Origin and Development of Arakanese Script

362 Pages·2003·20.976 MB·English

by  U. Sandamuni Bhikkhu

(\\\2>ch lQ13>bb
Origin and Development of
Arakanese Script
Volume I
Text
By
U. Sandamuni Bhlkkhu
Thesis submitted for the Ph. D. (Arts)
degree of the Calcutta University
Kolkata, 2003
Table of contents
$$$£j|e9|c$$£:i|e:|ej{e:|e3fe$$:ife
Volume -1
Page
Abstract 1
Preface 8
Abbreviations 11
Chapter I: Introduction
The name - The land - The people 13
Chapter II: Arakanese Chronicles and Scripts 23
Chapter III: Script in the Third Dhanyawady Age
The Age of the Advent of Script in Arakan 32
Chapter IV : Script in the Vesali Age 43
Chapter V : Script in the Lemrot Age 154
Chapter VI: Script in the Mrauk-U Age 188
Chapter VII: Script in present day Arakan 315
Chapter VIH : Concluding Remarks 321
Appendix : Charts showing the development of Arakanese Script 325
Bibliography 351
Volume-n
1. Maps of Arakan 1
2. Key to Illustrations of Inscriptions and Coins 2-31
3. Plates I-CCXXIV
Abstract
A look at any standard atlas of South-East Asia would show
that Arakan, presently a province of Myanmar (Burma) country, is
surrounded on the south-west by the Bay of Bengal, on the east by central
Myanmar, on the west and north-west by Bangladesh and on the north by
Indian state of Mizoram, and by Chin, a province of Myanmar, bordering
India. It may be noted that previously the territory, now in Chin, was
included within Arakan. During the Prime Ministership of U Nu,
however, Palakwa area was severed from Arakan. Needless to say that
the above geographical situation makes Arakan, from a hoary antiquity, a
meeting ground of diverse cultures including those of India and China.
The people who live in the area call themselves Rakhines or
Rakhinethars, which may have originated from the Pali word "Rakkha" or
Sanskrit "Rakshin" or MArakshin." Early researchers on the history of
Arakan point out, on the basis of traditional history, that the country was
inhabited by the Raksasas, from which the term Arakan derived its
present name. Another plausible suggestion would be that the country was
called Yakkhapura, i.e., "a land protected by its own people." In those
days of near isolation the original inhabitants of Arakan would very much
like to guard against the infiltrators or any group of new migrants, as if
they were the sole denizens and protectors of their own country.
When the Buddhist missionaries from India entered their
country they faced stiff resistance from the early settlers, whom the
former called, as a result of their strange behaviour, Raksasas or Bflics. It
is interesting to note that in Indian tradition a Yakkha meant a guardian
deity who took care of the wealth of their creed. It is evident, therefore,
that from Yakkhapura comes the word Rakkhapura, and finally from
Rakkhapura we get the present name of Rakhinepre, i.e., Arakan.
The earliest epigraphic record, which seems to refer to
Arakan by the above designation, is engraved on the north face of
Shitthaung pillar datable to about the 9th - 10th century A.D. In this
epigraph mention is made of the country of Arekadesa i.e., Arakkhadesa,
Rakkhinedesa. Next, we have a number of epigraphic records, discovered
from Pagan and Ava in Myanmar, from Mrauk-U and Sandoway, etc., in
Arakan, which refer to the term "Rakhine". These records are dated
between the 12th and 15th centuries A.D. However, it was left to Barbosa
to coin first the Anglicised name Arakan in his Ramusio in A.D. 1516.
Around A.D. 1630 the Portuguese missionary, Sebastien Manrique, went
to "Arracan" where he stayed for about five years. Arakan had a distinct
2
culture of its own. The script and language, which are known as
Arakanese, developed in this land through ages. At present, however,
Arakanese script is the same as ihe3urmese IMyanmarese) script. But it
was Arakan, which had an independent existence^ as a country upto A.D.
J/784, The script with which we are concemed in the present dissertation
had developed in Arakan, independent of Burma (Myanmar). It is actually
the Arakanese script, which is now used in Myanmar.
Inscriptions of Arakan have been extensively used by
scholars like San Tha Aung (Arakanese Script, 6th century and Before)
and P. Gutman {Ancient Arakan) in their works on the history and culture
of Arakan. D.C. Sircar {Indian Epigraphy), A.H. Dani {Indian
Palaeography) and A.S. Okkantha {History of Buddhisn in Arakan) have
also referred to the script of Arakan briefly. Ho attempt has, however, so
far been made to trace the origin and development of the Arakanese script
through ages in particular. This desideratum has emboldened us to take up
the present work. The principal source, which have been utilised by us in
our investigation into the problem is undoubtedly formed by the large
number of inscriptions and coins which Arakan has yielded. We have also
tried to explore all possible factors, which could have worked behind the
developments.
