4. Critique

If King Srongtsan's life of 82 years, [569 CE-650 CE] as proposed and established in the study is taken as a fact, we may need to answer some questions:

Pawo Tsuglag has said that King Srongstan was 53 when his son Gungsrong was born. We do not have the years when Srongtsan received the Tibetan, Zhangzhung and Tangut Princesses. Nepalese Princess Bhrikuti came in 634 CE, when Srongtsan was 65, and Wen-chen Kong-jo started from China in 641 CE, when Srongtsan was 72. It may be said, how Srongtsan could have thought of taking multiple brides at such an advanced age. Scholar Gedhun Chophel had, in his book, Deb ther dkar po, commented that those who support 82 years as the lifespan for King Srongtsan should accept the fact that the King took a bride at 79 with a pinch of salt^[1]. But from the historical perspective, receiving princess of any foreign land could be seen more as exhibiting one's power and strengthening diplomatic relation than a marriage per se. It should not be taken in the mundane sense of marriage.

Another important aspect is the Nepalese and Chinese Princesses were venerated and accorded high respects in the Tibetan historiography. They were said to be the emanation of Goddess Tara in Green and White form [Tib: sGrol ljang and sGrol dkar]. King Srongtsan Gampo himself was believed to be the emanation of Avalokitesvara. Furthermore, inspiration behind the lengthy description of how the two queens and the king dissolved into the idol of Avalokitesvara as described in Kachem Kakholma^[2] and other texts are indicative of the sacred and platonic nature of the alliances. So, the concept of marriage in the conventional sense and age is not valid here. This would also be supported by the fact that these two queens did not have any offspring.

The scholar Gedhun Chophel also said that it is not impossible for a young man of 33 to accomplish such great deeds as King Srongtsan, presenting Alexander the Great as an example. No doubt, Alexander had conquered vast land and died young at the age of 32, but comparing him with King Srongtsan Gampo may not be appropriate. His was an ambitious passion for conquest and warfare, and many do not see his achievements in a positive light^[3]. On the other hand, King Srongtsan's deeds far exceed conquests on battlefields, and he is widely acclaimed for his positive contributions in numerous spheres, as enumerated above.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

dGe'dun chos 'phel, deb dkar, p-108 ff. [Tib: 'zum-bag cung zad dang bcas mkhas len dgos]

[2]:

bKa' chems ka khol ma, p-289 ff

[3]:

American writer Jacob Abbot has, at the conclusion of his book, Alexander the Great, writes "Alexander earned well the name and reputation of THE GREAT. He was truly great in all those powers and capacities, which can elevate one man above his fellows. We cannot help applauding the extraordinary energy of his genius, though we condemn the selfish and cruel ends to which his life was devoted. He was simply a robber, but yet a robber on so vast a scale, that mankind, in contemplating his career, have generally lost sight of the wickedness of his crime in their admiration of the enormous magnitude of the scale on which they were perpetrated."