We Gyaltore Taknye (, "''Dba'as'' clan noble leader Toré" ? – 842), also known as Wa Taknachen ( "Tiger-Ear of the ''Dba'as'' clan), was the last '' Lönchen'' of the

Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (, ; ) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of imperial expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. The empire further expanded under the 38 ...

. In Chinese records, his name was given as Jié Dūnà (). He was appointed as '' Lönchen'' during

Ralpacan Tritsuk Detsen (), better known by his nickname Ralpachen () (c. 806 CE–838), according to traditional sources, was the 41st king of the Yarlung Dynasty of Tibet. He reigned after the death of his father, Sadnalegs, in c. 815, and grew the emp ...

's reign. Ralpacan indulged in Buddhism religion, leaving all his political affairs to the Banchenpo (Monk Minister)

Dranga Palkye Yongten Dranga Palkye Yongten (, ? – ?), also known as Dranga Yongten or Yongten, was a Buddhist monk of Tibetan Empire. He served as '' Banchenpo'' (, "Monk Minister") during Ralpacan's reign. He was friendly to Tang China, and signed a peace treaty b ...

to deal with. Gyaltore had no actual power, and he was hostile to Buddhism. He told Ralpacan that Yongten fornicated with the queen (see also

Karmamudrā Karmamudrā (Sanskrit; "action seal," Tibetan: ''las-kyi phyag-rgya''; commonly misspelled as: kāmamudrā or "desire seal") is a Vajrayana Buddhist technique which makes use of sexual union with a physical or visualized consort as well as the ...

), made Ralpacan very angry. Yongten was so frightened. He fled from the capital, but soon was captured and executed. After this, Gyaltore became the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

'' ruler of Tibet. He murdered Ralpacan in the palace, in 838, and installed

Langdarma Darma Udumtsen (), better known by his nickname Langdarma (, "Mature Bull" or "Dharma the Bull") was most likely the last Tibetan Emperor who most likely reigned from 838 to 841 CE. Early sources call him Tri Darma "King Dharma". His domain e ...

as the new king. According to traditional accounts, during the first two years of his rule, Langdarma remained a Buddhist, but under the influence of Gyaltore, the king became a follower of

Bon ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...

. Many Buddhist monks or supporters were exiled or killed during this time; thousands of Buddhist temples were torn down and sacred texts were thrown into water. Langdarma was assassinated by a Buddhist monk named

Lhalung Pelgyi Dorje Lhalung Palgyi Dorje ( bo, ལྷ་ལུང་དཔལ་གྱི་རྡོ་རྗེ། Wylie: ''lha lung dpal gyi rdo rje'') was a Tibetan Buddhist monk who assassinated the Tibetan Emperor Langdarma in 842 CE. Palgyi Dorje was Padmasa ...

in 842. Langdarma had two sons: Tride Yumten by his first wife Nanamsa and Namde Ösung by his second wife. It was said that Tride Yumten was a fake prince, Nanamsa bought him from a beggar. Yumten was installed by Nanamsa, Gyaltore and many ministers refused to recognize him. Then, Gyaltore was captured and executed. Civil war broke out between the two princes which eventually led to the

Era of Fragmentation The Era of Fragmentation (; ) was an era of disunity in Tibetan history lasting from the death of the Tibetan Empire's last emperor, Langdarma, in 842 until Drogön Chögyal Phagpa became the Imperial Preceptor of the three provinces of Tibet ...

in Tibet. In Tibetan Buddhist culture, He was said to be the incarnation of

Preta Preta ( sa, प्रेत, bo, ཡི་དྭགས་ ''yi dags''), also known as hungry ghost, is the Sanskrit name for a type of supernatural being described in Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Chinese folk religion as undergoing suffer ...

with monkey head and tiger ears.

References

''Old Tibetan Chronicle'', P.T. 1287
{{DEFAULTSORT:We Gyaltore Taknye 9th-century Tibetan people 842 deaths People of the Tibetan Empire