Kyawswa I of Pinya ( my, ငါးစီးရှင် ကျော်စွာ, ; ; 1299–1350) was king of
Pinya
Pinya ( my, ပင်းယ), or Vijayapura, was the capital of the Kingdom of Pinya, located near Ava, Mandalay Region, Myanmar. It was the residence of the Pinya dynasty who ruled this part of central Myanmar from 1313 to 1365.Hmannan Vol. 1 20 ...
from 1344 to 1350. His six-year reign briefly restored unity in southern Upper Burma although his authority over his southernmost vassals remained largely nominal. He suddenly died in 1350, and came to be regarded as one of the major Burmese folk spirits, known as Nga-zi Shin Nat.
Early life
Born in 1299,Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 384 Kyawswa was the elder son of Queen Mi Saw U of Pagan and
Thihathu
Thihathu ( my, သီဟသူ, ; 1265–1325) was a co-founder of the Myinsaing Kingdom, and the founder of the Pinya Kingdom in today's central Burma (Myanmar).Coedès 1968: 209 Thihathu was the youngest and most ambitious of the three brother ...
, Co-Regent of
Myinsaing
Kyaukse District is a district of the Mandalay Region in central Myanmar.
Townships
The district contains the following townships:
*Kyaukse Township
*Sintgaing Township
*Myittha Township
Tada-U Township was promoted as Tada-U District
Tada-U ( ...
. He grew up at the Pinle Palace with his younger brother Nawrahta; three half-siblings Uzana, Saw Yun, and Saw Pale; and one stepbrother Tarabya.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 371–372 Kyawswa grew up as second in the
line of succession
An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Pinya Kingdom.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 370–371 The governorship of his father's old fief was second only in importance behind Thihathu's appointment of Uzana as heir-apparent. (Thihathu's other children did not get any appointments.) While the governorship was likely a titular title in the beginning, by 1315, Kyawswa like Uzana was given command of his own military units (1000 shielded infantry, 80 cavalry, 10 elephants).Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 374
In 1316–17, Kyawswa became ensnared in palace succession intrigues. The king asked Kyawswa to retake
Sagaing
Sagaing (, ) is the former capital of the Sagaing Region of Myanmar. It is located in the Irrawaddy River, to the south-west of Mandalay on the opposite bank of the river. Sagaing with numerous Buddhist monasteries is an important religious and m ...
which Saw Yun had fortified after unsatisfied with what the prince perceived to be a second-class status. When Kyawswa got the order, Uzana had already tried, and failed. But Kyawswa's expedition too failed. The king seemed halfhearted about punishing Saw Yun, and did not mobilize all his forces. Uzana and Kyawswa had march with their own small army, separately.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 375–376 But when
Toungoo
Taungoo (, ''Tauñngu myoú''; ; also spelled Toungoo) is a district-level city in the Bago Region of Myanmar, 220 km from Yangon, towards the north-eastern end of the division, with mountain ranges to the east and west. The main industry ...
(Taungoo) revolted in 1317, Thihathu asked both Uzana and Kyawswa with a combined army to march to Toungoo. The two brothers got Toungoo's ruler Thawun Nge to submit.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 160, fn#1Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 372
The Sagaing affair remained unresolved. It is unclear if Sagaing could have been taken if Thihathu ordered a larger expedition as he did with Toungoo. But the king accepted Saw Yun's nominal submission, and did not again order another attack. Though Uzana remained the official crown prince, Saw Yun was already the de facto ruler of the northern country. Thihathu was resigned to the fact that his kingdom would be split into two after his death.
Viceroy of Pinle (1325–44)
As Thihathu feared, the Pinya kingdom formally separated into two at his death in 1325. Uzana's rump Pinya Kingdom ruled the eastern and southern Central Burma while Saw Yun's
Sagaing Kingdom
The Sagaing Kingdom ( my, စစ်ကိုင်း နေပြည်တော်, ) was a small kingdom ruled by a junior branch of the Myinsaing dynasty from 1315 to 1365. Originally the northern province of Sagaing of the Pinya Kingdom, ...
ruled the northern and western parts.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 377 Kyawswa did not openly challenge Uzana. But he continued to have his own army and conducted his own policy.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 378 Indeed, it was Kyawswa, who famously ordered his commander Khin Nyo to assassinate Saw Yun.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 383 The assassination attempt did not succeed but Kyawswa turned his attention to the control of Pinya in the following years. Both he and Uzana maintained separate specialized military units (shielded infantry, cavalry, war elephants) around their core region of
Kyaukse
Kyaukse ( my, ကျောက်ဆည် မြို့, ) is town and capital of Kyaukse District in Mandalay Region, Myanmar. Lying on the Zawgyi River, 25 miles (40 km) south of Mandalay, it is served by the Mandalay-Yangon (Rangoon) railway ...
.
