1859.] A Sketch qf Toungoo History. 15 



over the religion of the people. On my arrival, in 1853, I found a 

 ruined building in the north-west corner of the city, which contained 

 decayed wooden images of Vishnu, and some other Hindu gods, to 

 which the inhabitants were in the habit, formerly, of making offer- 

 ings ; and in the account of the ceremonies at the completion of 

 the city, it is said that Ganesa was placed on a stone slab on the 

 south side of the city. In the centre was an image of Gaudaraa 

 with the Pitakata before him. The people were assembled without 

 the walls and a procession formed, with the king at the head, who 

 entered the city at the principal gate on the east side. When he 

 reached the outer gate of the palace, the brahmans and the chief 

 architect exclaimed : " Let the ruler of this land and water, the 

 excellent king of the law, possessing great glory, ascend into the 

 golden palace which he has built ; that he may observe the ten 

 laws of kings, that he may give, during the whole of his life pros- 

 perity to religion and to the inhabitants of the country." At the 

 foot of the palace steps, he did homage to "Brahma, Indra, Devas 

 and to the three objects ot Buddhist worship, exclaiming : "I 

 worship the Buddha, I worship the law, I worship the priesthood." 



Soon after the completion of the city, the king was involved in a 

 war with Ava, then ruled by Narapati, the " Shwe-nau-kyany-shang, 

 proper name Narapati" of Craw turd's table, there said to have 

 ascended the throne A. D. 1501, which synchronises with Toungoo 

 history, and goes far to confirm the statements of both. A. D. 1503, 

 Zeyathura went out to meet the king of Ava with twelve hundred 

 fighting elephants, six thousand horsemen, and fifty thousand foot, 

 who was defeated and entered into a treaty. Another war was 

 followed by another treaty, and the king of Ava finally gave his 

 daughter in marriage to the king of Toungoo ; who died A. D. 1531. 



Mentara his son ascended the throne, and conquered Pegu to 

 which city he removed the seat of his government ; and gave 

 Toungoo to " the Shan Menyay-thie-ha-thu," # who, at his death, 

 appointed his younger son Thie-ha-thu, his successor. After a short 

 period his elder brother Htsen-phu-shen took the reins of govern- 

 ment, but when he obtained the throne of Peim he restored Toungoo 



£O(S^d8o00^ 



