24 
[No. 1, 
Sir Arthur P. Phayre —On the History of Pegu. 
part of the fifteenth century, by Mr. B. H. Major, together with other 
travels by Europeans, in that and the following century, have been used to 
correct, or to confirm, the statements in the native annals. 
The country now called Pegu, or as written by the natives Bago and 
Pegu, consisted in ancient times of the delta of the E-ra-wa-ti, and the land 
in the lower courses of the rivers Sit-taung and Than-lwin (Salwin). At 
different times the coast as far south as the Tenasserim Biver has been sub¬ 
ject to the monarchy ; while to the north the limits of the kingdom varied 
according to the power of the kings to defend their territory from the Bur¬ 
mese. The northern boundary on the Erawati Biver, may as a general rule 
be fixed at A-kauk Taung, about thirty miles below the town of Prome. In 
remote times, and long before the foundation of the city of Pegu, from which 
the name of the whole country was afterwards derived, the sea coast from 
the mouth of the Pa-thin (Bassein) Biver, near Cape Negrais, to the mouth 
of the Than-lwin, (Salwin) was known as Ba-ma-nya, or the country of 
Bama. This shows an Indian influence. # The classic name for the town 
of Maulamyaing (Moulmein) is still Bamapura, though this may have been 
transferred to it from a city once existing near the present Bangun. The 
country of Pegu was afterwards called Han-tha-wa-ti, which is still the classic 
name, and the origin and meaning of which will presently appear. The 
etymology of the word Maulamyaing, which is the Burmese form of the 
Tabling name Mut-mwa-lem, signifies “ one-eye-destroyed the tradition 
being that it was founded by a king having a third eye in the centre of his 
forehead, which was destroyed by the machination of a woman. This story,, 
as Dr. Mason observes, suggests the legend of Siva. And though this ap¬ 
pears at first sight to clash with the classic name Bamapura, yet from the 
history of Pegu, it is evident that during successive periods, the country 
participated in the religious revolutions of the Budliists and various Hindu 
sects, through which the neighbouring coast of India passed. 
The earliest notice of Bamanya which can be accepted as historical is 
derived from a Budhist source, the Mahavanso of Ceylon. Therein is record¬ 
ed the deputation of the great missionaries, Sono and Uttaro, (Thauna and 
Uttara), by the third Budhist synod, held at Pataliput, B. C. 241. They 
were sent to the country called Suvarna bhumi, (Thumanna bhumi), or 
“ golden land,” to preach the great reform determined on by the synod. 
The name given to the country was the Pali designation of the portion of 
Bamanya of which Tha-htun was the capital. The ruins of Tha-htun still 
exist on a small stream about ten miles from the seashore, and forty-four 
miles travelling distance N. N. AY. from Martaban (Muttama). The city 
appears to have been laid out on the general plan of ancient Indian cities, 
# The island of llamri, or more properly llam-byi (country of llama), shows the 
same influence. 