The brothers' rivalry greatly limited Pinya's effective power. Its southernmost vassals were practically independent, and had to fend for themselves. Pinya took no action with the 1325 assassination of Saw Hnit, the Pinya-recognized ruler of Toungoo.Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 21 Nor did it take any action when Ramanya attacked
Prome
Pyay (, ; mnw, ပြန် , ; also known as Prome and Pyè) is principal town of Pyay Township in the Bago Region in Myanmar. Pyay is located on the bank of the Irrawaddy River, north-west of Yangon. It is an important trade center for the Aye ...
(Pyay) in 1330,Phayre 1967: 66 or when
Arakan
Arakan ( or ) is a historic coastal region in Southeast Asia. Its borders faced the Bay of Bengal to its west, the Indian subcontinent to its north and Burma proper to its east. The Arakan Mountains isolated the region and made it accessi ...
attacked
Thayet
Thayet (; pronounced ) is a capital city in Thayet District of Magway Region in central Myanmar. It is a port on the right (western) bank of the Irrawaddy River, across and just south of Allanmyo, between Pyay (Prome) and Magway. Thayet is th ...
in 1334.Sandamala Linkara Vol. 1 1997: 180
The rivalry came to a head in 1340. Kyawswa had collected five
white elephant
A white elephant is a possession that its owner cannot dispose of, and whose cost, particularly that of maintenance, is out of proportion to its usefulness. In modern usage, it is a metaphor used to describe an object, construction project, sch ...
s, considered auspicious symbols of Burmese monarchs. Instead of handing them over to his overlord Uzana, he kept them. Uzana asked for them twice. Both times, Kyawswa refused, and sent two regular elephants instead.Maha Yazawin Vol. 1 2006: 265Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 379
The refusals signaled war. Uzana ultimately backed down, and looked for a face-saving way out. The king handed over the power to Gov. Sithu of
Myinsaing
Kyaukse District is a district of the Mandalay Region in central Myanmar.
Townships
The district contains the following townships:
*Kyaukse Township
*Sintgaing Township
*Myittha Township
Tada-U Township was promoted as Tada-U District
Tada-U ( ...
, uncle and father-in-law of Kyawswa, on 1 September 1340,Than Tun 1959: 124 and became a monk at Mekkhaya. Father-in-law or not, Kyawswa apparently did not recognize Sithu either. According to an inscription donated on 17 June 1342 by Kyawswa's chief queen consort Atula Sanda Dewi, Kyawswa had already claimed himself king.Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 166 A contemporary inscription shows that Kyawswa became the undisputed ruler of Pinya on 29 March 1344.
King of Pinya (1344–50)
Kyawswa's the reign name was Pawara Pandita Thihathura Dhamma Yaza but was popularly known as Nga-zi Shin ( my-Mymr, ငါးစီးရှင်, "Lord of Five White Elephants"). The new king quickly consolidated his hold over the core region of Kyaukse and its periphery. He was able to buy off his potential rivals by using bribery, flattery and indeed the threat of force. He appeased his younger brother Nawrahta by appointing the latter governor of Pinle, his old job. He also successfully persuaded Uzana's younger son Gov. Thihapate of Yamethin not to revolt.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 382–383 However, his hold over the southernmost vassals was still limited. Prome under Pinya-appointed Gov. Saw Yan Naung remained calm but more remote Toungoo was another matter. Within the first three years of Kyawswa's accession, two Toungoo rulers were assassinated. Kyawswa had to be satisfied with the nominal submission by the usurpers.(Sein Lwin Lay 2006: 22): The second usurper Theingaba would later revolt outright in 1358.
Outside of Toungoo, the kingdom was largely peaceful. He successfully reunified Pinya's military corps in the core region. An avid horse rider, the king formed elite cavalry and shielded infantry units. He not only liked to review military parades but also take part in the military dances of elite shielded units while singing military songs.MSK Vol. 2 1955: 22 He appointed his second son Kyawswa II his heir-apparent (over the eldest son Uzana who had weak or paralyzed legs).Yazawin Thit Vol. 1 2012: 169 The appointment apparently did not go well with his brother Nawrahta, who defected to Sagaing in 1349. The king built the Lay-Myet-Hna Pagada in Pinya. He also commissioned a study of the state of the Buddhist clergy but the court fearing his wrath left out the corruption of the so-called monks from the report.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 381
The king died on 12 December 1350. According to tradition, he suddenly fell ill, and died in his 9th year of reign. He is said to have become a '' nat'' (spirit) with the name Nga-zi Shin Nat. He is still venerated as one of the Outer Thirty Seven Spirits.MSK Vol. 13 1973: 412
Family
Kyawswa had four sons and four daughters by his two principal queens consort.Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: 380 He also had at least one junior queen, Saw Gyi, daughter of Gov. Sithu of Myinsaing.
Chronicle reporting differences
The royal chronicles do not necessarily agree on his birth, death, and reign dates.