Kyaswa (ကျစွာ)

Burmese. Name of a King of Bagan, who ruled from 1235 to 1251 AD. He was appointed heir to the throne by his father King Zeya Theinkha Uzana, who was also known as King Htilominlo and who had four sons, but did not choose to appoint his eldest son, Uzana, to succeed him. Kyaswa's reign was mostly peaceful, but due to tax-free religious landholdings, the royal treasury became almost depleted. The King was a devout Buddhist, who spent his time to learning and composing religious writings promoting the dhamma. Unlike some of his predecessors, he would not resort to forced labour to build his temples, hence his own Pyathada Temple is much smaller in size than most other temples built by Bagan Kings and he even had trouble completing a temple due to lack of funding. 回