Kyansittha

Kyansittha (Burmese: ကျန်စစ်သား, pronounced [tɕàɰ̃sɪʔθá]; also spelt as Kyanzittha or Hti-Hlaing Min (ထီးလှိုင်မင်း); 21 July 1030 – 1112/13) was king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1084 to 1112/13, and is considered one of the greatest Burmese monarchs. He continued the social, economic and cultural reforms begun by his father, King Anawrahta. Pagan became an internationally recognized power during his 28-year reign. The Burmese language and culture continued to gain ground.

In his early life, Kyansittha was a popular and successful general who led Anawrahta's major military campaigns that founded the Pagan Empire. He was exiled twice in the 1070s and 1080s for his affair with Queen Manisanda. Kyansittha ascended to the Pagan throne in 1084 after suppressing a major Mon rebellion that killed King Saw Lu.

His reign was largely peaceful. A great admirer of Mon culture, he pursued a conciliatory policy towards the Mon of the south, and continued the patronage of Mon language and culture at his court. It was in his reign that the synthesis of Burman, Mon, Pyu and Buddhist practices into a Burmese cultural tradition began to reach a level of maturity. The Burmese script began to be used alongside Pyu, Mon, and Pali. A peaceful Pagan grew wealthy from agriculture and trade, and large scale temple building began in earnest. Kyansittha completed Anawrahta's Shwezigon Pagoda and built his crowning achievement, the Ananda Temple. Pagan became a major center of Buddhist learning. Theravada Buddhism continued to gain ground although many Ari, Mahayana and Brahminical practices continued to pervade. Pagan emerged a major power alongside the Khmer Empire in Southeast Asia, recognized as a sovereign kingdom by the Chinese Song dynasty, and Indian Chola dynasty.

Kyansittha is one of the most famous monarchs in Burmese history. His life stories and exploits are still retold in Burmese literature, theater, and cinema.

Much of Kyansittha's early life, like much of early Pagan history, is shrouded in legend. Many of the stories given in the Burmese chronicles attributed to Kyansittha are legends, with a heavy touch of literary flourish.

According to the chronicles, Kyansittha was born to Princess Pyinsa Kalayani of Wethali and Anawrahta, then a senior prince at the court of King Sokkate. He grew up away from Anawrahta's court after Anawrahta banished his mother who was pregnant with him to the countryside because Anawrahta was led to believe that she was not of royal blood. The chronicles also speculate that Kyansittha's real father might not be Anawrahta but Yazataman, the Pagan official who guarded Pyinsa Kalayani during her journey to Pagan. Nonetheless, the chronicles accept that he was a legal son of Anawrahta per Burmese customary law, which says a child born in wedlock is presumed to have been begotten by the husband. At any rate, a stone inscription at the Hledauk Pagoda in Taungbyon says that it was donated by Kyansittha, son of Anawrahta.

The chronicles do not agree on the dates regarding his life and reign. The table below lists the dates given by the four main chronicles.

Moreover, according to Zata, considered the most accurate chronicle for the dates of the best-known Pagan and Ava kings, Kyansittha was born on 21 July 1030, and was about 19 years older than Saw Lu. Maha Yazawin says Kyansittha was about four years older but the two later chronicles Yazawin Thit and Hmannan say Kyansittha was about a year younger than Lu. If Hmannan is correct about Kyansittha's age at death, Kyansittha was born in 1041.