Karma Tensung
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Karma Tensung (died 1611), in full Karma Tensung Wangpo (; ), was a king of Tsang (West
Central Tibet Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
) who probably reigned from 1599 to 1611. He belonged to the
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 their own name. The regime was founded by Karma Tseten, a low-born retainer of the prince of the Rinpungpa Dynasty ...
Dynasty that ruled parts of
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
from 1565 to 1642.


Background

Karma Tensung was one of the nine sons of
Karma Tseten Karma Tseten (; ) (died 1599), also known as Zhingshak Tseten Dorje () was a king of Upper Tsang in West Central Tibet. He was the founder of the Tsangpa Dynasty, that had an important role in the history of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. Karma ruled du ...
, the ruler of Upper Tsang who founded the dynasty in 1565. He was a supposed reincarnation of the ancient epic hero
Gesar The Epic of King Gesar ( Tibetan, Bhutanese: གླིང་གེ་སར །), also spelled Geser (especially in Mongolian contexts) or Kesar (), is a work of epic literature of Tibet and greater Central Asia. The epic originally develo ...
. His elder brothers were
Khunpang Lhawang Dorje Khunpang Lhawang Dorje () (died 1605 or 1606) was a prince of the Tsangpa Dynasty who held power in parts of Central Tibet, especially Tsang (West Central Tibet), between 1565 and 1642. Family background Khunpang Lhawang Dorje was one of the nin ...
(d. 1605/06) and
Karma Thutob Namgyal Karma Thutob Namgyal () (died 17 October 1610) was a prince of the Tsangpa Dynasty that ruled parts of Central Tibet from 1565 to 1642. Family and offspring Karma Thutob Namgyal was the son of the king of Upper Tsang, Karma Tseten, who founded th ...
(d. 1610), who are also mentioned as rulers in some sources. A few texts speak of a son of Karma Tseten called Padma Karpo who would have assisted his father in establishing the power basis of the dynasty. It has been suggested that this Padma Karpo is the same person as Karma Tensung. When he grew up he was taught by his father to use his hands in manual labour, and he also learnt to read and write and received religious instruction. Like the previous rulers of Tsang he was a supporter of the
Karmapa The Karmapa (honorific title '' His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the ' ...
and
Jonang The Jonang () is one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Its origins in Tibet can be traced to early 12th century master Yumo Mikyo Dorje, but became much wider known with the help of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a monk originally trained in the ...
sects. At length he and his family emerged as opponents of the reformist
Gelugpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2007). ''Tibetan and Zen Buddhism in Britain: Transplantati ...
sect that was based in Ü (East Central Tibet).


Reign

Karma Tensung took over the kingship of Upper Tsang at some stage in the late sixteenth century; the extant literature mentions the dates 1588 and 1599 of which the last-mentioned may be the more probable. Although he shared the lordship over Tsang with Khunpang Lhawang Dorje and Karma Thutob, he was clearly the dominating figure among the brothers. The king resided in Panam Norbu Kyungtse, east of Samdrubtse. Early in his reign, in 1600–01, he had to cope with a threatening invasion of Tibet by the Mongol khan Khatan; he was eventually able to expel Khatan's army from Yangpachen, the estate of his ally the
Shamarpa The Shamarpa (; literally, "Person (i.e. Holder) of the Red Crown"), also known as ''Shamar Rinpoche'', or more formally Künzig Shamar Rinpoche, is a lineage holder of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and is regarded to be the mind ma ...
lama. However, he also strengthened the ties to some
Mongols The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal membe ...
that his father had initiated. According to one version he was married to Sonam Palgyi Butri, a daughter of the Kyishö lord in the
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
area. She gave birth to a daughter but the couple subsequently separated. Sonam Palgyi Butri then married Tenpai Nyima, of the abbot family of
Ralung Ralung Monastery (), located in the Tsang region of western Tibet south of Karo Pass, is the traditional seat of the Drukpa Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. It was founded in 1180 by Tsangpa Gyare, 1st Gyalwang Drukpa, a disciple of Lingje Répa ( ...
, and gave birth to
Ngawang Namgyal Ngawang Namgyal (later granted the honorific Zhabdrung Rinpoche, approximately "at whose feet one submits") (; alternate spellings include ''Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel''; 1594–1651) and known colloquially as The Bearded Lama, was a Tibetan Buddh ...
(1594–1651?), the founder of
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountainous ...
. All this may explain part of the hostility between the Tsangpa and Ngawang Namgyal later on. Karma Tensung's reign saw considerable territorial expansion of Tsangpa power. Four large regions of southern Tibet were subdued, as well as territories in western and northern Tibet. At this time there was no central authority in Ü, since the Gelugpa were still not a governing power. The Gelugpa head at the time was the Fourth
Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
Yonten Gyatso Yonten Gyatso or Yon-tan-rgya-mtsho (1589–1617), was the 4th Dalai Lama, born in Mongolia on the 30th day of the 12th month of the Earth-Ox year of the Tibetan calendar.Thubten Samphel and Tendar (2004), p.87. Other sources, however, say he wa ...
(1589–1616), a Mongol prince. He arrived to Tibet in 1602, but conflicts soon flared up with the
Red Hat Red Hat, Inc. is an American software company that provides open source software products to enterprises. Founded in 1993, Red Hat has its corporate headquarters in Raleigh, North Carolina, with other offices worldwide. Red Hat has become ass ...
sub-sect of the Karmapa. As the protector of the Red Hats, Karma Tensung invaded Ü in 1604 and seized Phanyul. In 1605 his Tsangpa troops turned against the Gelugpa and defeated his former in-laws of Kyishö. Some 5,000 monks and laymen are said to have been massacred on the hills behind the monasteries
Drepung Drepung Monastery (, "Rice Heap Monastery"), located at the foot of Mount Gephel, is one of the "great three" Gelug university gompas (monasteries) of Tibet. The other two are Ganden Monastery and Sera Monastery. Drepung is the largest of all ...
and Sera.


