A History of the Pyu Alphabet

A History of the Pyu Alphabet (ပျူအက္ခရာသမိုင်း) is a book on the Pyu language first published in 1963 by Tha Myat.

Research
The author Tha Myat studied Indian and Southeast Asian stone inscriptions before writing the book. It took about ten years for him to understand the Pyu writing and to reveal the denotations of Pyu alphabets.

First time
The book was first published in 1963. It was published by National Publishing Works. Tha Myat presented his interpretations of the Pyu portions of the Myazedi Inscription, as well as of other Pyu inscriptions. However, because his translations lacked precision, the Burma historian G.H. Luce called them "tentative".

Second printing
The second printing of 500 copies was published in December 2011 by Gangaw Wutyee Publishing House.

Content
The book covers the Pyu alphabet and numerals, and includes Romanized transcriptions of sample ancient Pyu stone inscriptions. The book also includes Kamawa (Burmese Buddhist scriptures) and the Mangala Sutta in Pyu.

Table of contents

 * 1) Combination of vowels with consonants
 * 2) Various Forms of Alphabets
 * 3) Conjunct Consonants
 * 4) Halin Pyu
 * 5) Sri Ksetra Pyu
 * 6) Gupta Pyu
 * 7) Pyu in Roman Characters
 * 8) Hmawza Payagyigon Pyu manuscripts
 * 9) The Myazedi inscription Page(A)
 * 10) The Myazedi inscription Page(B)
 * 11) Shwesandaw Pagoda, Bagan- Pyu Manuscript
 * 12) Appendix

Language
The book's Pyu inscriptions were transcribed in modern Burmese, and at times also in the Latin alphabet. Their meaning was given in both Burmese and English.

Reception
Historian Than Tun wrote in 1963: I was surprised by Thandwe Pyu, the newest discovery of Pyu manuscript.