Sawlumin inscription

Sawlumin inscription
Author King Saw Lu
Country Pagan Kingdom
Language Burmese, Pyu, Mon, Pali, Sanskrit
Series Burmese chronicles
Genre Chronicle, History
Publication date
 1053/54[1] or 1079/80[2][3]

The Sawlumin inscription (Burmese: စောလူးမင်း ကျောက်စာ [sɔ́lúmɪ́ɴ tɕaʊʔ sà]), is purportedly one of the oldest surviving stone inscriptions of the Burmese.[1][4]

Three of these five pieces of inscription were discovered in Myittha Township, Mandalay Region on 17 November 2013 and one piece was found on 27 November 2013. One piece is still missing. The found four pieces were rejoined and currently stands in Petaw monastery. The slab size is 1.75 metres (5.7 ft) in height, and 1.06 metres (3.5 ft) in breadth.[4][5]

The stone tablets were inscribed in multiple languages including Burmese, Pyu, Mon, Pali and the fifth script, Tai-Yuan,[4] Gon (Khun or Kengtung) Shan[1] or Sanskrit. However, some scholars point out that there are only four languages excluding Burmese.[3][5] It describes King Saw Lu’s donation of Buddha images, religious bondsmen, cows, farmlands, and rice, and also includes curses and wishes.[4][6]

Significance

The inscription, which contains 415 ME (25 March 1053 to 25 March 1054 CE) presumably as its inscription date, could upend the current understanding of the early Pagan period if its provenance and the actual time of inscription can be proven.

  1. One of the earliest extant inscriptions of the Burmese script. Its inscription date would be 60 years earlier than the Myazedi inscription (c. 1112/1113), one of the oldest known stone inscriptions in Burma (Myanmar).[4][7] (The earliest known inscription of Burmese—the copper-gilt umbrella inscription of the Mahabodhi Temple in India—is dated to 1035 CE. According to a recast stone inscription from the late 18th century, the Burmese script was already in use by 984 CE.[8])
  2. The earliest instance of the Burma Mon script. The earliest evidence of the predecessor script to the modern Mon script is dated to 1093 CE.[8] (The Mon script of Dvaravati or Haripunjaya (both in present-day Thailand) is presumably earlier than the 11th century but so far there is no evidence to prove any linkage between the two Mon scripts.[8])
  1. King Saw Lu was already reigning in 1053/1054 as opposed to the currently accepted reign date of 1078–1084.
  2. The Myazedi inscription and most of the Burmese chronicles are incorrect about the chronology of early Pagan kings. Only the Maha Yazawin chronicle, which says Saw Lu reigned between 1035 and 1061, would be correct with respect to Saw Lu's reign. Currently, mainstream scholarship accepts Zatadawbon Yazawin's dates, which agree with Myazedi's dates, as the most authoritative chronicle for the early Pagan period chronology.[note 1]
  1. it would be the oldest, Tai/Shan script, predating the Thai script, believed to be derived from Khmer in 1293, by over 240 years. Moreover, it would mean the Tai-Yuan or the Gon/Khun script existed 240 years prior to the founding of the Lan Na kingdom in 1292. Most of the Shan scripts came into existence in the late 16th century only.
  2. the Tai/Shan speakers were sufficiently prominent in the early Pagan period that their script was used in a royal inscription. This contradicts the current understanding that Shan speakers moved in en masse to Kachin and Shan hills only in the mid-to-late 13th century.[10]
  3. Burmese and northern Thai chronicles' claim that Anawrahta's realm encompassed Kengtung and Chiang Mai regions could be reconsidered. (Both Chiang Mai and Chaing Saen chronicles say their rulers paid tribute to Anawrahta, the father of Saw Lu.[11] But the claims of the chronicles, which were written centuries after Anawrahta's time, are not accepted by mainstream scholarship.)

Current status

As of April 2014, about 60 percent of the tablets had been deciphered. They have deciphered all of the Mon and Pali text and about 10 percent of Pyu. A copy of text in the Nagari writing system used in northern India and Nepal has been sent to the Archaeological Survey of India for deciphering.[9] The Indian department replies that the inscription is not preserved in better condition. Some letters are peeled off and some are worn out. Only few letters in lines 6 and 7 are well preserved. The Indian department reveals that the inscription is engraved in early Nagari characters, retaining some of the features of Siddhamatrika or Kutila scripts.[5]

What has been translated so far describes the donation of a monastery, Maha Anuruda Deva Rama, by King Saw Lu and his wife Manicanda.[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ (Maha Yazawin 2006: 346–349): Among the four major chronicles, only Zatadawbon Yazawin's dates line up with Anawrahta's inscriptionally verified accession date of 1044 CE. (Aung-Thwin 2005: 121–123): In general, Zata is considered "the most accurate of all Burmese chronicles, particularly with regard to the best-known Pagan and Ava kings, many of whose dates have been corroborated by epigraphy."

Bibliography

  1. 1 2 3 4 Zarni Mann (2014-01-15). "Discovery Could Fill Out Historical Record on Little-Known Burmese King". Irrawaddy.org. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  2. ↑ Naing Ba Shin (29 June 2014). =http://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=810337275658226&set=vb.100000458844452&type=3 စောလူးမင်း-မြစ်သားကျောက်စာ ရှင်းလင်းချက Check |url= value (help) (PDF). Facebook.
  3. 1 2 Maung Maung Sway (6 April 2014). မြစ်သား ပေတောကျောင်းကျောက်စာ (PDF). Retrieved 2 September 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Ancient stone inscription found in Myittha | Eleven News". Elevenmyanmar.com. 2013-12-14. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  5. 1 2 3 Nai Bee Htaw Monzel. "Myittha Slab Inscription of King Saw Lu" (PDF). Retrieved 4 September 2014.
  6. ↑ "Stone inscription of King Saw Lu - (The Earliest Burmese stone inscription)". YouTube. 2013-12-31. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  7. ↑ "Mysterious language stumps researchers". Mmtimes.com. 2013-12-22. Retrieved 2014-04-14.
  8. 1 2 3 Aung-Thwin 2005: 167–178, 197–200
  9. 1 2 3 Shwegu Thitsar. "Set in stone: Myanmar asks for help decoding tablet". Mmtimes.com. 24 April 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
  10. ↑ Lieberman 2003: 114–115
  11. ↑ Oriental 1900: 375–376
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