Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651) was a Tibetan Buddhist lama and the unifier of Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

 as a nation state. In addition to unifying the various warring fiefdoms for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought to create a distinctly Bhutanese cultural identity

Culture of Bhutan

Cradled in the folds of the Himalayas, Bhutan has relied on its geographic isolation to protect itself from outside cultural influences. A sparsely populated country bordered by India to the south and China to the north, Bhutan has long maintained a policy of strict isolationism, both culturally...

, separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived.

Birth and enthronement at Ralung

Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal was born at Ralung

Ralung Monastery

Ralung Monastery , located in the Tsang region of western Tibet, south of the Karo La , is the traditional seat of the Drukpa order of Tibetan Buddhism...

, Tibet as the son of the Drukpa lineage holder Mipham Tenpai Nyima (1567-1619), and Sonam Pelkyi Butri , daughter of the ruler of Kyisho in Tibet. On his father's side Ngawang Namgyal descended from the family line of Drogon Tsangpa Gyare

Tsangpa Gyare

The great ascetic Drogon Tsangpa Gyare was the main disciple of Lingchen Repa Pema Dorj and the founder of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism the main or central branch of which was, until the 17th Century, transmitted by his hereditary family lineage at Ralung in the Tsang region of western...

 (1161–1211), the founder of the Drukpa Lineage. In his youth Ngawang Namgyal was enthroned as the Eighteenth Drukpa or throne-holder and "hereditary prince" of the traditional Drukpa seat and estate of Ralung

Ralung Monastery

Ralung Monastery , located in the Tsang region of western Tibet, south of the Karo La , is the traditional seat of the Drukpa order of Tibetan Buddhism...

  and recognized there as the immediate reincarnation of the FourthDepending on whether or not Tsangpa Gyare is enumerated in the list of Gyalwang Drukchen incarnations, Kunkhyen Pema Karpo is either the fourth or the fifth Drukchen, and Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal or Pagsam Wangpo counted as the fifth or sixth. Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal's biography and some other Bhutanese & Ralung sources do not enumerate Tsangpa Gyare as the first Drukchen incarnation but instead count Gyalwang Je Kunga Paljor (1428-1476) as the first. Gyalwang Drukchen

Gyalwang Drukpa

The Gyalwang Drukpa or Drukchen are a line of re-incarnate lamas or tulku who are the head of the Drukpa school, one of the independent Sarma schools of Tibetan Buddhism...

 , the "Omniscient" Pema Karpo  (1527-1592).

His recognition and enthronement at Ralung as the Gyalwang Drukchen incarnation was however opposed by Lhatsewa Ngawang Zangpo, an influential follower of Drukchen Pema Karpo, who promoted the recognition of a rival candidate, Pagsam Wangpo - an illegitimate son of the Chongje Depa, Ngawang Sonam Dragpa, as the Drukchen incarnation. Lhatsewa and supporters of the Chongje Depa conducted an enthronement ceremony of Pagsam Wangpo as the incarnation of Kunkhyen Pema Karpo and Gyalwang Drukchen at Tashi Thongmen monastery. The Chongje Depa, then persuaded the Tsang Desi (or Depa Tsangpa

Tsangpa

Tsangpa was a dynasty that dominated large parts of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. It was the last Tibetan royal dynasty to rule in own name. The regime was founded by Karma Tseten, a retainer of the prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty and governor of Shigatse in Tsang since 1548.-Superseding the...

), the most powerful ruler in Tibet and patron of the rival Karma Kagyu

Karma Kagyu

Karma Kagyu , or Kamtsang Kagyu, is probably the largest and certainly the most widely practiced lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mongolia, India, Nepal, and Bhutan, and current...

 sect to support the recognition of Pagsam Wangpo as Gyalwang Drukchen and incarnation of Kunkhyen Pema Karpo. By 1612 the Tsang Desi, Karma Phuntsok Namgyal

Karma Phuntsok Namgyal

Karma Phuntsok Namgyal was a king of Tibet who ruled from 1618 to 1620. He belonged to the Tsangpa Dynasty that held power in Tsang since 1565 and was the foremost secular power in Tibet until 1642.-Family:...

  had gained control over all Central Tibet

Ü-Tsang

Ü-Tsang , or Tsang-Ü, is one of the three traditional provinces of Tibet, the other two being Amdo and Kham. Geographically Ü-Tsang covered the central and western portions of the Tibetan cultural area, including the Tsang-po watershed, the western districts surrounding and extending past Mount...

