U Khin Maung Saw, Berlin 1. Introduction : Maha Muni Image  is a colossal image cast in bronze and inlaid with gold. Hence, this statue became the envy of almost all of the kings of  Burma . Whenever they expanded their empire, they tried to rob this holy image. Finally in the year 1784 A.D, the Burmese King Bodawphaya succeeded to annex  Arakan  into the  Burmese Empire  and took the holy image. Here again some  Arakanese , headed by U Htun Zan (U Htuan Zan) and U Thande, went to Ava to request the  Burmese king  to liberate Mrauk U from the incompetent King Maha Thamada of Arakan like the way some Arakanese requested King Min Gaung (Man Khaung) of Ava in 1403 that Min saw Mun (Man Saw Muan) be overthrown. It cannot be ruled out that it was a conflict between the  Arakanese  from the North and those from the South because  Maha Thamada  and his predecessor were not from Mrauk U but from ...

 Religious Relations Between Arakan And Sri Lanka ( Ceylon) By Ashin Sri Okkantha Buddhism was introduced to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) by Thera Mahinda who to the Island in about the middle of the 3rd century 7 B.C in the reign of King Asoka. It is generally accepted that at the time of the introduction of Buddhism, there was no organised religion in Ceylon. Owing to the popular, enthusiasm, Buddhism became the state religion in Ceylon, under Royal patronage. The Mahavihara was established at Anuradhapura in 3rd century B.C. 8 In later times, Mahavihara became the great centre of' Buddhist culture. As Mahavihara was famous Buddhist study centre, Abhayagirivihara constructed by Vattagamani Abhaya (29-17 B.C.) 9 also became a great centre in Ceylon in the 1st century B.C. The later part of the 1st century B.C saw some very important events in the Buddhist history of Ceylon. From 43 B.C. for 14 years, five Tamils rules in succession at Anuradhapura. King Vattagamani lay in hiding in ...

by Pamela Gutman For more a millennium the policy we know as Arakan existed as a culturally strategic border state, the only state in Southeast Asia to be connected to India by both land and sea routes. The study of its culture is of particular interest as it reveals which elements of Indian cultural were adopted in Arakan and in the land to its east. We can then ask why some elements and not others were adopted, and attempted to relate this to the political, social and religious developments of the wider region. In the periods when Arakan was at its most powerful the most important cultural influences came from the west, most immediately from the area today known as Bangladesh. When the Burmese and Mon kingdoms to the east prospered, and from time to time gained sovereignty over Arakan, the major influences came from there. Positioned as it was on the sea route around the Bay of Bengal, Arakan was also subjected to the influence of the cultures of southern and western India, an...

Dr. Pamela Gutman 12/28/2008 For more a millennium the policy we know as Arakan existed as a culturally strategic border state, the only state in Southeast Asia to be connected to India by both land and sea routes. The study of its culture is of particular interest as it reveals which elements of Indian cultural were adopted in Arakan and in the land to its east. We can then ask why some elements and not others were adopted, and attempted to relate this to the political, social and religious developments of the wider region.     These photo were taken at Mrauk-U in 1975 when she did research for her Ph.D Thesis, "Ancient Arakan, With Special Reference to its Cultural History between the 5th and the 11th Centuries" (Photo: U San Than Aung - Facebook Page) In the periods when Arakan was at its most powerful the most important cultural influences came from the west, most immediately from the area today known as Bangladesh. When the Burmese and Mon kingd...