Visuddha was born Maung Hlut (မောင်လွှတ်) on 13 November 1844 in Amarapura to a prominent Burmese family. His father, U Po, was a Burmese official and son of a Sitke (Deputy Commander-in-Chief), while his mother Maine Shwe Wa, was the daughter of a high-ranking minister, the Kyauksauk Mingyi, Maha Thihathu.
The office was abolished after his death in 1938 and no successor was ever appointed. Visuddha"s father died when he was three years of age and at the age of 9, he entered monastic life as a pupil, under the tutelage of U Adicca. He was made a samanera (novice monk) at the age of 14, under U Maida, a thera.
At the age of 19, Visuddha was fully ordained as a bhikkhu.
At the age of 25, he relocated to Mandalay and placed himself under the mentorship of the Maungdaung Sayadaw, a reputed scholar on the Vinaya. He then took independent charge of a monastery whose chief donor was the Chief Queen.
In 1877, at the invitation of the Taunggwin Mingyi, the Sayadaw relocated and took charge of a group of monasteries known as the Taunggwin Kyaukdaik. The Daungdaw Sayadaw was appointed by King Thibaw Minister, the last king of the Konbaung Dynasty.
However, the Moda Sayadaw died soon afterward.
On 24 October 1903, the Taunggwin Sayadaw was announced by the Burma Gazette as the Thathanabaing, having jurisdiction over only Upper Burma. He was formally installed to his office on 13 November 1903, at a darbar held at the Thudhamma Zayat in Mandalay.
