King Alaung  Sithu  (AD 1113 - 1160)

King Alaung Sithu was the grandson of King Kyansittha, the son of his daughter Princess Shwe Ein Si and  Prince Saw Yun. Prince Alaung Sithu became the King of Bagan at the age of 23 and his reign lasted for 47 years. The regal title of King Alaung Sithu is " Thiritibuvanaditya Pavara Dhammaraja". During his reign as the king of Bagan, he built many elegant and prominent  temples, including Thabyinnyu and Shwegu-gyi. Inside these temples, Mon inscriptions become rare and gradually gave place to Burmese writing. The outstanding features which characterize in these temples are, elimination of dark chambers and deep cloves, the use of smaller size bricks, absence of Mon writings and wall paintings are executed in bright colors, introducing green and blue.
With an intention to the unity among Mon and Myanmar people, King Kyansittha bestowed the throne to Alaung Sithu, his grandson, who is of Mon-Myanmar blood (by birth).
Kyansittha gave his own son, Rajakumar, the governorship of seven mountainous districts in the Rakhine region.
 
The new king’s early years were spent repressing revolts, especially in Tenasserim and the north Arakan (Rakhine). A Pali inscription found at Mergui is the evidence that Tenasserim then paid allegiance to the Bagan monarchy. In the north, Arakan, a usurper had driven out the right­ful heir, who had fled to Bagan, where he subsequently died. His son, with Alaung Sithu’s assistance, recovered the in­heritance, and was charged by the Burmese king to discharge his debt by repairing a Buddhagaya shrine. An the inscription, still to be seen there, tells of the mission which he sent for the purpose ; and it is noteworthy that the basement images and other details of the temple are Burmese in style. Alaung Sithu travelled far and wide throughout his dominions building many works of merit; these pious pilgrimages form the main theme of the chronicles of his reign. There was apparently much disorder during his long absences from the capital. His zeal for religion found its highest expression in the noble Thatbyinnyu Temple consecrated in 1144. It stands about 500 yards from the Ananda, and with its spite rising to a height of over 200 feet from the ground is the tallest of all the Pagan monuments. Its style is similar to that of the Ananda, but there is a much greater elevation of the mass before the tapering pro­cess begins, and the position of the main shrine is thus high above the ground. The following is the glowing translation of King Alaung Sithu’s Pali prayer inscribed in the Shwegu Gyi Temple, one of the temples he built during his reign:
 

But I would build a causeway sheer athwart .
The river of Samsara (illusion), and all folk Would speed across thereby until they reach The Blessed City.
 I myself would cross And drag the drowning over.
Ay, myself Tamed, I would tame the willful ; comforted, comfort the timid; wakened, wake the asleep ;
Cool, cool the burning; freed, set free the bound.
Tranquil and led by the good doctrines I Would hatred calm.
The three immoral states, Greed, hate, delusion, rooted all in self, ’
O may they die, whenever born in me.


Legend describes that other temples and pagodas  built by King Alaung Sithu are:

Shwe Tansar Pagoda ,Shwebo.
Phaung Daw Oo Pagoda, Inlay
Phaungdaw Site  (meaning pagoda built where the royal barge berthed ) Inlay area.
Many chedis at Kekku (Shan State)
 Loi Sawng Pagoda Chedi , Shan State

In his old age King Alaung Sithu fell a victim to a court intrigue engineered by three of his sons. One of them, Narathu, murdered his father and seized the throne.