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Nyatri Tsenpo

From Tibetan Buddhist Encyclopedia
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Nyatri Tsenpo (Wylie: gNya'-khri bTsan-po; Tibetan Pinyin: Nyachi Zanbo) was a king of Tibet suggested to have descended from an Indian dynasty. He was a legendary progenitor of the so-called "Yarlung dynasty". His reign is said to have begun in 127 BC. According to traditional Tibetan history, he was the first ruler of the kingdom.

He is said to have descended from heaven on Yalashangbo, the sacred mountain. Due to certain physical peculiarities – his hands were webbed, and his eyelids closed from the bottom and not the top – he was hailed as a god by locals, and they took him as their king.

This is reflected in his name; Tsenpo means "sovereign", while nyatri means "enthroned by the neck". According to Bön legend, the first Tibetan building, Yumbulagang, was erected for the king. The year of his enthronement marks the first year of the Tibetan calendar; the Tibetan New Year, the Losar, is celebrated in his honor.

Tibetan mythology holds that the first kings were immortal, and would be pulled up to heaven by a cord which had first deposited them on earth. This is what is said to have happened to Nyatri Tsenpo as well.


Historical legends about "Sheboye" have it that its first leader, Nyatri Tsampo, also forefather of the Tubo kingdom, came from heaven. Nyatri Tsampo descended upon a mountaintop called Sacred Mountain Yalashangbo, where he was greeted by a group of Tibetans. Rejoicing in their good fortune, these people raised him upon their shoulders and carried him off to be their ruler.

And thus he became known as Nyatri Tsampo, which means Neck-Enthroned King in Tibetan. Records from the Bon religion upheld the belief that Nyatri Tsampo migrated from Bormi to Qoingye, and later became the leader of the tribe. As he was from Bormi, hence the name of the tribe he took control of was called "Sheboye" (Chabeicetanpingcho: Tibetan History, Tibetan Ancient Books Publishing, 1989).

In the time of Nyatri Tsampo, the Palace of Yongbo Lhakang was established in the deep valley of the Yarlung River, which showed that, at that time, relative advanced agriculture and animal husbandry had developed there. Later, Zhigum Tsampo succeeded Nyatri Tsampo, but Armodaze, the chief of a sub-tribe, later killed him during tribal struggles. The two sons of Zhigum Tsampo were expelled to Gongbo. One son, Nyaqi, later became the king of Gongbo. The other, Shaqi, raised an army and took revenge on Armodaze, capturing the throne and changing his title to Pude Gumgya. He also built a mausoleum for his father and constructed the castle of Qoingye, which was called Qoinwadaze.

According to the record of the Annals of Tibetan Kings by Soinam Gyaincain of the Sakya Sect, during the reign of Pude Gungyal, people had the ability to make charcoal, smelt bronze, steel, silver, and other metals; they could also construct channels to irrigate the fields,.

In addition, the plough and yoke appeared, and two-ox yokes were widely used at that time. With the use of iron-made tools and animal power in farming, agricultural productive forces greatly increased and the population grew rapidly, leading to the flourishing of the tribes. With the development of the tribal unions, the power of their leaders became stronger.

Source

Wikipedia:Nyatri Tsenpo