Two Edged Swords in Bagan

[~Alaung_Hpaya~]

Thought it might be interesting to Mark and other dha fans that the fourth image in the original post and this image directly above is of the second nat in the pantheon of 37 Maung Tint De aka Mahagiri Nat aka Master Handsome Face. ( the first is ThagyaMin king of the nats )

Maung Tint De was a legendary 4th century blacksmith who met an untimely death ( burnt alive ) at the hands of a belligerent king .

The belief in nats goes back many centuries. The first named nat was a fabled fourth century blacksmith, Maung Tint De, who lived with his mother and younger sister in Tagaung.

Maung Tint De’s prodigious physical strength and his popularity among the local people worried the king, who plotted to have him killed.

According to the fable, Maung Tint De and his mother escaped, but the king seized the sister and made her his queen.

Maung Tint De returned to Tagaung at the behest of the king, who then arrested him and had him burnt alive. Maung Tint De’s sister leapt into the flames to join him, and subsequently all their family died of grief or at the hands of the king.

Irrawaddy News


He and his sister guard the gates into old Bagan . I believe he is the patron saint of black smiths ( including sword makers ) .