Pyu Urns, Indian Calendars and Myanmar Culture

Frasch, Tilman (2024) Pyu Urns, Indian Calendars and Myanmar Culture. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 34 (4). pp. 673-685. ISSN 1356-1863

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Abstract

The article addresses the important question of the calendar used in dating the Payagyi Pyu urns from Sri Ksetra (mod. Pyay) in Myanmar. It shows that of the four calendars used in Myanmar at the time, two – the Ajjagona and Buddhist eras – can be ruled out. This leaves the Saka and Myanmar eras as the only possible options. However, although the Saka era was used for dating Indian records up to East Bengal, it was only used twice for dating an inscription in central Myanmar, and in addition the early dates on the Payagyi urns seem to preclude its use in Myanmar that early. The article concludes therefore that for dating the Pyu urns most likely the Pyu-Myanmar calendar of 638 CE was used.