Maha Yazawin Kyaw

This article is about a national chronicle written in the Konbaung period. See Yazawin Kyaw for the 15th century chronicle.
Maha Yazawin Kyaw
Author Monywe Zetawun Sayadaw
Original title ရာဇိန္ဒ ရာဇဝရ မဏ္ဍနီ
Yazeinda Yazawara Mandani[1]
Country Kingdom of Burma
Language Burmese
Series Burmese chronicles
Genre Chronicle, History
Publication date
 1831–1832[2]
Media type Parabaik paper

Yazeinda Yazawara Mandani, or more commonly known as Maha Yazawin Kyaw (Burmese: မဟာ ရာဇဝင်ကျော်, pronounced: [məhà jàzəwɪ̀ɴ tɕɔ̀]; lit. "Great Celebrated Chronicle"), is a Konbaung period national chronicle of Burma (Myanmar). The chronicle is very similar to Hmannan Yazawin, the official chronicle of Konbaung Dynasty, except for its more sympathetic treatment of the last Toungoo kings.[2]

Brief

The chronicle had already been in the works in May 1829 when its author Monywe Zetawun Sayadaw, a Buddhist monk and one of the "most learned scholars" of the day was tapped by King Bagyidaw to head the Royal Historical Commission of Burma. The commission was asked to write a new official chronicle. The Sayadaw had already written an abridged chronicle in 1810, and Maha Yazawin Kyaw was intended to be a comprehensive national chronicle.[2] For the next three years and four months, the monk and the commission worked on compiling the new chronicle.[3]

While working on Hmannan, the monk however disagreed with other members of the commission on their portrayal of the last Toungoo kings. He felt that the existing assessments of the Toungoo kings by the Konbaung historians were too harsh and unwarranted. Though he was the head of the commission, his views did not prevail. The monk continued to work with the commission to the completion of the chronicle but also completed his own version c. 1831–1832 before Hmannan was officially completed. Aside from its more sympathetic narrative of the late Toungoo period, Maha Yazawin Kyaw does not differ much from the rest of Hmannan.[2]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Maung Maung Tin Vol. 1 2004: 16
  2. 1 2 3 4 Thaw Kaung 2010: 53–55
  3. ↑ Hmannan Vol. 1 2003: vi

References

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