Sidkeong

Tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. High-profile examples ...

Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''srid skyong sprul sku rnam rgyal'') (1879–5 December 1914) was the ruling

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, a ...

and Chogyal of

Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Silig ...

for a brief period in 1914, from 10 February to 5 December.

Biography

He was the second son of Maharaja Sri Panch Sir Thutob Namgyal, and was educated at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling and at Pembroke College, Oxford. A

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

, he was learned in

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

, Lepcha, Nepali and Tibetan. He was recognised as the reincarnation (''

tulku A ''tulku'' (, also ''tülku'', ''trulku'') is a reincarnate custodian of a specific lineage of teachings in Tibetan Buddhism who is given empowerments and trained from a young age by students of his or her predecessor. High-profile examples ...

'') of his uncle, Sidkeong Namgyal, the abbot of Phodong Monastery. Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal reconstructed the monastery. After his education in Oxford, he returned to Sikkim where he was closely associated with the administration of the country. He worked to dissolve the greed that occurs in vested interests and tried to unify Buddhists by renovating monasteries and their roles. When Alexandra David-Néel was invited to the royal monastery of

, she met Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, at that time Maharaj Kumar (crown prince). She became Sidkeong's "confidante and spiritual sister".

Engaged to Burmese princess

Sidkeong and Princess

Hteiktin Ma Lat Princess Limbin Hteiktin Ma Lat ( my, ထိပ်တင်မလတ်; 13 October 1894 – 1965), also Tin Tin Ma Lat, was a princess of Burma and one of the senior members of the Royal House of Konbaung. Biography Hteiktin Ma Lat was born o ...

of Limbin then began a regular correspondence. Prince Limbin (Ma Lat's father) and his family soon returned to Burma (to live in Rangoon) and Sidkeong visited them there in 1912. By then they had agreed to get married, the British having secured Limbin's approval. The wedding was initially set for 1913 but then delayed because of the king of Sikkim Thutob Namgyal (Sidkeong's father's) deteriorating health. In February 1914 the old king died, Sidkeong became king, and his wedding to Ma Lat was set for 10 February 1915. The two exchanged many letters expressing their love for one another and how much they looked forward to a life together.

Death

In December 1914, Sidkeong was found dead in his bedroom, apparently of heart failure, aged 35, in what the British described as 'mysterious circumstances'. He was succeeded by his younger brother, Tashi Namgyal.

Palden Thondup Namgyal Palden Thondup Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''dpal-ldan don-grub rnam-rgyal'') (23 May 1923 – 29 January 1982) was the 12th and last Chogyal (king) of the Kingdom of Sikkim. Biography Palden thondup Namgyal was born on 23 May 1923 at the ...

was subsequently recognised as the reincarnate leader of Phodong.Lawrence Epstein, Richard Sherburne, Reflections on Tibetan culture: essays in memory of Turrell V. Wylie, E. Mellen Press, 1990; , ; p. 61

Titles

*1879 - 1899:

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal *1899 - 1911:

Maharajkumar Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...

Panch Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal *1911 - 1914: Maharajkumar Sri Panch Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal, CIE *1914:

His Highness Highness (abbreviation HH, oral address Your Highness) is a formal style used to address (in second person) or refer to (in third person) certain members of a reigning or formerly reigning dynasty. It is typically used with a possessive adject ...

Sri Panch Sikeong Tulku Namgyal,

Chogyal of

, CIE

Honours

British Empire * Delhi Durbar Medal, ''1 January 1903''. * Delhi Durbar Medal, ''11 December 1911''. *CIE:

Companion of the Order of the Indian Empire The Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria on 1 January 1878. The Order includes members of three classes: #Knight Grand Commander (GCIE) #Knight Commander ( KCIE) #Companion ( CIE) No appoi ...

, ''12 December 1911''.

Ancestry

Notes

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Namgyal, Sidkeong Tulku Indian maharajas 20th-century Indian monarchs Tulkus Monarchs of Sikkim Companions of the Order of the Indian Empire 1879 births 1914 deaths