________________
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY.
No doubt, the word translated "ticals" in the inscriptions of 1454 and 1843 is kyat.
In the Buddha Gayâ inscriptions there is no mention of any weights.
So far, then, these inscriptions bring us no nearer to the point of our enquiry as to the true Burmese notions on the subject of the weight of the pala or phala. Nor will Forchhammer's work help us.
116
[MAY, 1898.
The Burman of the present day still behaves as did his ancestors time out of mind. He still spends his earnings or savings in building or repairing pagodas and sacred buildings of all sorts, inscribing on them the fact, with a statement of what his works of merit have cost him. In this way the currency of the British supremacy in these parts will doubtless go down to a far posterity.
Thus the repair of the original Mahamuni Pagoda in Arakan (not to be confounded with its counterpart near Amarapura) in 1865-7 by a Shân is described in his inscription as follows:18" In the course of the work it was found that the sum of Rs. 460, which he had brought with him, would not suffice. In this dilemma he appealed to the Wundauk (Magistrate) and begged of him to receive his wife and children as surety (in pawn) for Rs. 400. But the Wundauk would not agree to the proposal. 19 He, however, most liberally advanced the Rs. 400 to meet the expenses. With all this aid however it was found that the extra money received could only suffice to repair the base, but not the roof of the image-house.20 Arrangements were made to collect subscriptions from the whole of Dhaññavati (Arakan) in order to bring the work to a successful close. The following are the names of the subscribers: Wundauk Maung Kalawa with the title of Dâkyizi; Dâyakà Sàndun Rs. 5; Tazâzin Thâdun 2 (and so on)-altogether Rs. 145."
Similarly one "Ma Myàt-û, the beloved wife of Zayàttaga Maung Chindaung of Môlék Village in the Akyab District spent more than Rs. 15,000 in gilding the chéti on the summit of the Urittaung Hill, as a work of merit done for the good of her deceased husband," i. e., according to her inscription dated in " the year B. E. 40," i. e., B. E. 1240 A. D. 1879,21
In an inscription, dated 1848 A. D., at the Andò Pagoda at Sandoway, it is said that "a ti, whose opening measured 2 cubits and which had 12 tiers was constructed by Maung Lû Môlû, who was paid Rs. 100 for its workmanship." The same inscription says that the feast on the occasion cost Rs. 350.22
In Scott's The Burman, Vol. I. p. 247 ff., there is a translation of the inscription on bell "No. 15,219 in the Indian Section of the South Kensington Museum," from which we see that it is dated 1209 B. E. 1847 A. D., and "The exact weight of the bell in current reckoning is 2,500 kyats weight." 23 In addition to this the giver, a Yêwan (Maritime Provincial Governor) of Pagàn Min (1846-52), says "I gave a tagundaing, the price of which, with all incidental expenses, was Rs. 500: 25 that was the alms exactly."
And lastly there are the two inscriptions in Vol. XXII. of the Indian Antiquary so well edited by the capable hand of Mr. Taw Sein Ko, viz., the Pôûdaung Inscription of S'inbyûyin, dated 1774 A. D., and the Kalyani Inscriptions of Dhammachêti, dated 1476 A. D.
In the first there is no mention of weights at all, but in the second, which is throughout in Pali, there are several; this inscription, or rather set of inscriptions, being in fact the only one to throw any light on the present subject.
18 Forchhammer's Report on Arakan, p. 9.
19 That official would hardly have dared to accept under British rule, but the Shan acted according to the notions of his life-long surroundings on the subject of slavery for debt.
20 Forchhammer usually means by this expression the Burmese bêng, Pâli sim, strictly a hall of ordination. 22 Op. cit. p. 62.
rather less than half a ton.
24 Tagun is a streamer offered in worship: tagundaing is a post set up near a pagoda to hang the streamer on.
2 Eut I suspect that the translation should be here "500 tickals (kyats).
21 Forchhammer, op. cit. p. 57.
23 2,500 kyot 250 viss 9125 lbs. Av.
