TO THE COURT OF AVA. 
119 
be levied at the receipts of customs, and land¬ 
ing-place, according to established usage. If 
any Kings, or Nobles, or Landlords,'* shall levy 
beyond the accustomed rate, let them be said 
to have destroyed Gods, religion, the priests, 
and the people of the land.” 
On referring to the chronological list, the 
prince referred to is ascertained to have been 
Na-ra-pa-ti-gan, a king who reigned at Ava 
from the year 1551 to 1554 of Christ. The 
year alluded to is the first of his reign, and the 
inscription was, no doubt, intended to comme¬ 
morate one of those professions of justice and 
liberality which Eastern monarchs are accus¬ 
tomed to make in the beginning of their rule. 
The inscription is dated one hundred and 
ninety-eight years after the destruction of Pu- 
gan. In this interval it may be presumed that 
the common Burman character, nearly in its 
present form, began to supersede the recondite 
character of the sacred language. 
On each side of the door, and within the 
chamber, we found two long inscriptions on 
* Kye-sa, the term here translated landlord, for want of 
better, is the same at present in use, and means, literally* 
“ eater” or “ consumer” of the district, or land ; by which is 
intended, the public officer, or favourite, for whose mainte¬ 
nance the town, district, or rather allotment of land, is as¬ 
signed by the Government. 