We have divided this work into eight chapters:
Chapter I Introduction
Chapter II Arakanese Chronicles and Scripts
Chapter III The Third Dhanyawady Age: (580 B.C. - A.D. 327.)
The Age of the Advent of Script in Arakan
Chapter IV Script in the Vesali Age (A.D. 327 - A.D. 818.)
Chapter V Script in the Lemrot Age (A.D. 818 - A.D. 1430.)
Chapter VI Script in the Mrauk-U Age (A.D. 1430 - A.D. 1784.)
Chapter VII Script in present day Arakan
Chapter VIII Concluding remarks.
Chapter-1 deals with the land, name, and people of Arakan.
From time immemorial Arakan tended to show its independent nature in
respect of geographical entity, language, custom and religion. Regarding
the meaning of the name of Arakan the most acceptable theory is that
"this is a land of people who protect their own race and culture.” In the
9th - 10th century inscription engraved on the Shitthaung pillar now in
Mrauk-U the land was called Arakkhadesa. The people who inhabited this
tract since a hoary antiquity were largely the Indo-mongoloids. The
3
different tribes who later on settled in Arakan were identified as Thets or
Chakmas, Chins, Khamis and Mros.
Chapter- II deals with Arakanese chronicles and scripts.
Without the help of chronicles, it was difficult to reconstruct the early
history of Arakan. The chronicles give a historical account of the early
dynasties of Arakan, namely Surya, Candra and a number of capital cities
from where heads of different successive dynasties ruled their kingdoms.
A knowledge of the chronology of the ruling families of Arakan is an
indispensable prerequisite for a proper study of the development of the
script with which we are concerned. According to these chronicles the
history of Arakan is divided into the following periods;
l. Third Dhanyawady period (580 B.C. - A.D. 327.).
n.
Vesali period (A.D. 327 - A.D. 818.).
m.
Lemrot period (A.D. 818 - A.D. 1430.).
IV. Mrauk-U period (A.D. 1430 - A.D. 1784.).
Thus the history of Arakan upto 1784 is given in these
chronicles. Historicity of these chronicles seems to be proved by
epigraphs. Inscriptions mention the rulers whose names occur in the
chronicles as well.
The inscriptions of Early Arakan, being one of the primary
source material for the reconstruction of its history, were written in at
least two important sets of scripts - (i) BrahmT and its variants, i.e., Late
BrahmT and the Siddhamatrika script and (ii) Arakanese script with its
Archaic and Late semi-modem forms. Arakan also witnessed the
introduction of its first coins in the Vesali Age with legends that bear
script in Late BrahmT and the Siddhamatrika script as well. During
Mrauk-U Age the innumerable coins that we possess, show the legends
written in early form of Bengali, Arabic and Arakanese scripts.
Chapter- III is devoted to the script of the Third
Dhanyawady Age. It was during the Third Dhanyawady Age that we first
notice the advent of script in Arakan. The Dhanyawady Age, according to
Arakanese chronicles, is divided into three stages. The earliest specimens
of writing belong to the Third Dhanyawady Age, which covers a period
from 580 B.C. to A.D. 327. The earliest important capital of Arakan was
situated at Dhanyawady, which lay about 6 miles east of the Kaladan
river. The name Dhanyawady implies that the place surrounding the
capital was famous for producing paddy, sufficient enough for the
4
consumption of the local people. Specimens of Arakanese script are first
noticed in inscriptions engraved on stone. The king during whose reign
the script was first used in Arakan is perhaps Suryacakka or his successor
Suryanatha.
The first script of Arakan was BrahmT and the language,
which was written with the help of this script, is Pali. The script is found
in two inscriptions. Though we do not get the forms for all the letters from
these two epigraphs, yet a beginning was made in the direction of reading
and writing with the help of the script. Both the inscriptions are written in
Archaic or Old BrahmT. Though written documents are not many in
number, yet we can postulate that BrahmT used in Arakan before and
immediately after the beginning of the Christian era, was the same as Old
BrahmT. From the end of this age upto the end of the Vesali age (A.D.
818) the script generally happened to be Late BrahmT of eastern Indian
variety. This is apparent from a comparative study of the forms of letters
used in Arakan and those found in the inscriptions of eastern India.
Chapter- IV contains the result of our investigation into the
development of script in the Vesali Age which, according to Arakanese
chronicles, covers a period from A.D. 327 to A.D. 818. Vesali, the capital
of Arakan, was situated some 16 miles south of Dhanyawady. It also
stood on the valley of the Kaladan. Vesali was also prosperous like
Dhanyawady. The Vesali Age, to which belong a large number of
inscriptions, is very important from the point of view of studying the
script. Besides a large number of inscriptions, we have at our disposal a
number of coins in both gold and silver with legends.
