It was In1856 that King Mindon(r.1853-1878) decided to move the royal capital to a new site at the foot of Mandalay Hill. He had been residing in Amarapura, which first became the capital in 1783 during the reign of his grandfather King Bodaw paya (r. 1782-1819). However, Bodawpaya's heir King Bagyidaw had moved the capital to Inwa so Amarapura was not a capital again until 1838, when King Tharyarwaddy (r.1837-1846) moved to it from Inwa.
The move from Amarapura to the new site was for both strategic and astrological reasons, for the large Taung Thaman Lake of Amarapura with its water fed from a river allowed foreign ships to dock too near the palace. Also, King Mindon's predecessor King Bagan had lost a war with of a few monasteries within the British in 1852 and hence the capital was deemed inauspicious.
The king sent messengers to consult with Abbots of a few monasteries within the largely wild and over grown plain roughly between the green and cool Mandalay Hill towards the Northeast and the Ayeyarwaddy River on the west .The monks all replied that for many years they had lived there in peace and good health. The area already has a greatly revered Pagoda, the Mahamuni image that was enshrined here in 1784 by King Mindon's grandfather King Bodawpaya.
The King chose Yadanabon or Mound of Gems as the name for his new capital but it was to be called Mandalay by the populace and Mandalay it remained in history.The city was planned in detailed, auspicious days chosen for the breaking of By Ma Thanegi the ground to laying founda- Photo: Sonny Nyein tions and carving new thrones. The construction began in 1857 and was completed in 1859. Ornate rituals directed by the court astrologers were carried out for each new point of construction.
A temporary palace was built and adorned with the embroidered tapestries for the king to reside at the times he was performing rituals or inspecting the work. The Sandamuni Pagoda was built on the site of his temporary palace because here his beloved younger brother Prince Kanaung was as assassinated by two ambitious nephews. The prince was also buried near this spot.
Laying the plan for the palace was a grand affair: according to the old palm- leaf manuscript, "First, while facing east, homage was paid to the Three Gems, namely Buddha, His Teachings and the Order. Then eight pairs of blemish-free matched oxen adorned with bridles of gold and silver. The ploughs were driven by eight men of auspicious birth-days. Then eight men of auspicious birth-days. Then eight Brahmins of pure descent ledlines, crossing perpendicular to each other. The pavements were wide and in many places each street or quarter was given over to a particu- tar trade so that knife makers worked along one, bamboo sellers had their own street, and tailors lined another. Gold leaf beaters, marble cutters and tapestry makers also had their own places, as did some nobility and court officials such as pageboys. King Mindon had many canals dug and twenty one parks built, so that the scorching heat would be somewhat eased.
The neighbourhoods were given wonderful names such as Pyi Gyi Kyet Thayay, Auspiciousness of the Great Nation; Van Myo Lon, Secure from All Harm; Palai Ngwe Vaung, Silvery Pearl Colour; Pyi Gyi Pyaw Bwai, Joy of the Great Nation; Pyi Gyi Myet Hman, Eyeglass of the Great Nation; Chan Mya Tharsi, Peaceful Coolness and Hap- piness; Mya Nan Aung Myay, Victorious Emerald Palace, etc.
King Mindon 'Passed into Heaven' nineteen years after he moved to Mandalay. His reign was: peaceful and prosperous and he left great pagodas and monasteries, and a further strengthening
of the Buddhist faith that was first given support by King Anawrahta of Bagan in the 11 th century. He held the Fifth Great Synod to clarify and keep on record the Tripitaka Buddhist canons which he had carved on 729 marble slabs erected on the grounds of his Kuthodaw Pagoda. In 1913, the explana- tory notes of the Buddhist canon were carved on marble slabs numbering 1774 and placed on the grounds of the sandamuni Pagoda by the Hermit U Khandi, who built many monasteries as well as renovated much of Mandalay Hill during the time he lived in Mandalay from 1908 until his death in 1949.
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King Mindon had donated a huge standing Buddha on a shrine on Mandalay Hill overlook- ing his city, but it was burnt down in the great fire of 1893, and replaced ten years later by U Khandi.
The beautiful Golden Palace Monastery of Mandalay used to be a palace pavilion where he lived and died. It was taken apart and rebuilt outside of the palace walls after his death, and during the process four poems written by him had come alight. He had shoved them b~tween the wooden walls, for each poem was a dedi- cated each of his four queens, three that he loved and admired. The fourth, who outlived him was a fierce-tempered woman as stated in his poem and perhaps this mild-manner monarch had not wanted her to discover it. This all-teak, carved and gilded pavilion remains the most personal legacy of this great and benign king.
The data in this article is taken from 'Record of the building the Royal City of Mandalay', century, compiled by Sithu Mg Mg Kyaw. in the early 20th century.
