Taikkala

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This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts.Many units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.

Taikkala

An ancient capital in the Bilin township of Thaton District, Lower Burma, the ruins of which lie between Ayetthenia and Kinywa in 17° 2' N. and 97° 2' E. Its Pali name is Golamattika- nagara, and it is described as follows in the Kalyani inscriptions : —

'At that time a king, called Sirimasoka, ruled over the country of Suvanna Bhumi. His capital was situated to the north-west of the Kelasabhapabbatachetiya. The eastern half of this town was situated on an upland plateau, while the western half was built on a plain. This town is called, to this day (A. D. 1476), Golamattikanagara, because it contains many mud-and-wattle houses resembling those of the Gola People. The town was situated on the sea-shore. Thus the Religion was established in this country of Ramannadesa by the two theras (Sona and Uttara) in the 236th year that had elapsed since the attain- ment of Parinirvana by the Fully Enlightened One.'

Hitherto the theory has been that, at the conclusion of the Third Buddhist Council, Sona and Uttara were sent as missionaries to Taik- kala ; and that during the fifth century A.D. Buddhaghosha, who is reputed to have brought a complete set of the Tripitaka from Ceylon, repaired to the same town. Doubt has, however, been thrown on these traditions.

Taikkala has been identified with the Takola of Ptolemy and the Kalah of the Arabian geographers, and with the Takkala of Professor Lassen, who, however, marked it erroneously on his map a few miles to the north of Tavoy. Up to the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries it was a great seaport. The seashore is now about 12 miles to the west ; but cables, ropes, and other relics of sea-going vessels are frequently dug up in the vicinity of the ancient capital.