Thaton
| Author:Laxman Burdak, IFS (R) |
Thaton (थाटन) is a town in Mon State, in southern Myanmar on the Tenasserim plains.
Location
Thaton lies along the National Highway 8 and is also connected by the National Road 85. It is 230 km south east of Yangon and 70 km north of Mawlamyine. Thaton was the capital of Thaton Kingdom from at least the 4th century BC to the middle of the 11th century AD.
Origin
Thaton is the Burmese name of Sadhuim (သဓီု) in Mon, which in turn is from Sudhammapura (သုဓမ္မပူရ) in Pali, after Sudharma, the moot hall of the gods.[1]
Variants
- Sudhammavati (सुधम्मवती) (बर्मा) (AS, p.974)
- Sudharmmavati (सुधर्म्मवती) (बर्मा) (AS, p.974)
- Sudharmavati (सुधर्ममवती) (बर्मा)
- Sudharmapura (सुधर्मपुर)
- Sudhammapura (सुधम्मपुर)
- Thaton (थाटन) (AS, p.305)
- Burmese: သထုံမြို့;
- MLCTS: sa. htum mrui.;
- Mon: သဓီု /θa̰dˀṵì/;);
History
Thaton was the capital of the Thaton Kingdom, a Mon Kingdom which ruled present day Lower Burma between the 4th and 11th centuries. Like the Burmans and the Thais, some modern Mons have tried to identify their ethnicity and, specifically this kingdom at Thaton, with the semi-historical kingdom of Suwarnabhumi ("The Golden Land"); today, this claim is contested by many different ethnicities in south-east Asia, and contradicted by scholars. Historical scholarship indicates that the early usage of the term (as found in the edicts of Ashoka of India, who sent Buddhist missionaries there in the 3rd century BC) indicated a location in southern India, and not in south-east Asia.
In the kingdom of Dvaravati, Thaton was an important seaport on the Gulf of Martaban, for trade with India and Sri Lanka. Shin Arahan, also called Dhammadassi, a monk born in Thaton and raised and educated in Nakhon Pathom, an old capital of the Mon kingdom of Dvaravadi, now in Thailand, took Theravada Buddhism north to the Burmese kingdom of Bagan. In 1057, King Anawrahta of Bagan conquered Thaton.
Indian Origin Places in Burma
Dineschandra Sircar[2] writes.... Among Sanskrit-Pali names in Burma, mention may be made of Golanagara or Golamrittikanagara (modern Ayetthema, 20 miles north of Thaton, Gola being supposed to stand for Gauda[3] Kalasapura (to the south eat of Prome near the mouth of Sittang,[4] Ramapura (Moulmein), Ramanyadesh (Lowe Burma)[5] and Shri (Bhamo or Tagaung).[6]. The principalities of Pushkaravati, Trihakumbha, Asitanjana and Ramyanagara were situated in the region of Rangoon, Ramavati and Dhanyavati (modern Rakhaingmyu]] being situated in Arakan[7] The city of Shrikshetra has been located at Hmawza near Prome. Sudharmapura is modern Thaton and the city of Arimardanapura is Pagan situated in the land of Tattadesha and the kingdom of Tamradvipa [8]
सुधम्मवती
सुधम्मवती (AS, p.974), बर्मा थाटन का प्राचीन भारतीय नाम. ब्रह्मदेश की प्राचीन ऐतिहासिक कथाओं के अनुसार सुधर्म्मवती 59 भारती नरेशों की राजधानी रही थी. थाटन सुधम्मवती का ही अपभ्रंश कहा जाता है. [9]
गोलमृत्तिका नगर
गोलमृत्तिका नगर (AS, p.305) बर्मा (आधुनिक 'म्यांमार') के एक प्राचीन नगर का नाम था। इस नगर का अभिज्ञान, 1476 ई. के कल्याणी अभिलेख के अनुसार, थाटन से 20 मील (लगभग 32 कि.मी.) दूर स्थित 'अयत्येमा' नामक स्थान से किया गया है। मौर्य सम्राट अशोक के समय में गोलमृत्तिका नगर 'ब्रह्मदेश' (बर्मा का प्राचीन नाम) की राजधानी था। यहाँ 'गोल' या 'गौड़' लोगों के अनेक मिट्टी के घर होने के कारण ही इस नगर का यह विचित्र नाम पड़ा था। सम्भवत: 'गोल' या 'गौड़' बंगाल के मूल निवासी रहे होंगे। [10]
External links
References
- ↑ H.L. Shorto (2002). "The 32 Myos in the medieval Mon Kingdom". In Vladimir I. Braginsky (ed.). Classical civilisations of South East Asia: an anthology of articles. Routledge. p. 590. ISBN 9780700714100.
- ↑ Studies in the Geography of Ancient and Medieval India, By Dineschandra Sircar, p.319
- ↑ ibid.,p.195
- ↑ ibid.,p.197
- ↑ ibid.,p.196
- ↑ ibid.,p.200
- ↑ Coedes, The Indianised States in South-East Asia,p.329,cf p.156, RC Majumdar,opcit,p.202
- ↑ RC Majumdar,opcit,p.207
- ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.974
- ↑ Aitihasik Sthanavali by Vijayendra Kumar Mathur, p.305