Ma Nyi Kan-Kaung was the youngest of three children of Prince Min Linka of Pegu (Bago) and his wife Mwei Daw.
In 1353, the entire family was brought to the capital Martaban (Mottama) where Binnya U had Linka executed, and raised Mwei Daw as his latest queen.
[2] Then in early 1364, a palace coup drove the royal family to Donwun, a small town about 100 kilometres (62 mi) north of Martaban where they stayed until 1369.
According to the Razadarit Ayedawbon chronicle, her last request to Binnya U on her death bed was for U not to punish Kan-Kaung for his father's sins; she died after the king granted her wish.
Then in May 1383, his 15-year-old maternal half-brother Prince Binnya Nwe came to Dagon (modern downtown Yangon) with a plan to raise a rebellion.
[6] The young prince had been deeply dissatisfied with his ailing father, as well as with his adoptive mother Princess Maha Dewi, the de facto power.
He initially provided over 300 troops and war elephants[8] before personally joining Nwe's camp at Dagon with additional men.
The new king promptly had his brother-in-law Maru executed,[12] and ordered his paternal half-brother Baw Ngan-Mohn imprisoned.
Although his name is not explicitly listed as a Hanthawaddy commander in the chronicles, he presumably led the defense of his district in 1385–1387 when the northern Ava forces invaded the southern country to oust Razadarit.
[15] Dala was part of the defense line that stopped numerically superior Ava forces from advancing to Pegu.