The Four Paladins or Heroes () are the four legendary generals in the fellowship of King

Anawrahta Anawrahta Minsaw (, ; 11 May 1014 – 11 April 1077) was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone of Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that ...

during the Bagan Dynasty. They are one of the most famous national heroes of

Burma Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...

and played significant roles in the early tales of the Bagan Empire's expansion. In Burmese legends, each of them is said to be equivalent to the combined might of a

legion Legion may refer to: Military * Roman legion, the basic military unit of the ancient Roman army * Aviazione Legionaria, Italian air force during the Spanish Civil War * A legion is the regional unit of the Italian carabinieri * Spanish Legion, ...

Members

Kyansittha Kyansittha (, ; also spelt as Kyanzittha or Hti-Hlaing Min; 21 July 1030 – 1112/13) was king of the Pagan dynasty of Burma (Myanmar) from 1084 to 1112/13, and is considered one of the greatest Burmese monarchs. He continued the social, econom ...

(ကျန်စစ်သား) — Paragon of both physical and mental strength # Nga Htwe Yu (ငထွေရူး) — Paragon of agility # Nga Lon Letpe (ငလုံးလက်ဖယ်) — Paragon of might # Nyaung-U Hpi (ညောင်ဦးဖီး) — Paragon of stamina

Mission to Pegu

The mission to

Pegu Bago (formerly spelled Pegu; , ), formerly known as Hanthawaddy, is a city and the capital of the Bago Region in Myanmar. It is located north-east of Yangon. Etymology The Burmese name Bago (ပဲခူး) is likely derived from the Mon lang ...

is the most famous episode in the military career of the paladins. In the early 1070s, the king of

made a distress call to

Bagan Bagan ( ; ; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that w ...

when his kingdom is invaded by the Yuan- Khmer raiders called Joom''' (ဂျွမ်း) from

northern Thailand Northern Thailand, or more specifically Lanna, is a region of Thailand. It is geographically characterized by several mountain ranges, which continue from the Shan Hills in bordering Myanmar to Laos, and the river valleys that cut through them. ...

. King Anawrahta promised that he would send a relief cavalry of four legions to defend

Lower Burma Lower Myanmar (, also called Lower Burma) is a geographic region of Myanmar and includes the low-lying Irrawaddy Delta ( Ayeyarwady, Bago and Yangon Regions), as well as coastal regions of the country ( Rakhine and Mon States and Tanintharyi ...

. The Peguan king waited hopefully for the mighty Bagan Imperial army, but disappointed with the arrival of only the Four Paladins and a few

platoon A platoon is a Military organization, military unit typically composed of two to four squads, Section (military unit), sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the Military branch, branch, but a platoon can ...

s. However, in front of all the people of Pegu, the warriors of Bagan easily repelled the invaders in just one day. They also took the four ''Joom'' generals( Aukbraran, Aukbrare, Aukbrabon, and Aukbrapike) captive, and presented them to the king of Pegu. The Peguan ruler, pleased by the legendary valor of the paladins, sent his young daughter Khin U, jewels and holy hair relics as tributes and gifts for Anawrahta. However, unbeknownst to them, the return journey to Bagan would eventually lead to the dissolution of their friendships and the squad of the Paladins.Harvey 1925: 34

References

Asian mythology Burmese folklore