Manuha

Manuha မနူဟာ
King of Suvannabhumi
Reign	1030s – 1057[1]
Predecessor	Udinna
House	Thaton dynasty
Father	Udinna
Born	Thaton
Died	Pagan
Religion	Theravada Buddhism

Manuha (Burmese: မနူဟာ; Mon: မကုဋ) was the last king of the Mon kingdom of Thaton. Manuha ruled Thaton from 1030s until 1057 when he was defeated by King Anawrahta of Pagan Kingdom. According to the Mon tradition, Manuha was the 59th in the line of kings who supposedly founded Thaton during the time of the Buddha in the 6th century BCE.

Traditional Burmese and Mon reconstructions also hold that Anawrahta, a recent convert to Theravada Buddhism, asked for the Theravada Buddhist canon from Manuha. The Mon king reputedly rejected Anawrahta's request, saying that the uncultured Burmans of the north were not worthy of the religion. This refusal was used by Anawrahta as pretense to invade and conquer the Mon kingdom.^[2] Despite this account, it is more likely Anawrahta conquered Thaton in order to check the westward advance of Khmer Empire in the Tenasserim coast.

Manuha and his family along with some 30,000 monks and artisans, were brought back to Pagan (Bagan). Between 1050 and about 1085, Mon craftsmen and artisans helped to build some two thousand monuments at Pagan, the remains of which today rival the splendors of Angkor Wat.^[3]

In Pagan, Manuha asked and was allowed to build the Manuha Temple in Pagan. Built in 1059, three giant sitting Buddha statutes seem too large for their enclosures, and their cramped, uncomfortable positions are said to represent the stress and lack of comfort the 'captive king' had to endure.^[4]

References

1. ^ Melford E. Spiro (1996). Burmese supernaturalism. Transaction Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 1560008822, 9781560008828. 
2. ^ Maung Htin Aung (1967). A History of Burma. New York and London: Cambridge University Press. pp. 32–33. 
3. ^ Ashley South (2003). Mon nationalism and civil war in Burma: the golden sheldrake. Routledge. p. 67. ISBN 0700716092, 9780700716098. 
4. ^ "Manuha Temple". AncientBagan.com. http://www.ancientbagan.com/manuha-temple.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-26. 

Manuha Thaton Dynasty
Regnal titles
Preceded by Udinna	King of Thaton c. 1030s–1057	Succeeded by Thaton dynasty abolished