page_title: Saw Mon Hla
section_title: Spiritual life
hierarchical_section_title: Saw Mon Hla / Spiritual life
caption_attribution_description: English: Saw Mon Hla was the chief queen of King Anawrahta of Pagan. She is known in Burmese history for her beauty and her eventual exile instigated by other rival queens.
context_page_description: Saw Mon Hla was a principal queen of King Anawrahta of Pagan. She is known in Burmese history for her beauty and her eventual exile instigated by other rival queens. Her story is still part of popular Burmese theater, and she is portrayed as a sad romantic figure.
  The queen was daughter of the saopha of Maw Shan State, located between Pagan and Nanzhao Kingdom. The native stories of Hsipaw and Hsenwi claim Saw Mon Hla as their princess.
  Circa 1058, Anawrahta led an expedition to Nanzhao. After his return from Nanzhao expedition, the king was presented with Saw Mon Hla by the chief of Maw Shan State presented his daughter. At Pagan, Saw Mon Hla quickly became the king's favorite queen.
context_section_description: Some people believe Sao Mon Hla, who died at her home near Hsipaw, along with her brother, became an guardian Nat (spirit) who protect the Pagan-style pagoda to present day. There is a Nat shrine near the Shwesayan Pagoda, which has a statue of Sao Mon Hla and her brother. Some people believe it is a shrine for the spirits and that if they make offerings, the spirits will bless them. Paying respect to the spirits of Sao Mon Hla and her brother at Shwe Sar Yan Pagoda has drawn more visitors than other pagoda festivals.
caption: Saw Mon Hla statue in the shrine
exif: {"Image Make": "Apple", "Image Model": "iPhone 7 Plus", "Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Software": "12.1", "Image DateTime": "2018:12:22 18:27:06", "Image TileWidth": "512", "Image TileLength": "512", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/22", "EXIF FNumber": "9/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "40", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2018:12:22 18:27:06", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2018:12:22 18:27:06", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "55758/12545", "EXIF ApertureValue": "54823/32325", "EXIF BrightnessValue": "36815/12451", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "399/100", "EXIF SubjectArea": "[2015, 1511, 2217, 1330]", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "357", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "357", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "1536", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "2754", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "28", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[4183519/1048501, 33/5, 9/5, 14/5]", "EXIF LensMake": "Apple", "EXIF LensModel": "iPhone 7 Plus back dual camera 3.99mm f/1.8"}