Waithali

Coordinates: 20°39′46″N 93°09′01″E / 20.662689°N 93.150347°E / 20.662689; 93.150347
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Waithali
ဝေသာလီမြို့
UTC6:30 (MST
)

Waithali (

Kaladan river. Like much of northern Rakhine State, Waithali is in a hilly locale. Like its predecessor, Dhanyawadi
, the former capital site has fallen into ruin and much of it is now deserted. Only a few temples and traces of the old city wall remain. The site is about an hour's bus ride from Mrauk U.

Etymology

Waithali is the

Vesali
(vesālī).

History

It has been estimated that the centre of power of the Arakanese world shifted from Dhanyawadi to Waithali in the 4th century AD as Dhanyawadi Kingdom ended in 370 AD. Although it was established later than Dhanyawadi, Waithali is the most Indianized of the four Arakanese kingdoms to emerge. Like all of the Arakanese Kingdoms to emerge, the Kingdom of Waithali was based on trade between the East (Pyu city-states, China, the Mons), and the West (India, Bengal, and Persia).[citation needed] The kingdom flourished off of China-India maritime routes.[2] Waithali was a famed trade port with thousands of ships coming annually at its height. The city was built on the banks of a tidal creek and was enclosed by brick walls. The layout of the city had significant Hindu and Indian influence.[3]

According to the Anandachandra Inscription, carved in 729 AD, the subjects of the Waithali Kingdom practiced

Andhra in regard to religious connections.[6]

The first ruler of the Waithali Kingdom was Bahubali.

Srivatsa (Rakhine: Thiriwutsa), while the obverse bears a bull, the emblem of the Chandra dynasty, under which the name of the King is inscribed in Sanskrit. The motifs used were in the Brahmanical traditional and included the bell, votive flowers, the trishula among others.[3] The art style of the coins have many parallels to the Gupta art style. Motifs found on the coins were also found throughout late 1st millennium coins from nearby neighbors, including in Chittagong, Dvaravati and Champa.[2]

There is some disagreement between different writers about the last ruler of the Chandra dynasty. According to some writers, the last king of Chandra dynasty was Dharmasura, who was defeated by a chieftain named Vajrasakti. Vajrasakti established the Dharmaraja-andaja dynasty (or Dev-andaja or Deva dynasty).[5][4] Anandachandra (the same king who had made the Anandachandra Inscription) was the grandson of Vajrasakti. While some other writers believe that the last four rulers mentioned in the Anandachandra Inscription indeed belonged to the Chandra dynasty (including Anandachandra himself).[7]

Flag of Rakhine State, showing Srivatsa

Some important and badly damaged life-size Buddha images were recovered from Letkhat-Taung, a hill east of the old palace compound. These statues are invaluable in helping to understand the Waithalian architecture, and also the extent of Hindu influence in the kingdom.[8]

According to local legend, Shwe-taung-gyi (lit. 'Great Golden Hill'), a hill north-east of the palace compound may be a burial place of a 10th-century Pyu king.[citation needed]

The Kingdom eventually declined in the 10th century, with Rakhine's political core moving to the

Bagan Kingdom in central Myanmar. Some historians conclude that the decline was from a takeover or from the immigration of the Mranma (Bamar people) in the 10th century.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lt. Gen. Sir Arthur P. Phayre (1883). History of Burma (1967 ed.). London: Susil Gupta. pp. 298–299.
  2. ^ a b c Williams, Benjamin (25 January 2021). "Ancient Vesali: Second Capital of the Rakhine Kingdom". Paths Unwritten.
  3. ^ a b Ba Tha (Buthidaung) (November 1964). "The Early Hindus and Tibeto-Burmans in Arakan (A brief study of Hindu civilization and the origin of the Arakanese race" (PDF).
  4. ^
    OCLC 244247519
    .
  5. ^ a b Sein, U. Aung Kyaw. "VESĀLI: EVIDENCES OF EARLY HISTORICAL CITY IN RAKHINE REGION MA (THESIS". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  6. ^ "The Anandacandra Stone Inscription (2018)". Memory of the World Committee for Asia and the Pacific, Unesco Regional Committee. 26 June 2018.
  7. OCLC 655300179
    .
  8. ^ Arakan Action Association. "Architecture and Sculpture". Arakan Library.

External sources

  • The Land of the Great Image - Being Experiences of Friar Manrique in Arakan by Maurice Collis

20°39′46″N 93°09′01″E / 20.662689°N 93.150347°E / 20.662689; 93.150347

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