We have no less than forty inscriptions for this period. The
most important are (1) Shitthaung Pillar inscription of Anandaeandra,
Mrauk-U, (2) Shan-nge-det-taung Surya Image inscription, Vesali, (3)
Vesali Mound Stone Slab inscription, Vesali, (4) Vesali Copper Plate
inscription, Vesali, (5) Meechaungwa Votive Stupa inscriptions,
Kyauktaw, (A-B) (6) Vesali Stone Slab inscription of Queen of
NTticandra, Vesali, (7) Vesali Stone Slab Inscription of Viracandra,
Vesali, (8) Vesali ParakrT Stone Slab inscription, Vesali, (9) Ohtein Stone
Slab inscription, Taunggouk, (10) Bell inscriptions from Praing-daung
and Apaung-daw, Vesali, (11) Nga-lon-maw Stone Slab inscription,
Sandoway, (12) Bhanta Stone Slab inscription of Dharmmavijaya, Vesali,
(13) Vesali Fragmentary Caitya inscription,Vesali, (14) KyTrapran
Fragmentary Stone Slab inscription and (15) Vesali Bronze Lamp
inscription, Vesali.
5
From a study of the epigraphs and the coin legends we can
form an idea about the stages of development of the script during this age.
The script was written mostly in Late Brahim as current in the Gupta
period of Indian history, and the language happens to be Sanskrit. The
Siddhamatrika, used in eastern India in the second half of the seventh and
throughout the eighth century A.D., is also perceptible in contemporaiy
inscriptions of Arakan. During the close of this age there seems to happen
a great change in the style of writing. As we shall see in the subsequent
chapters, from now on Arakan got herself prepared for the introduction of
a roundish form of letters. Several factors were at work behind this
change. First, influence of the local dialect and phonetic value of the
letters should be taken into consideration. Words in the old Arakanese
language were now introduced and used in inscriptions. Secondly,
influences from outside slso were at work.
Chapter- Vis devoted to the script of the Lemrot Age, which
extends from A.D. 818 to A.D. 1430. Lemrot literally means four cities,
i.e., the capitals of this age shifted to four cities successively one after
another. The letters of this age were written in a semi-squarish or semi-
roundish style, which happened to be the forerunner of the roundish form
of Mrauk-U age and completely round form of letters in present day
Arakan.
Script of this age is well illustrated in inscriptions. The most
important inscriptions of this age are (1) Khaung-long Kyaung Buddha
Image inscription of Magranphru, Sittwe, (2) Bhu-taung-kwe Phara Stone
Slab inscription, Man Aung, (3) Long-gret-taung-maw Rock inscription,
Long-gret-taung-maw village, (4) Gyo-phru-taung Bronze Buddha Image
inscription of Rannamanzu, Yangon, (5) Nankyar Tissa Buddha Image
inscription, Nankyar village, (6) MahahtT Crocodile-shape Rock
inscription, MahahtT, (7) Mrohaung Fragmentary Stone Slab inscription,
Taunggouk. and (8) Peik-the-rap Pillar Inscription, Kyauktaw.
Chapter- VI deals with the script of the Mrauk-U age. This
is the golden age in Arakanese history. Arakan showed her prowess in
different fields in this age, specially political and commercial endeavours.
For a study of the script of this age we have numerous epigraphs and
coins. The most important inscriptions of this age are (1) Pan-kun-thein
Buddha Image inscription, Mrauk-U, (2) San-kar-taung Phara Stone Slab
inscription of MahathTlawantha, Sandoway Tsp, (3) Ga-nan-chap-taung
Phara Stone Slab inscription of ThTri Thancanyutha, Mrauk-U,
6
(4) Pharapaw Kyaung Houng Buddha Image inscription, Mrauk-U, (5)
Pataw-taung-tan U-tu-khan-zaing Rock inscription, Minbra Tsp, (6) Than-
ga-nat Mound Stone Slab inscription, Gu-taung village, Rathaytaung Tsp,
(7) Ale-ni-bbu-za Phara Stone Slab inscription, Mrauk-U, (8) Thun-kan-
cu Phara Stone Slab inscription, Pran-young village, (9) Ka-lon-taung
Phara Pillar inscription, Mrauk-U, (10) Zun-dat Hill Stone Slab
inscription of ZundatlakkyapyanchT, Mrauk-U and (11) Ale-zetT Stone
Slab inscription of Queen Shan Htwe, Mrauk-U.
It is of interest to note that coins of this age in both gold and
silver bear legends at least (uj> three languages, namely Arakanese, early
form of Bengali and Arabic. Most of the 48 rulers of this age issued coins,
in either gold or silver, or both. Palm-leaf manuscripts form the other
source for the study of script of this age. The script used in these
manuscripts is the same as used in inscriptions. The ribbon used for
binding the palm-leaf manuscript also bear writing. And we have
specimens of the Ah script. It seems specially to be used by people
adhering to such occult profession as magic and witchcraft. It consists of
both word and numerical notations. The letters in this age were written in
at least two ways - one is semi-roundish and the other in an almost
roundish style.
