Marayu (

Burmese Burmese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Myanmar, a country in Southeast Asia * Burmese people * Burmese language * Burmese alphabet * Burmese cuisine * Burmese culture Animals * Burmese cat * Burmese chicken * Burmese (horse), a ...

:) was the legendary founder of Dhanyawadi Kingdom and the first mythical king of

Arakan Arakan ( or ; , ), formerly anglicised as Aracan, is the historical geographical name for the northeastern coastal region of the Bay of Bengal, covering present-day Bangladesh and Myanmar. The region was called "Arakan" for centuries. It is ...

. He is considered as founding king of the ancient Arakanese civilization settled around the

Kaladan River The Kaladan (, ) or Kissapanadi River (, ), also known as the Beino, Bawinu and Kolodyne, is a river in the eastern Mizoram, Mizoram State of India, and in Chin State and Rakhine State of western Myanmar. The Kaladan River is called the Chhimtuip ...

Valley. Born from a son of a Brahmin and who later married the daughter of chief of Mro Tribe. He initially defeated the ''

demons A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in folklore, mythology, religion, occultism, and literature; these beliefs are reflected in media including fiction, comics, film, t ...

'' (Rakkhasa) whose named trace to the name of "Rakhine" and founded the city of

Dhanyawadi Dhanyawaddy (; ) was the capital of the first Rakhine people, Arakanese Kingdom, located in what is now Northern Rakhine State, Myanmar. The name is a corruption of the Pali word ''Dhannavati'', which means "large area or rice cultivation or the ...

.Razawin Thitkyan Vol. 1 1997:94/96Dhanyawaddy Razawin Thite Vol. 1 1930:250

History

Marayu's birth occurred under unusual circumstances. His mother, In-da-ma-yu, a doe believed to be descended from a lion, gave birth to him in the forest near the mouth of the Mikhyoung River, a tributary of the

. His father, indirectly, was King Adz-dzun-na who was a former king who had become a hermit in the Himawonda forest near the source of the Kaladan river. After his birth, Marayu was discovered by a chief of the Mro tribe, who was hunting in the forest with his dog. The chief adopted the child and raised him as his own. Upon reaching maturity, Marayu married Rusitamala (ရုစိတမာလာ), who was the daughter of the Myu chief, Mipinya (မိပိန်ညာ).''Rakhine Razawin Thit (ရခိုင် ရာဇဝင်သစ်)'' page 155-56 He was later granted magical weapons by the Nats, spiritual beings in Burmese tradition. Using these weapons, Marayu successfully defeated the ogres, hostile beings described as ravaging the countryside and attacking humans, particularly at night. Following the defeat of the Bhi-lus, Marayu was acknowledged as king by the local population. The king built seven grand halls were built at the site known as "Seven-Hall Village". In this place the king and his wife were formally anointed and accepted as king and queen.

Reign and death

Historical chronicles state that Marayu ascended the throne at the age of 18 years and reigned for 62 years, dying at the age of 80 years. Arakanese historians claim that his lineage continued in an unbroken succession until the Burmese conquest of Arakan in 1784. According to the historian Ngami, although this account slightly differs from others, there were 54 sovereigns descended from Marayu who ruled for a total of 1,833 years. Based on this chronology, Marayu would have ascended the throne around 2658 BCE.

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book, last= U Uar Nha, first=Ashin , title=Dhanyawaddy Razawin Thit, year=1930 , edition= 2010, language= Arakanese, publisher=Rakhine Thargyi Sarpay, volume= 1-2, location=Yangon Burmese monarchs History of Rakhine

History

Reign and death

See also

References

Bibliography