၁၁။ လူ႔အဖြဲ႔စည္း ပဋိညာဥ္
It is correct that the principle of Burmese kingship was possession by right of birth. This “possession by right of birth” meant that the king was the owner of the lives of the people of the country.
Because it could be said that he “owned their lives”, we must also say that he owned all the property and wealth of the people. Consequently, in the general usage of the Chronicles, the king is referred to as the “Lord of Life” and as the “Lord of Land and Water”. Nevertheless, ideas on Burmese kingship never included any sort of belief that the kings' rights by right of birth were conferred by the spirits or by an Eternal God.
This idea that a king's rights were conferred by an eternal deity belongs to the western countries. In the Mahæjanaka Jætaka so forth said that only one who is of power and glory or influence can become King of a country. For example: the family priest said to them, "Be not anxious; we must send out the festive carriage, the king who is obtained by the festal carriage will be able to rule over all India."
So they agreed, and having decorated the city and yoked four lotus-coloured horses to the festive chariot and spread a coverlet over them and fixed the five ensigns of royalty, they surrounded them with an army of four hosts.
Now musical instruments are sounded in front of a chariot which contains a rider, but behind one which contains none; so the family priest, having bid them sound the musical instruments behind, and having sprinkled the strap of the car and the goad with a golden ewer, bade the chariot proceed to him who has merit sufficient to rule the kingdom. The car went solemnly round the palace and proceeded up the kettle-drum road.
This being so, how would the king acquire this “right by birth”? The answer to this question may be given by the ideas on government contained in the legend of the elevation of Mahāsammata , (“ayam no raja” ti mahajanena sammanitva thapitattæ “Mahasammato” ti evam sammatassa, that is to say: “this is our King” thus so many people having selected and caused to be placed) which is in regular use by the Burmese.
There was, then, when lies were being told, a need for a man of wisdom and firmness, in order to recognize them and to give decisions. Consequently, a gathering of men of knowledge, dexterity and wisdom raised a teacher named Manu (So hi sakalalokassa hitaµ manati jænætøti Manþti vuccati.
That is to say: Indeed, he is called thus Manu because he knows benefit of the whole world) to be Mahāsammata.
The method of this raising was this: they joined together in urging him, saying, "Be our ruler and lord; so far as the law allows, cast down those who deserve reproof, degrading, or exile and raise up those who deserve help, advancement, or protection. For exercising this control, please to accept, as the means needed for its exercise, a tithe - one part in ten, one branch in ten branches, one weight in ten weights, one volume in ten volumes, one flower in ten flowers – which we will give you according to the estimated value".
Those thus elevated, who rule as kings by mutual consent and reciprocal undertakings, and those who are teachers, destined to be kings, and are elevated to the monarchy by the three consecrations.
It was in this manner then that Mahāsammata acquired the right to rule over the people of the country and it was because of this consideration that the parts to be played by the king's family, by the Court Brahmins and by the wealthy person in the consecration ceremony were laid down as shown below:
By the king’s family said, “My Lord King, will you firmly adhere to the Law which was followed by Mahāsammata, the originator of the line of good Kings in the beginning of the world?
My Lord King, will you follow the way of all good kings of this land in not giving way to anger, in promoting the prosperity of all your people, in loving all your people as you love your own children, in guarding the prosperity of all your people, in reckoning your own life as of no more value than theirs? My Lord King, will you perform only actions of honour, say only words of honour, plan only plans of honour?”
By the Court Brahmin then spoke similarly, modifying the formula, to say “to love all living creatures as you love your own children, to guard the prosperity of your people as your own and their lives as your own” and adding “will you act to bring honour to the Religion? Will you always hold to the guardianship of the Law and to listening to the words of wise counselors?”
The leader of the wealthy person completed the speech of the minister of Brahmin saying, “In taking the people’s property as taxes, will you take care that it is in accord with the law that you keep away from people who are worthless and wicked in their ignorance of the Law, and that you listen to the advice of wise scholars?”
When the consecration ceremony continued after these formulae, eight wealthy persons spoke, “Lord King, will you accept the Water of Consecration that we pour out? Will you act according to the precepts that we have spoken?