Chapter- VII is a discussion which is all about the present
script of Arakan. The present script shows that the Arakanese people
discarded the earlier box type or square type and accepted the roundish
type of script in their places. Presently there is not much difference
between the Arakanese and Burmese scripts. But in regard to
pronunciation of words there is a bit difference between the Burmese and
Arakanese languages.
Chapter- VIII deals with concluding remarks. In this
chapter we shall make a summary of our survey on origin and
development of the Arakanese script. Proximity of Arakan to the
mainland of India and to eastern India in particular mainly worked behind
the introduction of BrahmT script in Arakan. Buddhist evangelists and
traders could have been responsible for the introduction of this script.
Inscriptions of the early Vesali Age in particular betray influence of the
eastern variety of Late BrahmT of the Gupta period. Forms of’test letters'
'ma,' 'la,1 'sa','sa', and 'ha' of the eastern variety have always been used in
the epigraphs of the period. In the inscriptions of the eighth centuiy of the
Vesali period Siddhamatrika, bearing all the characteristics of that script
7
perceptible in Indian inscriptions, has been used. Arakan has also yielded
an inscription in Shell characters engraved on lintel fragment from Vesali.
From the ninth century A.D. we find a difference between
the script used in Arakan and that used in eastern India in particular. It has
been suggested that script of Arakan from this period was influenced by
that of southern India. D.C. Sircar suggests that in south-east Asia in
general, the script bears similarities with that prevalent in the Kannada­
speaking area of south-western India. The other theory is that it is the
Pallava script of southern India. Both the scripts exerted influence on the
development of Ceylonese script in the early medieval period. The
Shitthaung Pillar inscription of Anandacandra, however, clearly proves
that Arakan had close relations with Ceylon or Sri Lanka in the eighth
century.-Monks from Arakan went to Sri Lanka in order to copy Buddhist
texts written in Ceylonese script. Buddhist monks from Sri Lanka also are
known to have visited Arakan during that century. Thus the influence of
the south Indian script on the Araknese script came via Ceylon. It is thus
reasonable to think that the script which underwent changes towards the
end of the Vesali period was probably influenced by the script of Sri
Lanka and that the Buddhist monks played a great role in the development
of Arakanese script.
Preface
During the course of the last twenty-five years a very
encouraging phenomenon that came to happen in Arakan is publication of
a number of scholarly and informative books and articles on different
phases ofjhe early history of Arakan. In 1975 came out U. San Tha
Aung's "Anandacandra, A King of 8th Century Vesali," Arakan
(Myanmar). It is followed by the publication of "The Buddhist Art of
Ancient Arakan" in 1979 by the same author. Aung also brought out two
more Interesting books in Burmese in the 1970s. These are "Arakanese
Script, 6th Century and Before" (1974), and "Arakanese Coins" (1979).
The Arakanese people came to know the excellent research work on the
early history of Arakan, entitled "Ancient Arakan" done by P. Gutman in
1976. Arakan's own religion, Buddhism, was dealt in Ashin Siri
Okkantha's Ph. D. dissertation, "History of Buddhism in Arakan®- -
(Unpublished 1992). Then we have two authoritative books by two
scholars, Tun Shwe Khine and U Shwe Zan. These two books are "A
Guide to Mrauk-U" (1993), and the "Golden Mrauk-U" (1994)
respectively. Besides, other useful books, mostly in Burmese, also came
out in print during the same period as noted above.
However, long before this period, a beginning for tracing
the stages of early Arakanese history and culture was made when, during
the late 1880s, E. Forchhammer undertook extensive tours in the interior
of Arakan and brought out (witj^many startling new findings. Another
good work came out in 1921 when Chas Duroiselle published "A List of
Inscriptions Found in Burma." About two decades later we come to know
more about political history of early Arakan when the article "Some
Sanskrit inscriptions of Arakan" was published in 1944. The article,
published posthumously, was written by E.H. Johnston.
Going through these books and articles one is inclined to
believe that the authors of these publications carefully handled the data
contained in both literary and archaeological materials. In the category of
literature there are a number of old chronicles, mostly in palm-leaf
manuscripts, which deal with the religio-political histoiy of Arakan.
Similarly, epigraphs and coins which [ giveP also") much authentic
information about the early history of Arakan, were also utilized by the
above-mentioned scholars.
So we come to know of the importance of chronicles,
epigraphs and legends on coins for the reconstruction of the early history
of Arakan. The early chronicles of Arakan were written in Arakanese