Qualla: Waithali Kingdom

Waithali Kingdom: Introduction

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Arakan Patriotic, CC0. A stone inscription carved in 729 AD, written in Sanskrit rather than the Burmese that surrounded it, lists a dynasty of kings beginning with one named Bahubali. It claims these rulers traced their blood to the Hindu god Shiva, yet it also records that Mahayana Buddhism flourished throughout their realm. This is the Anandachandra inscription, and the kingdom it describes, Waithali, was a place where contradictions were not contradictions at all but simply the way things worked on the coast of Arakan.

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Image: Arakan Patriotic | CC0

Waithali Kingdom: Successor to a Fading Power

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit SKAG123, CC BY-SA 4.0. Around 370 AD, the Dhanyawadi kingdom, the first major polity in the Arakan region of present-day Rakhine State, began to fade. Power shifted to a new capital called Vesali, the name by which Waithali was also known, built along a tidal creek and enclosed by brick walls. The city...

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Image: SKAG123 | CC BY-SA 4.0

Waithali Kingdom: Where the Trade Routes Crossed

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Arakan Patriotic, CC0. Geography made Waithali wealthy. Positioned along the major maritime routes connecting China and India, the kingdom became a hub where ships arrived annually at its peak, carrying goods between the Pyu city-states and China to the east and India, Bengal, and Persia to the west. T...

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Image: Arakan Patriotic | CC0

Waithali Kingdom: Shiva's Descendants, Buddha's Followers

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Arakan Patriotic, CC0. The Chandra dynasty governed Waithali, and the tension at the heart of their rule was religious. The kings claimed descent from Shiva, suggesting Shaivite roots, yet Mahayana Buddhism dominated the kingdom's spiritual life. A large stone bull discovered at the center of a brick s...

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Image: Arakan Patriotic | CC0

Waithali Kingdom: Written in Stone and Pillar

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Arakan Patriotic, CC0. Two inscriptions anchor what historians know about Waithali. The Anandachandra inscription, its 72 lines of Sanskrit text spread across 51 verses on the western face of the stone, chronicles the rulers who preceded King Anandachandra. Analyzed by Dr. E. H. Johnston, the inscripti...

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Image: Arakan Patriotic | CC0

Waithali Kingdom: Walls Within Walls

Thu, 26 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Arakan Patriotic, CC0. Like the Pyu cities of central Myanmar, Waithali was built with an inner walled area enclosed by an outer city wall. The space between was likely used for agriculture by the lower classes, a practical arrangement that also served as a buffer zone in times of conflict. King Bhutic...

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Image: Arakan Patriotic | CC0