Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu

Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu (Burmese: ကွမ်းဆော်ကြောင်ဖြူ, pronounced [kʊ́ɴ sʰɔ̀ tɕàuɴ pʰjù]; c. 968–1048) was a king of Pagan and father of Anawrahta who founded the Pagan Empire. Although Burmese chronicles state that he reigned from 964 to 986, the actual reign, deduced from his son Anawrahta's year of ascension, 1044, was likely between 992 and 1014. (Much of the information given in Burmese chronicles prior to Anawrahta's reign are unreliable or legendary.)

According to the chronicles, Kunhsaw Kyaunghpyu was a son of an early Pagan king Tannet, who was assassinated as his queen was enseint with Kunhsaw. In order to tie Kunhsaw to the story, the chronicles give his age at death as 115.^[1] Other sources give his age at death as 80. It is more likely that he was a descendant of Tannet. He took over the Pagan throne from King Nyaung-u Sawrahan, and married three of Nyaung-u's chief queens, two of whom were pregnant and subsequently gave birth to Kyiso and Sokkate.^[2] Kunhsaw raised Sokkate and Kyiso as his own sons.^[1] He also bore a son of his own Anawrahta in 1014.

When the two sons reached manhood, they forced Kunhsaw to abdicate the throne and become a monk. Sokkate married one of Kunhsaw's queens, mother of Anawrahta. In 1044, Anawrahta killed Sokkate in single combat.^[3] Anwarahta offered the throne to Kunhsaw. But the former king, who had long been a monk, refused, allowing Anawrahta to ascend the throne.

Kunhsaw died four years after his son Anawrahta ascended the throne—circa 1048/1049. After his death, Kunhsaw was entered into the pantheon of Burmese nats or spirits as Htihpyusaung Nat.^[4]

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