Religious patronage and death

Karma Tensung had a close relationship with the main incarnate lamas of the
Karma Kagyu Karma Kagyu (), or Kamtsang Kagyu (), is a widely practiced and probably the second-largest lineage within the Kagyu school, one of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The lineage has long-standing monasteries in Tibet, China, Russia, Mon ...
sect, and with the renowned scholar
Taranatha Tāranātha (1575–1634) was a Lama of the Jonang school of Tibetan Buddhism. He is widely considered its most remarkable scholar and exponent. Taranatha was born in Tibet, supposedly on the birthday of Padmasambhava. His original name was Kun ...
of the
Jonang The Jonang () is one of the schools of Tibetan Buddhism. Its origins in Tibet can be traced to early 12th century master Yumo Mikyo Dorje, but became much wider known with the help of Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen, a monk originally trained in the ...
sect. The latter was the foremost ritualist of the Tsangpa and readily employed curses and rituals against Karma Tensung's enemies in Ü. In 1608 the king led troops to counter the Mongol presence in Ü and reached Phanyul, not far from
Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level city, prefecture-level Lhasa (prefecture-level city), Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Regio ...
. Taranatha gave the ruler a somewhat ambiguous prognostication: "Whatever wild and unruly thought might arise in the mind of the regent Karma Tensung, it seems that the blessings of the Karmapa, Father and Son will serve to protect him. Others will be unable to protect those whose ''karma'' reaches its fruition today. Right now this is how I evaluate the lifespan of the regent." Taranatha also advised the king to perform meritorious deeds, which he did, such as the lifting of corvée obligations for the local population. Nevertheless, Karma Tensung was afflicted by tumours in the next year. Powerful relics were collected to ameliorate his condition, but he soon died. The date is given in a source as 20 February 1609, though most sources state that he died in 1611. He was succeeded by his nephew Karma Phuntsok Namgyal, possibly after a brief term by the latter's father Karma Thutob Namgyal. However, Karma Phuntsok Namgyal is mentioned as a Tsangpa leader already by 1603 in a source.Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, 1967, p. 98;
Hugh E. Richardson Hugh Edward Richardson (22 December 1905 – 3 December 2000) was an Indian Civil Service officer, British diplomat and Tibetologist. His academic work focused on the history of the Tibetan empire, and in particular on epigraphy. He was am ...
, ''Tibet and its History'', Boston & London 1984, Appendix, chronological table, p. 307; Fa-tsun, 'Blo-bzang-chos-kyi', ''Encyclopaedia of Buddhism. Volume III''. Colombo 1971, p. 168.


References

{{Tsangpa rulers History of Tibet Tsangpa dynasty 16th-century Tibetan people 17th-century Tibetan people 1611 deaths Year of birth unknown