1868.] On the History of the Burma Race. 83 



motives, and sometimes by mere caprice. In the instances mentioned 

 of change of the capital Pu-gan, it is probable that the king's palace 

 was rebuilt, and only a portion of the population required to remove. 

 In modern times when the capital was changed from Ama-ra-pu-ra 

 to Man-da-le, a distance of six miles, the whole population, numbering 

 one hundred thousand souls was forced to accompany the court to the 

 new capital. 



From this time a considerable interval elapsed without any event- 

 which can be mentioned as materially bearing on the national history. 

 Several usurpers are recorded as having gained the throne by artifice 

 or violence. The most remarkable of these was Thenga-ra-dza, 

 called also Pup-pa Tsau Iiahan. He is said to have been the teacher 

 to the queen of Htwon-khyit. On the death of that king, he married 

 the queen and seized the throne. Being a learned man, he reformed 

 the calendar. He ascended the throne in the year 535 of the era 

 established by A-de-tya king of Tha-re-khet-ta-ra, He reigned 

 twenty-seven years, and in the last year of his reign, which would 

 have been 562 of that era, he established a new one. Having a deep 

 respect for the ancient royal race, he declared prince Shwe-un-thi the 

 son of his predecessor, heir to the throne. That prince married 

 Thenga Radza's daughter and succeeded his father-in-law.* 



In the reign of Pyin-bya who ascended the throne in the year of 



religion 1385, the site of the city, or rather probably of the palace, 



was again changed to a position called more especially Pu-gan. This 



* The existing Burmese era commences from this time. The Burmese year 

 begins when the sun is supposed to enter the first sign of the zodiac, now 

 about the 13th or 14th of April. The Burmese year 1230, commenced in. 

 April 1868. It would therefore appear that the existing era commenced when 

 the sun entered the sign Aries, A. D. 639. The Burmese chronology has been 

 thus adjusted with the year of Gautama's Neibban, called in the MaM-radza- 

 weng the year of religion. The first king of the dynasty, of Tha-re-khet-ta-ra 

 named Ma-ha-tham-ba-wa is stated to have become king in the year 60 of 

 religion = 483 B. C. The number of years of the reigns of all the kino-s of 

 Tha-re-khet-ta-ra and of Pugan, from that time to the end of the reio-n of 

 Thenga Radza, as given in the history, and including an interregnum of 

 thirteen years, amount to 1120. This would therefore place the close of Theno-a- 

 radza's reign in the year 1180 of religion or 637 A. D. The Burmese ordinary 

 year contains only 354 days. Every third year there is an intercalary month 

 of thirty days. But the calendar is occasionally interfered with arbitrarily 

 by order of the king, to adjust the reckoning of time with some supposed 

 necessity, which depends upon superstitious prejudices. There is an apparent 

 difference of two years between the time at which the present era is said to 

 have been established, and that which is shown from the number of years or 

 date which corresponds with 1868 A. D. namely 1230. 



