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The name given in the Pāli chronicles to
the city of Pagan in Burma (Rāmañña) ( Bode: op. cit., 14). During the time of
Parakkamabāhu I. of Ceylon, the King of Arimaddana quarrelled with him,
ill-treated his envoys, and seized by force a princess sent from Ceylon to
Kamboja. Parakkama sent a punitive expedition under the Damilādhikāri Ādicca,
who reduced the country to subjection (Cv.lxxvi.10-75).
Later Vijayabāhu II. of Ceylon entered
into friendly negotiations with the ruler of Arimaddana, and wrote him a letter
in the Māgadha language composed by himself. As a result, a friendly treaty was
made between them which also resulted in closer contact between the monks of the
two countries (Cv.lxxx.6-8).
According to some authorities, quoted by
Minayeff (Recherches sur Bouddhisme, p.70), the city was full of learned women.
The Gandhavamsa (p.67) mentions a list of twenty-three teachers who wrote their
works in Arimaddana. From this context it appears that Arimaddana was known also
as Pukkāma (Pukkāmasankhāte Arimaddananagare). This is supported by evidence
from elsewhere (Forchhammer: Jardine Prize Essay, pp.29, 32. Ind. Ant.1893,
p.17). It was a minister in Arimaddana who wrote the Nyāsappadīpatīkā
(Svd.v.1240). Arimaddana was also the city of birth of the Thera Chapata
(Svd.v.1247).

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