Composite manuscript of Mahārājavaṃsa (vols. 1, 3-10) and Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ (vol. 2) I

Composite palm-leaf manuscript combining individual volumes of two related texts Mahārājavaṃsa and Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ into a first bundle of what might have been a two-bundle set. Gold spray painted covers and leaves that originally seem to have been been all painted with red pigment (see also the manuscript description on top cover folio). In its full extent, Mahārājavaṃsa and Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ are multi-volume works (organized into two and five palm-leaf manuscript bundles respectively) belonging to Burmese genre of “great chronicles.” Mahārājavaṃsa was compiled at the royal court of Ava to serve as an official chronicle of the Nyaungyan dynasty (1597-1752) and Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ was an official chronicle of the Konbaung dynasty (1752-1885) that in its earlier sections was a reworking of and an update to Mahārājavaṃsa. Both texts commence with the appearance of the universe in the beginning of the world-cycle and the sequence of eleven Mahasamata kings and continue to trace the lineage of the kings of Majjhimadesa, Thayekhitaya, Pagan, Pinya, Sagaing, Ava, Taungngu/Hanthawady, and again Ava. Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ brings the account of royal succession down to the reign of King Badon-min (r. 1782-1819). As suggested by the manuscript description on the top cover folio, the bundle might have originally included one more fascicle (with foliation running from khau to ṅo) that does not survive. It is also possible that the bundle has originally included all ten volumes of Mahārājavaṃsa and also volume two of Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ which was placed at the end of the bundle as it formally belonged to a different text. This second explanation is only plausible if the foliation of this part of the manuscript was wrongly described as khau-ṅo instead of khau-ṅi. Extent: One incomplete bundle of 283 inscribed and an unclear number (? two or more) of uninscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. ka - bhai) organized into ten fascicles. Two gold spray painted covers. Custodial history: (original owner of the manuscript) = Arhe. Khaṅ Ma Kan Ūḥ Jotipāla; (later owner) = Yaṅ Tau charā tau kyoṅḥ. Scribe(s): Copied by different hands. Additional date information: Vols. 1, 3-10 composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852; vol. 2 composed in 1829-1831, copied c. 1850s-1860s. Keywords: History, Buddhism. This manuscript contains the following 10 texts: EAP1150/1/232/1: Mahārājavaṃsa 1 Description: Volume one of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the kings of Majjhimadesa to the lifetime of the Buddha. Extent: One fascicle of 20 inscribed and one uninscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. ka [3] - kho [24]). Condition of original material: Incomplete fascicle, 1 inscribed folio (f. kha) missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/2: Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ 2 [Mhan‘ nan‘ʺ mahārājavaṅ‘ to‘ krīʺ 2] Description: Volume two of Mhan nanḥ mahārājavaṅ tau krīḥ covering the kings of Majjhimadesa from the lifetime of the Buddha to the third century BCE. Extent: One fascicle of 30 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. khau [24] - ṅi [54]). Additional date information: Composed in 1829-1831, copied c. 1850s-1860s EAP1150/1/232/3: Mahārājavaṃsa 3 Description: Volume three of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events from the thrid century BCE to the eleveth century CE. Extent: One fascicle of 29 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. ṅī [54] - chai [83]). Condition of original material: Folio cai is a later replacement copied by a different hand that has also executed folios ṭe, pi, phi and phai, the original folio cai is missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/4: Mahārājavaṃsa 4 Description: Volume four of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events from the eleventh to the twelth centuries. Extent: One fascicle of 31 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. cho [83] - ññi [114]). Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/5: Mahārājavaṃsa 5 Description: Volume five of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events from the twelth to the late thirteenth centuries. Extent: One fascicle of 28 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. ññī [114] - ṭhe [142]). Condition of original material: Folio ññāḥ is damaged with parts of text missing. Folio ṭe is a later replacement copied by the same hand as the replacement folios cai, ṭe, pi, phi and phai, the original folio ṭe is missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852, likely from a testimony dated 1833 or 1834 (see copying mistake on f. ṭhe) EAP1150/1/232/6: Mahārājavaṃsa 6 Description: Volume six of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events of the fourteenth century. Contains also a note (f. ḍhau) on the sequence of fifteen royal cities that are to function as the mainstays of the Buddhist teaching during the five thousand years of its existence. Extent: One fascicle of 27 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. ṭhai [142] - ḍhau [169]). Condition of original material: Folio ḍe is damaged with parts of text missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/7: Mahārājavaṃsa 7 Description: Volume seven of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events of the late fourteenth to the early fifteenth centuries. Extent: One fascicle of 28 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. ḍhaṃ [169] - thā [197]). Condition of original material: Folio tī is damaged with parts of text missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/8: Mahārājavaṃsa 8 Description: Volume eight of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events of the early to the mid-fifteenth century. Extent: One fascicle of 30 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. thi [197] - dhai [227]). Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/9: Mahārājavaṃsa 9 Description: Volume nine of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events of the mid-fifteenth to the early sixteenth centuries. Extent: One fascicle of 28 inscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. dho [227] - pāḥ [255]). Condition of original material: Folio pi is a later replacement copied by the same hand as the replacement folios cai, ṭe, pi, phi and phai, the original folio pi is missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852 EAP1150/1/232/10: Mahārājavaṃsa 10 Description: Volume ten of Mahārājavaṃsa covering the events of the late fifteenth to the mid-sixteenth centuries. Extent: One fascicle of 32 inscribed and one uninscribed palm-leaf folios (ff. pha [255] - bhai [289]). Condition of original material: Folio bhe is damaged with parts of text missing. Folios phi and phai are later replacements copied by the same hand as the replacement folios cai, ṭe and pi, the original folios phi and phai are missing. Author(s)/Creator(s): Attributed to Ūḥ Kulāḥ. Additional date information: Composed in c. 1714-1720, copied 1852.