Uttara
Mon · mortal · Mon traditional religion; continuing · Recorded classification
Uttara is the companion of Soṇa in the mission to Suvaṇṇabhūmi, the pair invariably named together in the Pali chronicles and in the Mon epigraphic tradition. He shares in the subduing of the child-devouring sea-ogress and the founding of the ordination lineage that the Mon claim as their own. The names of the two theras were later invoked by King Dhammazedi in the Kalyāṇī Inscriptions to authenticate the Mon monastic succession he restored at Pegu.
Domains
- buddhist missionary
Powers
- preach the Brahmajāla to the converted land
Epithets
- Thera of Suvaṇṇabhūmi — Elder who converted the Golden LandThe Mahāvaṃsa (Geiger trans., 1912), ch. XII (primary)
Relations
- companion: SonaThe two theras were sent together and are always named as a pair.Wilhelm Geiger (trans.), The Mahāvaṃsa (Pali Text Society, 1912), ch. XII (primary)
Sources
- Uttara accompanied Soṇa as co-missionary to Suvaṇṇabhūmi, a foundation legend central to Mon Buddhist identity.: Wilhelm Geiger (trans.), The Mahāvaṃsa (Pali Text Society, 1912), ch. XII (primary); Taw Sein Ko, 'The Kalyāṇī Inscriptions', Indian Antiquary (1892–1893) (primary)