Shwe Nawrahta is one of the 37 nats

Nat (spirit)

The nats are spirits worshipped in Burma in conjunction with Buddhism. They are divided between the 37 Great Nats and all the rest . Almost all of the 37 Great Nats were human beings who met violent deaths . They may thus also be called nat sein...

 in the Burmese pantheon of nats. He is the merged personalities of two historic Nawrahtas. The first source is Anawrahta of Ava, son in law of King Minkhaung I

Minkhaung I

Minkhaung I of Ava was the fourth king of Ava from 1401 to 1422. Minkhaung is best remembered in Burmese history for his epic struggles against King Razadarit of Hanthawaddy Pegu in the Forty Years' War , and for being the father of Crown Prince Minyekyawswa, who did most of the fighting.Minkhaung...

 of Ava. Anawrahta was appointed governor of Arakan

Rakhine State

Rakhine State is a Burmese state. Situated on the western coast, it is bordered by Chin State in the north, Magway Region, Bago Region and Ayeyarwady Region in the east, the Bay of Bengal to the west, and the Chittagong Division of Bangladesh to the northwest. It is located approximately between...

 in 1406, and later married to the king's daughter Saw Pye Chantha. In 1407, Razadarit's Hanthawaddy

Hanthawaddy Kingdom

The Hanthawaddy Kingdom was the dominant kingdom that ruled lower Burma from 1287 to 1539. The Mon-speaking kingdom was founded as Ramannadesa by King Wareru following the collapse of the Pagan Empire in 1287 as a nominal vassal state of Sukhothai Kingdom, and of the Mongol Yuan dynasty...

 troops captured Launggyet (Arakan's then capital), and took Anawrahta and Saw Pye Chantha prisoner to Pathein. On arrival, Anawrahta was executed, and his wife passed into Razadarit's harem as a full queen. The second source is Nawrahta of Yamethin, grandson of King Minkhaung II

Minkhaung II

Minkhaung II was the twelfth king of Ava who reigned from 1481 to 1502. His 20-year reign was the beginning of the decline of Ava's hold on Upper Burma. Yamethin, a region to the east of Ava, revolted upon Minkhaung's ascension to the Ava throne and stayed independent throughout Minkhaung's reign...

 of Ava

Ava Kingdom

The Ava Kingdom was the dominant kingdom that ruled upper Burma from 1364 to 1555. Founded in 1364, the kingdom was the successor state to the petty kingdoms that had ruled central Burma since the collapse of Pagan Empire in the late 13th century...

 (Innwa). In 1502, he ordered his servant Nga Thaukkya to assassinate the new king Shwenankyawshin

Shwenankyawshin

Shwenankyawshin Narapati was the last sovereign king of Ava who reigned 25 tumultuous years between 1502 and 1527. A confederation of Shan states led by Mohnyin continued their relentless attacks, and gradually absorbed Avan territory from the north, while their ally Prome took Avan territory in...

. Thaukkya's attempt failed; he was caught and put to death. Nawrahta lived in the palace so he was easily caught; being of royal blood, he was drowned.

Shwe Nawrahta is portrayed sitting with one knee raised upon a simple throne, holding a gu lee

Polo

Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...

ball in one hand and a gu lee stick in the other.