He reluctantly gave up the throne at the urging of his wife Princess Hnin U Yaing, who had lobbied for their eldest son's accession.
Based on the reporting of the chronicle Razadarit Ayedawbon, it can be inferred that Bala married Hnin U Yaing, the younger sister of Ma Gadu, c.
[note 1] Bala and U Yaing became a powerful couple in the following dozen years by being close to Gadu, who went on to carve out a largely independent polity based out of the three Mon-speaking regions of Lower Burma by 1296.
[2] (Supported by the Siamese kingdom of Sukhothai, Gadu, styled as Wareru, formally declared independence from Pagan in 1287, and had gained control of Lower Burma by the mid-1290s.
In March 1311, Bala and Hnin U Yaing seized the Martaban throne while Law was on an elephant hunting trip near Moulmein (Mawlamyaing).
But his wife objected, saying that Bala was too old already, and that their eldest son Saw O, as nephew of Wareru, would stand a better chance at gaining the support of the vassals.