According to Indian and Tibetan legend, King Suchandra (Tib. ''Dawa Sangpo'') of the northeastern Indian Kingdom of

Shambhala In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala ( sa, शम्भल ',''Śambhala'', also ''Sambhala'', is the name of a town between the Rathaprā and Ganges rivers, identified by some with Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. In the Puranas, it is named as t ...

was the one who requested teaching from the

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...

that would allow him to practice the

dharma Dharma (; sa, धर्म, dharma, ; pi, dhamma, italic=yes) is a key concept with multiple meanings in Indian religions, such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and others. Although there is no direct single-word translation for '' ...

without renouncing his worldly enjoyments and responsibilities. In response to his request, the Buddha gave the first

Kalachakra ''Kālacakra'' () is a polysemic term in Vajrayana Buddhism that means "wheel of time" or "time cycles". "''Kālacakra''" is also the name of a series of Buddhist texts and a major practice lineage in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. The ta ...

tantra Tantra (; sa, तन्त्र, lit=loom, weave, warp) are the esoteric traditions of Hinduism and Buddhism that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian ...

initiation and teachings at

Amaravati Amaravati () is the capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the river Krishna in Guntur district. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone at a ceremonial event in Uddandar ...

, a small town in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

in southeastern

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, supposedly emanating at the same time he was also delivering the Prajñā-Pāramitā Sūtras at Vulture Peak Mountain at

Rajgir Rajgir, meaning "The City of Kings," is a historic town in the district of Nalanda in Bihar, India. As the ancient seat and capital of the Haryanka dynasty, the Pradyota dynasty, the Brihadratha dynasty and the Mauryan Empire, as well as the d ...

in North India. Along with King Suchandra, 96 minor kings and emissaries from Shambhala are also said to have received the teachings. Suchandra is considered to be an emanation of

Vajrapani (Sanskrit; Pali: Vajirapāṇi, meaning, "Vajra in ishand") is one of the earliest-appearing bodhisattvas in Mahayana Buddhism. He is the protector and guide of Gautama Buddha and rose to symbolize the Buddha's power. Vajrapāni is also c ...

, and a

bodhisattva In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...

on the 10th ground. By practicing the Kalachakra, the whole of Shambhala became an enlightened society, with Suchandra as the ruler. King Suchandra wrote down the Kalachakra teachings he received, composing the 12,000-verse "Mula" or root text, which has not survived. He also built a huge three-dimensional Kalachakra mandala in the center of the kingdom. Suchandra is said to have died only two years after receiving the teachings. The six kings who followed him were known as "dharmarajas" or "truth kings," and each is said to have reigned for over 100 years. The twenty-five rulers that follow them are known as

Kalki Kalki ( sa, कल्कि), also called Kalkin or Karki, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of exist ...

kings.

Tāranātha's version

From the website www.kalachakra.org (by Kalachakra scholar Edward Smith): ″The following is taken from "dpal dus kyi 'khor lo'i chos bskor gyi byung khungs nyer mkho", by Tāranātha: On the full moon of the month Caitra in the year following his enlightenment, at the great stupa of Dhānyakaṭaka (), the Buddha emanated the mandala of "The Glorious Lunar Mansions". In front of an audience of countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, vīras, ḍākinīs, the twelve great gods, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, spirits and fortunate people gathered from the 960 million villages north of the river Śītā, was requested by the emanation of Vajrapani, the king Sucandra (zla ba bzang po), to teach the tantra. He taught not just this tantra, but all tantras. Countless men and non-humans achieved the realisations of their desires. Some teachings were taken to other human realms, and the Dharma king Sucandra wrote the Tantras in textual form in his land of Sambhala. He composed the explanatory Tantra in 60,000 verses to the Mūlatantra of 12,000. (Both of these are now lost.) He had divine workers construct from jewels a maṇḍala palace of Kālacakra, 400 cubits across. He taught the mantrayāna to many humans and many of them achieved the highest realisation. In the second year after the teaching of the Mūlatantra, having installed as regent his son, the emanation of Kṣitigarbha, Sureshvara (lha'i dbang po), he passed on. After him came other emanations of tenth level Bodhisattvas: Sureśvara (lha dbang), Tejī (), Somadatta (zla bas byin), Sureśvara (lha'i dbang phyug), Viśvamūrti () and Sureśāna (lha'i dbang ldan). They also spread the teachings as did Sucandra.″ {{cite web, last1=Hennig, first1=Edward, url=http://www.kalacakra.org/history/khistor2.htm , title=The history of the Kālacakra tradition in Sambhala and India , website=www.kalacakra.org, accessdate=24 July 2017

References

Indian Buddhists History of Buddhism Indian Buddhist monarchs Bodhisattvas

Tāranātha's version

See also

References