LITERATURE OF THE BURMAS. 849 



*• contentions and quarrels ; for avarice prevailing, 

 '' every one confulted his own immediate intereil:, 

 " without attending to the injury he might do to his 

 " neighbour. At length thele difputes came to be 

 ^* determined by flrength; and to put a flop to this 

 '' violence, it was determined in common council to 

 '* eleft a prince, who fliould be able to reward accord- 

 *' ing to merit, and to punifli according to the atrocity 

 " of" crimes. And a certain man being found amongfl 

 *' them, who excelled the reft in flature and beauty, 

 -* and who had always been more obfervant of the 

 *' laws than the others, this perfon was created king 

 " and lord of the earth : becaufe he had been chofen 

 " by common confent, he was called Mahasamata; 

 " becaufe he v^'as made lord of the earth, he was called 

 " Kattia; and becaufe he punifhed according to the 

 *' laws, he was named Raza. From this Maha- 

 '' samata defcended a feries of forty -four kings, of 

 " whom, according to the molt learned of the Bur-mas^ 

 " the tenth was God am a*." 



The account of the mifTionary here is not very 

 clear. It is not evident, whether Godama, as de- 

 fcended from Mahasamata, was a Brahmen ; or 

 whether both princes are confidered to be defcended 

 from the Biamma^ who rnarried before the BraJunens. 

 If the former be the cafe, the Riihans make their god 

 to be an apoltate Brahmen : if the latter be their 

 meaning, they fuppofe the BraJunens to be a feci of 

 diflenters fi'om their religion. I imagine, that little 

 credit can be given to either opinion. The Rahdns 

 are evidently rpiftaken in their account of the origin 

 oi ihc Brahviens ; for the averfion to eating in common 

 with others does not originate with mankind, but with 

 the Brahmetis. I think it indeed probable, that this 

 account has been lately framed by the Ruhans, with a 

 view of rendering odious to their fqllowers a race of 



priefts, 



* Compare this account with the Iliftory of CaJInmre, p. 163 of thk 



Volume. 



