114 The Pegu Pagoda. [No. 2 



dana, G-athawdara, Kheraa, Oopawon, Rahoola and Ananda. The 

 sacred relics were then conducted with great pomp from Zoungdoo 

 to the Hill, the distance, two Yooyanas (24 miles), being travelled 

 in fourteen days. The casket containing the hairs was then placed 

 on the cradle, and high festival was held around the shrine. Besides 

 the images of the chief disciples, those of the following persons 

 also were placed in the shine ; Mahathala and Tsoolathala, the disciples 

 Anooroodha, Mahakathapa, Ooroowelakathapa, Oopalie-pagnya, Isa- 

 weggie, the king of the Brahmas and his four wives. The several 

 positions occupied by these images are all carefully described in the 

 legend. Countless offerings were then made, the Thagya king giving 

 ten billions of gold, each of his four queens forty thousand of silver, 

 Pientaka one thousand of gold, Mahathala and Tsoolathala one 

 thousand and eighty of silver, and so on. The Thagya king then 

 placed certain Nats to guard the shrine, and a structure of stone and 

 brick, 50 cubits high and 250 cubits in circumference, was erected over 

 it. This took place in the year 119, Bhodaw Eentsana'a era, 572 

 B. C, on Saturday the 1st of the waxing of the month of Tagoo. 



Then follows a list of the people dedicated by the Rulers of Zoungdoo, 

 Thamandaraya and his queen Thoobhattadewee, to the service of the 

 Shwe Hmawdaw, and the extent of the land which was declared to 

 belong to the shrine. The land was as follows, — to a distance of 100 

 " Tas" (1,050 feet) to the east of the Pagoda, 100 " Tas" to the 

 north, 100 " Tas" to the west, and 50 " Tas" to the south. This 

 would comprise an area of about 310 acres. 



Here ends the first chapter of the mythical portion of the legend, 

 from which no real information can be gleaned, except perhaps that 

 there was a town at Zoungdoo before Hanthawadie was founded. 



We have not yet, however, got out of the mythical period. Our 

 chronicler next attempts to connect the Pagoda with the celebrated 

 revival of religion which took place in the reign of the great Athawka 

 of Patalipoot in the commencement of the 3rd century of the Christian 

 era. The legend states that in the 218th year of the religious and 

 the 327th of the secular era* there was not a single worshipper 

 of Pagodas or relics in the country. Cities had declined from their 



* Another mistake in chronology. There is no secular era known, the 327th 

 year of which corresponds with 218 of the religious era. 



