2. The Three Traditional Theories

There are several theories relating to the origin and the times of this first King of Tibet. Tibetan scholars and historians have broadly categorized these theories on the basis of three traditional accounts: bsGrags pa bon lugs, gSang ba chos lugs and Yang gsang The'u rang lugs. Although this categorization is sometime different^[1] in some other texts, we shall discuss this as above. bsGrags pa bon lugs means Bon tradition. It proclaims that the origin of Nyatri Tsanpo is traced to the genealogy of native Bon god Yablha Daldrug [Tib:Yab lha bdal drug]. gSang ba chos lugs means Secret Buddhist tradition and the origin of the king was attributed to the Shakya lineage of Indian kings and Mahabharata epic. Yang gsang the' u rang lugs means ultra-secret tradition of theurang [Tib: The'u rang] origin is that the king was said to be of Theurang [Goblin race] from sPu region of Tibet. This categorization is said to have come around mid 12th century drawing its legitimacy from the ancient manuscript of Can nga, also known as Bod kyi yig tsang^[2]. 12th century text lDeu' chos 'byung and 15th century text bShad mzod have reproduced these theories in length. Karmay Samten feels the terminologies used are creation of later Buddhist scholars, "which do not have any intrinsic meaning"^[3]. But the categorization is useful to understand the diverse theories on the origin of the king under three popular versions. There are some authoritative texts and scriptures, both Buddhist and Bon, in which sGrags pa Bon lugs of Yablha Daldrug and gSang ba chos lugs of Shakya lineage versions were amalgamated and adapted them to come up with a mutually acceptable theory.

To have an overall view of the theories pertaining to the origin of the first King of Tibet, let us first take a brief note of the three traditional accounts as presented in lDe'u chos 'byung^[4] and bShad mzod yid bzhin nor bu¹³⁰. As presented earlier, the title is little different, while the former has mentioned Bon tradition as secret and Buddhist as proclaimed, the latter has it otherwise. bsGrags pa Bon lugs, the Bon tradition here talks about the King coming from the Gods of thirtythird stages of heaven. A common Bon theory of the creation of the universe and the origin of the Bonpo gods by Phya Yekhen Chenpo [Tib:Phyva ye mkhyen chen po] have been narrated. There are two golden and two turquoise flowers, whereas in other sources, there is an account of a cosmic egg. Nyatri Tsanpo has been shown as the great-grandson of Bon god Yablha Daldrug residing in thirteenth stages of heaven. His father Khri bar gyi bdun tshig was sent to the land of rMu where he lived with the eldest daughter Dre rmu dre tsan mo of the Lord of rMu and Nyatri Tsanpo was born. Nyatri Tsanpo descended to the Mount Lha ri gyang tho to become the king of Tibet. He built the fort Yun bu bla sgang, defeated the king of Sumpa shang and took over the twelve regions of Tibet.

The Buddhist tradition of gSang ba chos lugs traces the origin of the first Tibetan King to Indian kings of Shakya lineage of Suryavamsa. It purports that there were three Shakya lineages. First was the Great Shakya, whose lineage stopped after Rahula [Buddha's son]. Second, the Licchavi which had three or five lineages: Kosala's King bSal rgyal [Parasenjit], Vatsa's King 'Char byed [Udayana], and Magadha's King gZugs can snying po [Bimbisara]. Third, the Shakya Ri brag pa which had two lineages: King dMag brgya pa and sKyab sen ge, notably the Kaurava and the Pandava of Indian epic Mahabharata. It was from the second and the third Shakya lineages that the Tibetan scholars tried to derive the origin of Nyatri Tsanpo. Between the two, the third version was more popular and established. It conveys the understanding that when the Pandava defeated the Kaurava force in Mahabharata battle, the 99th son of Dritrashtra [of Kaurava, dMag brgya pa], Rupakye [Tib:Rupa skyes] was spared and cast into the Ganges River. A cattle herder of King Bimbisara found him and informed the King. Bimbisara knew the sacred prophecy relating to Rupa skyes and revered him. When the sKyab seng ge brothers also came to know about the divine nature of Rupakye, they came to take him back. Fearing that the sKyab seng ge brothers would kill him, Rupakye fled to Tibet where he met the twelve wise men and six clans of Tibet. When Rupakye pointed his finger to the sky, people believed that he came from heaven and made him their king and named him Nyatri Tsanpo [Tib:gNya' khri tsan po].

Yang gsang The'u brang lugs: Here the King was said to be of The'u rang origin. The'u rang^[5] is a non-human being; the closest English translation is spirit beings. In the land of sPu, nine Thebrang brothers were born to Mo mo btsun. The youngest Ma snya au bera, who could cover his face with his tongue and whose hands were webbed, was very powerful and mischievous. He was banished to Tibet. People in Tibet who were looking for a King met him, when they came to know about his magical power, they carried him on a throne on their shoulder and proclaimed him as their King and named him Nyatri Tsanpo.

This is a brief account of the origin of the first king of Tibet, Nyatri Tsanpo as recorded in the lDeu chos 'byung and bShad mzod. The accounts are said to be part of Can lnga of ancient Tibetan manuscript. A similar categorization can be found in the Tunhuang document^[6]. These three accounts are the main theories around which most of the other theories revolve around. We shall find variations here and there but it will stick to the three main stances of the origin as one coming from heaven, Indian lineage and the Theurang theory. We shall also find theories both in Bon and Buddhist writings in which both the native Bon and Indian theories were accommodated to present a mutually acceptable theory, which has in fact contributed to further confuse the veracity of the origin of the king.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

lde'u chos 'byung has "gSang grags yang sangs", with Bon theory as gsang ba -secret, Buddhist theory as grags pa -superior and The brang theory as yang gsang -ultra-secret. bShad mzod has Buddhist as gsang ba and Bon as grags pa. Nyang ral has referred to the Bon theory as sGrags pa -well known or established.

[2]:

Samten Karmay, The Arrow and the Spindle, p-282, p-308.

[3]:

Samten Karmay, The Arrow and the Spindle, p-294

[4]:

It is a 12th century text written by Geshe lDe'u, based on Rinchen pung pa, can lnga, lo-rgyus chen mo by Khu ston btson 'grus of 11th century etc. It was edited and some commentary made by mKhas pa Jonama and further explanation added by another scholar in early 13th century. This is reflected in the text and in Blue annals. [Khas pa lDe'u, rGya bod kyi chos 'byung rgyas pa, page -xv, Institute of Tibetan Classics, 2013]¹³⁰ Authored by Don dam sma ba'i sengs ge, a 15th century Tibetan Compendium of Knowledge

[5]:

It is spelled differently as The brang, The-brang, the'u rang, the rang etc. We shall use The'u rang as in Nyang ral work.

[6]:

'Bri gung skyab mgon, Bod btsan-po rgyal-rabs, P1038,0001-18, p-64.