Bodawpaya (Burmese: ဘိုးတော်ဘုရား, pronounced [bódɔ̀ pʰəjá]; Thai: ปดุง; 11 March 1745 – 5 June 1819) was the sixth king of the Konbaung dynasty of Burma.

Born Maung Shwe Waing and later Badon Min, he was the fourth son of Alaungpaya, founder of the dynasty and the Third Burmese Empire.

[1] Also known as Bodaw U Waing, he invaded Arakan in 1784 sending his royal armies led by his son, the Heir Apparent Thado Minsaw, across the Western Yoma range of mountains.

The Mahamuni Buddha image, among other treasures such as the Khmer bronze statues, were brought back to mainland Burma; these can still be seen in Mandalay.

The Arakanese revolted in 1794, and the British Governor of India Sir John Shore (later Lord Teignmouth) sent Captain Michael Symes on an embassy, fully equipped to gather as much information as possible about the country, to the Court of Ava as the kingdom was still known to the outside world.

[2][3] The Governor of Tavoy revolted in 1791 with the aid of the Siamese, but a punitive expedition sent by Bodawpaya by sea laid siege ending in peace negotiations in 1793 and the ceding of the Tenasserim coast to the Burmese.

[7][8] During his reign, scholarship flourished due to the discipline and stability achieved by establishing a chapter of Sangharajas or senior monks charged with the responsibility of safeguarding the purity of the Sangha.

During his reign Bodawpaya also proved to be a great patron of the performing arts; he appointed a minister called Thabin Wun (သဘင်ဝန်), and established strict regulations by royal decree (အမိန့်တော် a meint daw).