402 Description of Pugan, [July* 



100,000 men, and 400,000, when he heard of 200,000. Hence the 

 Burman army was at last overpowered with fatigue, and the Chinese 

 crossed the river and destroyed Nga-young-gyan. 



" As the Nats or spirits attached to either nation were fighting' 

 together in the air, four of the Pugan Nats, name!} 7 ', Tebathen, (the 

 guardian of one of the gates of Pugan city,) Tsalen wot-thaken young 

 Nat, Kan shye young Nat (guardian of the long lake or tank), and 

 Toung gye yen Nat (lord of the foot of the mountain), were wounded 

 by arrows, In the new Yazawen, Tebathen Nat is styled Thanbethen. 

 On the very day on which the stoekade of Nga-young-gyan was taken, 

 the Nat Tebathen returned to Pugan, and entered the house of the 

 king's teacher, on whom he had always been accustomed to wait. 

 The king's teacher was asleep at the time ; hut the Nat shook and 

 awakened him, and said, ' Nga-young-gyan has been destroyed this 

 day. I am wounded by an arrow, and the Nats Tsulen-wot-thaken, 

 Kan skye and Toung gye yen are also wounded in the same manner/ 

 The priest and king's teacher called one of his disciples, a young 

 probationer, and sent him to the king to report the loss of Nga-young- 

 gyan. His majestv inquired how this circumstance was known, when 

 the young probationer declared, that the Nat Tebathen, guardian of 

 the Tharabha gate, had just arrived from Nga-young-gyan, and report- 

 ed the matter to the king's teacher, who bad thus learned, that that 

 place had been destroyed on that very day. 



" The king then summoned a council of his ministers and officers, 

 and addressed them as follows : ' The walls of the city of Pugan are 

 low, and enclose too small a space to permit all the soldiers and 

 elephants and horses to remain comfortably within, and defend 

 them. I propose therefore to build a strong wall, extending from the 

 eastward, from the village of Balen, in the upper part of the river, 

 straight down to the southward, taking in the village Yonatha. But it 

 is not possible just now to procure bricks and stones quickly ; if we 

 break down some of the temples, and use the bricks, we shall be able 

 to complete this wall most expeditiously.' Accordingly, 1000 large 

 arched temples, 1000 smaller ones, and 4000 square temples were 

 destroyed. During this operation, a sheet of copper, with a royal 

 prediction inscribed on it, was found in one of the temples. The 

 words were as follows : ' In the city of Pugan, in the time of the 

 father of twins, the Chinese destroying, will be destroyed.' The 

 king thereupon made inquiries among the royal women, and learnt, 

 that a young concubine had just given birth to twins. 



" As his majesty now believed, that even if he built the intended 

 fortification, he would be unable to defend it, he caused 1000 boats 



