The future king was born Maung Ywa () to Aung Zeya and Yun San in Moksobo, a large village in the Mu river valley located about 60 miles northwest of Ava, on 12 September 1736.
Ywa grew up during the period in which the authority of King Mahadhammaraza Dipadi of Toungoo Dynasty had largely dissipated across the kingdom.