Mangyül Gungthang (), ) alternatively known as Ngari Me (Lower Ngari) is the name of a Tibetan kingdom established under
Sakya
The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu.
Origins
Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...
overlordship in
Southwest Tibet around 1265. Historically it lies in an area that was an important transit point between the north and south Himalayas, and it was through this route that
Padmasambhava
Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...
and
Śāntarakṣita
(Sanskrit: शान्तरक्षित; , 725–788),stanford.eduŚāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)/ref> whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" was an important and influential In ...
arrived in Tibet. It was founded by a descendant of the Tibetan royal house, Bumdegon (1253–1280) It was one of the thirteen myriarchies (''khri skor bcu gsum'') ruled by a Sakya lama viceroy appointed by the
Yuan court of China.
Chökyi Drönma, the eldest daughter of Thri Lhawang Gyaltsen (1404–1464) and the first
Samding Dorje Phagmo
The Samding Dorje Phagmo () is the highest female tulku, incarnation in Tibet''The Power-places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide'', (1988) p. 268. Keith Dowman. . and the third highest-ranking person in the hierarchy after the Dalai Lama and ...
– the third highest-ranking person in the Tibetan hierarchy – hailed from the district.
The kings of Gungthang were subject to a variety of
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
n overlords down to 1620, when their kingdom was destroyed by the King of
Tsang.
The capital of the kingdom was the fortified citadel of
Dzongkar "White Fortress". After the discovery of gold in Western Tibet, it became an important link in the network of trans-Himalayan trade.
[Hildegard Diemberger, ''When a woman becomes a religious dynasty,'' pp34,38.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mangyul Gungthang
Tibetan kings