lanka in A.D. 1476 15 and in return, sent a
religious

delegation

manuscript,

to

Lanka led by

Kaladora Grant 1 6 found

the

intercourse

between Lanka and

sixteenth

century

Culavamsa,

A.D.

in Sri

Suchinformation
the

is

An

Siddharta.

ola

leaf

Lanka, refers to religious

Rakkhangapura^

Sulupujavaliya and

the

Ven.

the

Arakan) during the

corroborated

Narendra

by

Caritavaloka

the

Pradi

Pikava.

In

the

reign of Mon-raza-Gri,

Mrauk-u,

and

monks under
Lanka.

On

campaign

return,

in

leadership

the

there

arrival

of

the

in

Lankan envoy bearing

Arakanese

of the Ven.

Sangha

(Upasampada)

at

In the reign of

Vimaladhamma Surya

was

in

sent

sent

twenty

arrived

at

Buddhists

Candravilasa Mahathero to Sri

and

conducted

a reformation

the

Ordination

Udaku-khepa sima.

need of learned monks


mission

king

gifts

November 1563, they staged

Buddhist

the

to

to

Rakhangapura,

(A.D.

restore the

1592-1604) when Sri Lankf


Buddhist Sangha, the king

specifically

inviting

the

Arakanese

15

of the leading theras, and a

monk Nandicakka, one

fame even reached Lanka.

that his

period was

(This

figure so well-known

characterized by

Burma under Nanda

set-back

serious

Buddhism

to

in

Bayin, with the country then divided into a host of

was depopulated by

small states; Pegu, once a great centre of Theravada,

famine, war and internal conflict.)

ruled in

Governor of Sandoway. Prince

appointed his son, Min-bar as

He

Arakan.

(1621-1631) 1

Min-khaung-raza

King

thereafter,

Shortly

Min-bar selected the Ven. Tejosara, from Mrauk-u,

to

be

sent

on

religious mission to Lanka.

The Kings of

Lanka warmly received both the Nandicakka and

Sri

Tejosara missions.

The Culavamsa and

religious

of

records

the

Sassanavamsa each

intercourse

King Vimaladhamma Surya

II's

contain important evidential

between Arakan and

Sri

Both chronicles refer

reign.

Lanka during
to the

arrival

19 and the restoration of the Sri


of the Sinhalese envoy in Rakhangapura

Lankan Buddhist Sangha by Arakanese monks.


After receiving another envoy sent by the Lankan King

Surya

II

seeking

religious

assistance,

Arakanese

the

Vimaladhamma
king

Maruppya

(1606-97) selected the Ven. Indamanju, Abbot of Sattatthana monastery,


as leader of a mission to Sri

Of

the two, the Ven.

Lanka

in

1696.^0

Nandicakka was a leading Mahathera whose name

must have been well-known

Sri

to the

Lankans as a

close connections to Arakan. His group

and the

Ven.

upasampada

Nandicakka

ordination

himself

Getambe near Peradanya


family and
the

Sri

monks.

many

in

in

result of Sri Lanka's

was received with great honours

was conducted under the auspices of

the

udakkhepasima

A.D. 1696. 21

Several

(ordination

members of

hall)

at

the royal

other nobles received lay ordination at that time. Thus

Lankan Buddhist Sangha was repeatedly restored by Arakanese

16

Another ola leaf manuscript 22

Arakan and

recording

Lanka was discovered

Sri

religious

at

intercourse

Kadedora Vihara

in

between

Gannave

Korale,

Udahevahata, Sri Lanka, mentions Candivilasa and Nandicakka.


The Culavamsa, however, does not speak of Candavilasa,
but refers only
2
to
Nandicakka. 3 The Sulu-paja-valiya
states the names of both

Mahatheras.

Thus, in the 16th and 17th centuries, the relationship


between Sri Lanka

and Arakan

Buddhism

had been
in

ceremonies

W.

Lanka,

Sri

to

the

re-establishment and restoration of

specifically

in

the

performance

of religious

and higher ordinations.

Dipavamsa

critical

vol.vii, p. 18 and, p.

39-54.& Mahavamsa

vol.v,

p. 195.

Rahula, History of Buddhism in Ceylon, 1966,


p. 52.

Mahavamsa

xxxiii, p. 18.

4 W.Rahula,
op.cit. p.85
5

Vibhanga

Atthagatha,

Mahavamsa

7
8

xxxiii,

p.100-101

Rakhaing Magazine,
Rakhaing-prene

314-318.& Annguttara

p.

vol.

iv,

Phritsaing

&

11

akhaing-prene

Rakhaing

Magazine,

12 Epigraphia

Ashin

Buddhism

vol.

in

Thamaing Hmd,

vol.iv,

Indica, xviii,

Dipavamsa ,xx,p.45.

Thamaing Hmd,

Phritsaing

Atthakarathd, p.52.

1977, p. 132.

9 K.L.Hazra,
History of Theravada
10

Nikdya

1977, p.

1984, p.

i,

120.

South-East Asia; 1982,


vol.i,

1984, p. 120.

132,

1925, p.133.

Candamalalikara, Rakhaing Razawon Thee Kyan,

14

K.L.Hazra,. op.cit. p. 89.

15

Ashin Candamalalikara, op.

cit.,vol.ii,1931,

vol.i,

1931, p. 347.

p.31.

16 Journal
of the Ceylon Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, vol.ii,
17 Rakkhangapura

means

Q
8

19

Rakhaing-prene

Culavamsa,

20 Rakhaing
21

Magazine,

Culavamsa, xciv,

"Arakan"

Phritsaing

xciv, p. 15-16

&

vol.iv,

Thamaing Hmd,
Sassanavamsa,

vol.

i,

1984, p. 124.

p. 27.

1977, p. 133.

p. 15.

22 Journal
of the Ceylon Branch of /MS.vol.ii,
23 Culavamsa,
xciv, p. 15.

p. 82.

1952, p.

157.

1952.

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