 (Ü & Tsang).

For a time Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal continued to live at the main Drukpa seat of Ralung, as irrespective of who was entitled to be considered as the true incarnation of Kunkhyen Pema Karpo, Ngawang Namgyal was the main Drukpa hereditary lineage–holder, and legitimate throne-holder at Ralung monastery, the traditional seat of the Drukpa Lineage.

From Tibet to Bhutan

However following a misunderstanding Shabdrung Rinpoche and his party had with an important Karma Kagyu lama, Pawo Tsugla Gyatsho [1568–1630], the Tsang Desi demanded compensation be paid and that the sacred religious relics of Ralung such as the Rangjung Kharsapani should be surrendered to him so they could be given to the rival Gyalwang Drukchen incarnate Gyalwa Pagsam Wangpo.

The Tsang Desi prepared to send covert armed guards to arrest Shabdrung Rinpoche and enforce his demands. In 1616 facing arrest, and following visions (in which it is said that the chief guardian deities of Bhutan offered him a home) Shabdrung Ngawang Namgayal left Tibet to establish a new base in western Bhutan, founding Cheri Monastery

Cheri Monastery

Chagri Dorjeden Monastery also called "Cheri Monastery" is a Buddhist monastery in Bhutan established in 1620, by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. the founder of the Butanese state....

 at the head of Thimphu valley.

In 1627 he built Simtokha Dzong

Simtokha Dzong

Simtokha Dzong is a small dzong, located about 3 miles south of the Bhutanese capital of Thimphu. Built in 1629 by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal, who unified Bhutan, the dzong is the first of its kind built in Bhutan. An important historical monument and former Buddhist monastery, today it houses one...

 at the entrance to Thimphu valley. From this dzong he could exert control over traffic between the powerful Paro valley to the west and Trongsa valley to the east.

Unification of Bhutan

He consolidated control over western Bhutan subduing rivals belonging to the Lhapa, a branch of the Drikung Kagyu

Drikung Kagyu

Drikung Kagyu or Drigung Kagyu is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyu lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa while "minor" refers to all the lineages founded by disciples of Phakmo Drupa , one of the three...

 sect which had built some of the original dzongs in Bhutan, including Punakha Dzong

Punakha Dzong

The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungtang Dechen Photrang Dzong is the administrative centre of Punakha dzongkhag in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures...

 in 1637-38. The Drukpa Kagyu, the Lhapa Kagyu and the Nenyingpa had all controlled parts of western Bhutan since the 12th century. Later he would conquer and unify all of Bhutan, but would allow the ancient Nyingma

Nyingma

The Nyingma tradition is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism . "Nyingma" literally means "ancient," and is often referred to as Nga'gyur or the "old school" because it is founded on the first translations of Buddhist scriptures from Sanskrit into Tibetan, in the eighth century...

 sect to continue in central and eastern Bhutan (today the Nyingma comprise approximately 30% of Bhutan's monks even though they are privately funded while the Southern Drukpa Kagyu is supported as the established state religion

State religion

A state religion is a religious body or creed officially endorsed by the state...

 of Bhutan).

In 1627, the first European visitors to Bhutan (the Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 Jesuits Estevao Cacella

Estêvão Cacella

Estêvão Cacella was a Portuguese Jesuit missionary.-Life:Cacella was born in Aviz in 1585, joined the Jesuits at the age of nineteen, and sailed for India in 1614 where he worked for some years in Kerala...

 and João Cabral

João Cabral

João Cabral was a Jesuit missionary, who, along with Estêvão Cacella, were the first Europeans to enter Bhutan in 1627. The following year he became the first European to visit neighboring Nepal....

) found the Shabdrung to be a compassionate and intelligent host, of high energy and fond of art and writing. In keeping with his position as a high lama

Lama

Lama is a title for a Tibetan teacher of the Dharma. The name is similar to the Sanskrit term guru .Historically, the term was used for venerated spiritual masters or heads of monasteries...

 he was also meditative and had just completed a three year silent retreat. He was proud to have the Jesuits as guests of his court and was reluctant to grant them permission to leave and offered to support their proselytizing efforts with manpower and church-building funds, but they pressed on to Tibet

Tibet

Tibet is a plateau region in Asia, north-east of the Himalayas. It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people as well as some other ethnic groups such as Monpas, Qiang, and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han and Hui people...

 in search of the apostate church said to be isolated in the heart of central Asia

Central Asia

Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north...

