Yazakumar was the titular governor of north 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...

 during the reign of his father King Kyansittha

Kyansittha

Kyansittha was king of Pagan dynasty of Burma from 1084 to 1113, and is considered one of the greatest Burmese monarchs. He continued the social, economic and cultural reforms begun by his father, King Anawrahta. Pagan became an internationally recognized power during his 28-year reign...

 of the Pagan Dynasty of Myanmar

Myanmar

Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

 (Burma). He is best known for the Myazedi inscription

Myazedi inscription

Myazedi inscription , inscribed in 1113, is the oldest surviving stone inscription of the Burmese. "Myazedi" means "jade stupa" , and the name of the inscription comes from a pagoda located nearby...

 of 1113, which he donated in his father's honor. The stone inscription has scholarly significance because it allowed the deciphering of the Pyu language

Pyu language

Pyu language may refer to:*Pyu language , Papua New Guinea, different from Piu*Pyu language , ancient...

.

Early life

Yazakumar was born to Thanbula and Kyansittha circa 1078 at Kyaungbyu. Kyansittha was a former general of the Pagan army who had been sent to exile by his father King Anawrahta

Anawrahta

Anawrahta Minsaw was the founder of the Pagan Empire. Considered the father of the Burmese nation, Anawrahta turned a small principality in the dry zone of Upper Burma into the first Burmese Empire that formed the basis of modern-day Burma...

 for his affair with Anawrahta's young queen Manisanda

Manisanda

Manisanda Khin U was queen to three consecutive kings of Pagan dynasty of Burma in the late 11th century. The ethnic Mon queen is famous in Burmese history for her love triangle with Gen. Kyansittha and King Anawrahta...

. In 1077, Anawrahta died, and Kyansittha was recalled to the capital by Sawlu

Sawlu

Sawlu was king of Pagan dynasty from 1077 to 1084. He inherited from his father Anawrahta the Pagan Empire, the first ever unified kingdom of Burma but proved an inexperienced ruler. In 1084, he faced a rebellion in Lower Burma, and was captured and killed.-Early life:Sawlu was born in 1039 to...

 to run the kingdom. Thanbula was pregnant with Yazakumar remained at Kyaungbyu. At Pagan, Kyansittha was sent into exile again—this time to Dala

Dala Township

Dala Township is located on the southern bank of Yangon river across from downtown Yangon, Myanmar. The township, consisted of 23 wards, is bounded by the Yangon river in the north and east, the Twante Canal in the west, and Twante Township in the south...

 (modern Yangon

Yangon

Yangon is a former capital of Burma and the capital of Yangon Region . Although the military government has officially relocated the capital to Naypyidaw since March 2006, Yangon, with a population of over four million, continues to be the country's largest city and the most important commercial...

) for renewing his affair with Manisanda.

In 1084, Kyansittha ascended to the Pagan throne but had forgotten about his wife and child at Kyaungbyu. When Thanbula found out that Kyansittha was king, she brought their son to Pagan, along with the ring that Kyansittha had given her as proof. The king was surprised to see them. Kyansittha had already word that his grandson Alaungsithu

Alaungsithu

Alaungsithu or Sithu I was king of Pagan Dynasty of Burma from 1113 to 1167. Sithu's reign was a prosperous one in which Pagan was an integral part of in-land and maritime trading networks...

 would be king because he thought he had no son. A remorseful Kyansittha made Yazakumar the titular head of north Arakan and seven hill districts.

Myazedi inscription

Though passed over for the throne, Yazakumar never showed any disappointment. He spent his life with donating his inheritance for his mother's merit. He donated many temples in honor of his parents. He commissioned the Myazedi inscription as his father lay dying in bed. The inscription dated 1113 was written in four languages: Pyu

Pyu language

Pyu language may refer to:*Pyu language , Papua New Guinea, different from Piu*Pyu language , ancient...

, Burmese

Burmese language

The Burmese language is the official language of Burma. Although the constitution officially recognizes it as the Myanmar language, most English speakers continue to refer to the language as Burmese. Burmese is the native language of the Bamar and related sub-ethnic groups of the Bamar, as well as...

, Mon

Mon language

The Mon language is an Austroasiatic language spoken by the Mon, who live in Burma and Thailand. Mon, like the related language Cambodian—but unlike most languages in Mainland Southeast Asia—is not tonal. Mon is spoken by more than a million people today. In recent years, usage of Mon has...

, and Pali

Pali language

Pāli is a Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is best known as the language of many of the earliest extant Buddhist scriptures, as collected in the Pāi Canon or Tipitaka, and as the liturgical language of Theravada Buddhism.-Etymology of the name:The word Pali itself...

, which all tell the story of Yazakumar and his father Kyansittha. The primary importance of the Myazedi inscription is that it allowed for the deciphering of the written Pyu.