Princess Thonbanhla

This article is about the Taungnyo princess and nat (deity). For the sister of Mahagiri, see Thonbanhla.
Princess Thonbanhla
Princess of Taungnyo Kingdom
Statue of Princess Thonbanhla in her shrine at Hmawza.
BornTaungnyo (near present-day Nattalin) or Hanthawaddy
DiedNear Let-the Yay-Kan ("Claw Lake") or outside the walls of Sri Ksetra
Burial
Let-the Yay-Kan ("Claw Lake")
ReligionBuddhism

Princess Thonbanhla (Burmese: သုံးပန်လှ မင်းသမီး; lit. 'beautiful in three ways' or 'Three Times Beautiful') is a Burmese nat (deity). According to tradition, she was either Shin Saw Phyu Hteikhta, the younger sister of the ruler of Taungnyo, or a commoner from a small village. Renowned for her beauty, she was sent as a queen-designate to King Duttabaung of Sri Ksetra. Following her rejection by the king, she is said to have died of sorrow and shame.

Her story is often conflated with that of Thonbanhla, a member of the official pantheon of 37 nats. As the two figures share the same name, oral traditions occasionally merge them; the biography of the nat Thonbanhla sometimes mistakenly incorporates the narrative of Princess Thonbanhla.

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