A History of Pali Literature v2.c19.s3.25

v2.c19.s3.25

The Kalyāṇī inscriptions of Pegu (Burma)² were erected c. 1476 A.D. by Dhammaceti, king of Rāmaññadesa or ancient Pegu, and record the history of the establishment of Buddhism in Burma, and its gradual evolution through many vicissitudes of fortune. The main object in founding the Kalyāṇī-sīmā appears to have been to afford the priesthood of Rāmaññadesa a duly consecrated place for the purpose of performing the uposatha, upasampadā, and other ecclesiastical ceremonies, and indirectly to secure continuity in their apostolic succession from Mahinda, the Buddhist apostle of Ceylon. The object of the Kalyāṇī inscriptions is to give an authoritative ruling on the varied opinions of scholars with regard to ordination, and to prescribe a ceremonial for the consecration of a sīmā.