Kanyaza Gyi
Kanyaza Gyi was the legendary founder of the Second Danyawaddy Dynasty of Arakan. According to Hmanan Yazawin, Kanyaza Gyi was the eldest son of King Abhiyaza of Tagaung, a prince of the Sakya clan of the Buddha who came from the ancient kingdom of Kosala. After his father died in 825 CE, Kanyaza Gyi lost out the throne to his younger brother Kanyaza Nge. He left Tagaung with his followers. He eventually settled at the abandoned capital of Danyawaddy in present-day Rakhine State, and founded the Second Danyawaddy Dynasty.
The story of Abhiyaza, Kanyaza Gyi and Kanyaza Nge appeared for the first time in an official Burmese royal chronicle only in 1832, part of the efforts by the early Konbaung kings to promote a more orthodox version of Theravada Buddhism. The Abhiyaza story linked the Burmese monarchy to the Buddha and superseded then prevailing pre-Buddhist origin story involving one Pyusawhti, son of a solar spirit and a dragon princess.