 (cf. Nestorian Stele

Nestorian Stele

The Nestorian Stele is aTang Chinese stele erected in 781 that documents 150 years of history of early Christianity in China. It is a 279-cm tall limestone block with text in both Chinese and Syriac, describing the existence of Christian communities in several cities in northern China...

).

In 1634, in the Battle of Five Lamas

Battle of Five Lamas

The Battle of Five Lamas was a battle in 1634 in which Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal prevailed over the Tibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him...

 Ngawang Namgyal prevailed over the Tibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him and was the first to unite Bhutan into a single country.

Dual system of government

The Shabdrung also established the distinctive dual system of government

Dual system of government

The Dual System of Government or Cho-sid-nyi is the traditional diarchal political system of Tibetan peoples whereby the Desi coexists with the spiritual authority of the realm, usually unified under a third single ruler. The actual distribution of power between institutions varied over time and...

 under the Tsa Yig

Tsa Yig

The Tsa Yig is any monastic constitution or code of moral discipline based on codified Tibetan Buddhist precepts. Every Tibetan monastery and convent had its own Tsa Yig, and the variation in Tsa Yig content shows a degree of autonomy and internal democracy....

 legal code, by which control of the country was shared between a spiritual leader (the Je Khempo) to preside over the religious institutions and an administrative leader (the Druk Desi) as head of secular affairs, a policy which exists in modified form to this day.

Relations with Ladakh

Sengge Namgyal

Sengge Namgyal

Sengge Namygal was a 17th century Namgyal dynasty King of Ladakh, India from 1616 to his death in 1642. A Buddhist, he was noted for his immense work in building monasteries, palaces and shrines in Ladakh and is known as the "Lion King"....

, who ruled Ladakh

Ladakh

Ladakh is a region of Jammu and Kashmir, the northernmost state of the Republic of India. It lies between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south, inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent...

 from 1616–1623 and 1624–1642, was a devotee of the Ralung lineage of the Drukpa Kagyu school. Like Bhutan, Ladakh then had differences with the new Gaden Photrang government of Tibet established by the 5th Dalai Lama which attempted to annex Ladakh An invitation was sent to Bhutan requesting Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal to become the state priest. As Shabdrung was occupied confronting an invasion from Tibet and consolidating the new Bhutanese state, he sent Choje Mukzinpa as his representative to the court of Ladakh.. Several religious estates were offered to the Bhutanese in Ladakh and Zangskar. One of them, Tagna or "Tiger's Nose" monastery established by Choje Mukzinpa, became the main seat of the Southern Drukpa Kagyu tradition in Ladakh. This monastery still preserves artifacts and documents related to Bhutan — some of them said to have been gifted by Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal.

Death

Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal died in 1651, and power effectively passed to the penlop

Penlop

Penlop is a Dzongkha term roughly translated as governor. Bhutanese penlops, prior to unification, controlled certain districts of the country, but now hold no administrative office...

s (local governors) instead of to a successor Shabdrung. In order to forestall a dynastic struggle and a return to warlord

Warlord

A warlord is a person with power who has both military and civil control over a subnational area due to armed forces loyal to the warlord and not to a central authority. The term can also mean one who espouses the ideal that war is necessary, and has the means and authority to engage in war...

ism, they conspired to keep the death of the Shabdrung secret for 54 years. During this time they issued orders in his name, explaining that he was on an extended silent retreat.

The passing of the Shabdrung is modernly celebrated as a Bhutanese national holiday

Public holidays in Bhutan

Public holidays in Bhutan consist of both national holidays and local festivals called tsechus. While national holidays are observed throughout Bhutan, tsechus are only observed in their areas. Bhutan uses its own calendar, a variant of the lunisolar Tibetan calendar. Because it is a lunisolar...

, falling on the 4th month, 10th day of the Tibetan calendar

Tibetan calendar

The Tibetan calendar is a lunisolar calendar, that is, the Tibetan year is composed of either 12 or 13 lunar months, each beginning and ending with a new moon. A thirteenth month is added every two or three years, so that an average Tibetan year is equal to the solar year.The Tibetan New Year...

.

Sources

http://www.thdl.org/texts/reprints/jbs/JBS_11_02.pdf,http://www.bhutanstudies.org.bt/admin/pubFiles/v11-2.pdf, http://www.digitalhimalaya.com/collections/journals/jbs/pdf/JBS_11_02.pdf

External links

• Article: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at the Dharma Dictionary.
• Images: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at HimalayanArt.org.
• Image: 18 C painting of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal from Tango Monastery, Bhutan