Will you collect from the people’s labour one part in ten as taxes for your use? As you enjoy the rights of kingship, will you guard the people with your law? Lord King, through your acting according to what we have said, benefits will increase, both in the present and through the ages; the royal glory will flourish like the new risen sun and the waxing moon as the days pass.
All princes of the land will come to bow their heads in full allegiance. Thieves and robbers will keep the peace. The Religion (sāsanā) will be established in brightness, not short of food and drink. While the people bring daily their gifts to the King with their blessings, he will enjoy a life passing the century.
If it is not thus, and the kingdom is not set firm according to our words, the consecration oath that is undertaken by good and upright kings is destroyed; on the sphere of the earth great storms fall, the earthquakes, the earth itself splits open and the fires of hell roar out in a blaze, crushing all to powder.
Men are destroyed and burned. In rebellions robbers and thieves set up their banners by sunlight and moonlight. Birds of the air, birds of ill-omen, witches, demons, and ghosts come upon the palace; they cause trouble and fear. Cobras and hamadryads are drawn in and devour.” This was the wealthy persons’ pronouncement.
In the ceremony of consecration that has been described, the ritual speeches offered at the present time to those who had been appointed to the leadership of the people were adapted from and modeled on those with which the people swore their faith and loyalty to the king, when Mahāsammata was raised to that rank and carried the same sense.
The point about collection of taxes according to the Law and listening to the advice of men of the Law derives from the Pā¹i “Dhammena samena rajjaṃ kāreti” -- “The King should rule in accordance with the Law”, which is the ancient customary statement.
“Most excellent king! We, the royal kindred, the Brahmin, and the wealthy person pour out the water of consecration upon you for the sake of prosperity and for our own protection. Lord King! Will you exercise your rule as King in accordance with the Law?
Will you keep a mind to serve the prosperity of us all, royal kindred, Brahmin and wealthy person, with the same loving care as you give to those of your own golden house? Will you keep a mind of kindly goodwill which is well-being?
Will you take care of us all, royal kindred, Brahmin and wealthy person? Excellent Lord King! So long as you rule in accordance with our words, it will be very well. If you fail in this, Lord King may your head shatter into seven parts!”
This custom of consecrating come from pig, thus, has said like this in the Jætaka- they consecrated Tacchasukara as their king, making him sit on a fig-tree, and sprinkling water on him from a conch shell, with its spirals turning clockwise the one the ascetic had used for drinking. Hence, the custom of seating a king on a throne of fig-wood kept up and sprinkling water from a conch shell at his coronation.
Considering what has been said above, as the general ideas of the western nations developed, the notion that the rights of royalty were the gift of an eternal God was overturned.
The belief that a popular assembly should undertake to be the guarantor of a contract of mutual observance between the State and the People became accepted and this was the general trend of affairs.
The idea of the popular assembly as the guarantor was propounded 400 years before the Christian era by the famous philosopher named Plato and his writings have been studied ever since his time.
In England in the kingdom of Wessex in about 920 AD, a form of oath is found: “Lord King! If you guard and protect us suitably to our needs, we shall maintain our faith and loyalty to you.”
The drift of this recorded oath was to set up the popular assembly to the end that the king and the people might be bound by a mutual commitment. This guarantee from the existence of a popular assembly was proposed in 1250 by St. Thomas Aquinas, in 1690 by John Locke, in 1748 by David Hume and in 1776 by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in various works.
Thus, this principle little by little grew firmer and came to prevail. In our country, from the time when the civilizing influence of the Buddhist religion entered Burma, the legend of the elevation of Mahāsammata was accepted.
Nevertheless, if it is looked at against the times when the people of the country made no advance, the kings who ruled forgot the principle and habitually identified government only with power as they drew in sustenance from the people of the land.
For a good example of this accumulation of power by ruling princes, the lineage of the Candravaṃsa (Lunar) and of the Ādiccavaṃsa (Solar) races devoted themselves to their own glory. There were some kings even who received the title of Bodhisattva. When things got to this point, it was getting pretty close to the European idea of a right conferred by an eternal God.
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