Maharaja Garib Niwaz : Builder of Manipuri civilisation
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Maheshsana Rajkumar
Contd from previous issue
Michael Charney on Shanti Das’ hinduizing mission plan of Burmese kingdom has categorically stated that the reshaping of Manipuri culture and religion under Gharib Newaz was pervasive and saw Manipuri gods eradicated, Manipuri festivals equated with Hindu festivals, fictive lineages for important families drawn back to figures in the Mahabharata, the imposition of Hindu dietary restrictions including punishment for eating beef, and the division of Manipuri society into castes.
This rapid transformation of Manipuri society was intended to be extended over Burma in the same way. The guru behind all of this, Shanti Das, left the Manipuri court for the Burmese royal court in August 1733. According to the Manipuri sources, Shanti Das returned to Manipur in November/December 1733, because he had been denied entry into the Burmese royal court. Gharib Newaz accompanied by Shanti Das gathered an army and, headed by the flag of Hanuman, took it against the royal capital of Burma, only to find his passage blocked by the Irrawaddy River, which the Manipuri cavalry were unable to cross. Shanti Das is also said to have encouraged the Manipuri attack by instructing the Manipuris that by drinking and washing themselves with water from the Irrawaddy River, they would completely cleanse themselves of misfortune and danger. The guru set out again in 1743 officially to negotiate the provision of Manipuri princess Satyamala to the Toungoo king.
However, the Manipur court chronicle implies he had set out to conquer Ava again. Further, according to Lower Chindwin authors writing in the late 1820s, Shanti Das wanted to establish Hinduism (‘our way of thinking’) in the mind of ‘the king who lives in Ava’.
There is thus little doubt that Shanti Das had major plans for the Burmese court, especially since his large entourage consisted of five hundred of his disciples, including Brahmin priests. The Hindu teacher, however, fell ill and died about a month later in 1744.
If there had been any real chance of a conversion of Burma to Hinduism this was doused by the end of the 1750s. After the Burmese royal capital fell to the Mons in 1751, we hear little about the Lower Chindwin or Manipuri–Burmese interaction until the Burmese kingdom was fully restored in 1756.
The Indian Brahmins had greatly influenced the royal courts of Burma and were successful to change the minds of the kings of Burma. Almost all the ritual practices of Burmese royal courts were followed in accordance with Brahmanical cult. G.E. Harvey, in his book, “History of Burma”, has stated that in Coronation and Palace the ritual was Brahmanical not Buddhist and it was in use all over the Hindu world.
However, the expansion of Indian culture continued the making of its way into the region of Southeast Asia through the organisations of royalty Hindusim and Buddhism and the Sanskrit dialect.
The book, “The Situation in Myanmar 1714-52”, authored by Burmese scholar Dr. Yi Yi, Senior Researcher, Department of History, Ministry of Culture, Myanmar, recorded Shanti Das died in 1744 at Sagaing Thante due to Cholera. The body of Shanti Das was dumped in Irrawaddy River in quick succession after performing Jal Samadhi. Afterwards Samjai Khurai-Latpa and five hundred disciples of Shanti Das returned to Manipur. According to R.K. Jhalajit Singh, Shantidas, the religious guru of the king died on Tuesday 27 Hiyangei (September/ October) 1744 in Burma.
Renowned author Victor B. Leiberman in his book, “Burmese Administrative Cycle: Anarchy and Conquest, C. 1580-1760”, 1984, writes on Garib Nawaz in context to Burma as follows: “The brahmanically sanctioned changes that Gharib Niwaz introduced in political organizations, in personal devotion, in diet and dress inspired the Manipuris with a vast energy and missionary dynamism.
(To be contd)
Contd from previous issue
Michael Charney on Shanti Das’ hinduizing mission plan of Burmese kingdom has categorically stated that the reshaping of Manipuri culture and religion under Gharib Newaz was pervasive and saw Manipuri gods eradicated, Manipuri festivals equated with Hindu festivals, fictive lineages for important families drawn back to figures in the Mahabharata, the imposition of Hindu dietary restrictions including punishment for eating beef, and the division of Manipuri society into castes.
This rapid transformation of Manipuri society was intended to be extended over Burma in the same way. The guru behind all of this, Shanti Das, left the Manipuri court for the Burmese royal court in August 1733. According to the Manipuri sources, Shanti Das returned to Manipur in November/December 1733, because he had been denied entry into the Burmese royal court. Gharib Newaz accompanied by Shanti Das gathered an army and, headed by the flag of Hanuman, took it against the royal capital of Burma, only to find his passage blocked by the Irrawaddy River, which the Manipuri cavalry were unable to cross. Shanti Das is also said to have encouraged the Manipuri attack by instructing the Manipuris that by drinking and washing themselves with water from the Irrawaddy River, they would completely cleanse themselves of misfortune and danger. The guru set out again in 1743 officially to negotiate the provision of Manipuri princess Satyamala to the Toungoo king.
However, the Manipur court chronicle implies he had set out to conquer Ava again. Further, according to Lower Chindwin authors writing in the late 1820s, Shanti Das wanted to establish Hinduism (‘our way of thinking’) in the mind of ‘the king who lives in Ava’.
There is thus little doubt that Shanti Das had major plans for the Burmese court, especially since his large entourage consisted of five hundred of his disciples, including Brahmin priests. The Hindu teacher, however, fell ill and died about a month later in 1744.
If there had been any real chance of a conversion of Burma to Hinduism this was doused by the end of the 1750s. After the Burmese royal capital fell to the Mons in 1751, we hear little about the Lower Chindwin or Manipuri–Burmese interaction until the Burmese kingdom was fully restored in 1756.
The Indian Brahmins had greatly influenced the royal courts of Burma and were successful to change the minds of the kings of Burma. Almost all the ritual practices of Burmese royal courts were followed in accordance with Brahmanical cult. G.E. Harvey, in his book, “History of Burma”, has stated that in Coronation and Palace the ritual was Brahmanical not Buddhist and it was in use all over the Hindu world.
However, the expansion of Indian culture continued the making of its way into the region of Southeast Asia through the organisations of royalty Hindusim and Buddhism and the Sanskrit dialect.
The book, “The Situation in Myanmar 1714-52”, authored by Burmese scholar Dr. Yi Yi, Senior Researcher, Department of History, Ministry of Culture, Myanmar, recorded Shanti Das died in 1744 at Sagaing Thante due to Cholera. The body of Shanti Das was dumped in Irrawaddy River in quick succession after performing Jal Samadhi. Afterwards Samjai Khurai-Latpa and five hundred disciples of Shanti Das returned to Manipur. According to R.K. Jhalajit Singh, Shantidas, the religious guru of the king died on Tuesday 27 Hiyangei (September/ October) 1744 in Burma.
Renowned author Victor B. Leiberman in his book, “Burmese Administrative Cycle: Anarchy and Conquest, C. 1580-1760”, 1984, writes on Garib Nawaz in context to Burma as follows: “The brahmanically sanctioned changes that Gharib Niwaz introduced in political organizations, in personal devotion, in diet and dress inspired the Manipuris with a vast energy and missionary dynamism.
(To be contd)