arimaddana

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Arimaddana

The name given in the Pāli chronicles to the city of Pagan in Burma (Rāmañña) (Bode: op. cit., 14). During the time of Parakkamabāhu I. of Sri Lanka, the King of Arimaddana quarrelled with him, ill-treated his envoys, and seized by force a princess sent from Sri Lanka to Kamboja. Parakkama sent a punitive expedition under the Damilādhikāri Ādicca, who reduced the country to subjection (Cv.lxxvi.10-75).

Later Vijayabāhu II. of Sri Lanka entered into friendly negotiations with the ruler of Arimaddana, and wrote him a letter in the Māgadha language composed by himself. As a result, a friendly treaty was made between them which also resulted in closer contact between the monks of the two countries (Cv.lxxx.6-8).

According to some authorities, quoted by Minayeff (Recherches sur Bouddhisme, p.70), the city was full of learned women. The Gandhavaṃsa (p.67) mentions a list of twenty-three teachers who wrote their works in Arimaddana. From this context it appears that Arimaddana was known also as Pukkāma (Pukkāmasankhāte Arimaddananagare). This is supported by evidence from elsewhere (Forchhammer: Jardine Prize Essay, pp.29, 32. Ind. Ant.1893, p.17). It was a minister in Arimaddana who wrote the Nyāsappadīpatīkā (Svd.v.1240). Arimaddana was also the city of birth of the Thera Chapata (Svd.v.1247).

Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names • G.P. Malalasekera