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Arimaddana

The name given in the Pāḷi 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 Ādicca Damiḷādhikāri, 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 (Pukkāmasaṅkhāte 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 Nyāsappadīpaṭīkā (Svd.v.1240). Arimaddana was also the city of birth of the Thera Chapaṭa (Saddhammajotipāla) (Svd.v.1247).