Karma Thutob Namgyal () (died 17 October 1610) was a prince of 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

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 ...

from 1565 to 1642.

Family and offspring

Karma Thutob Namgyal was the son of the king of Upper Tsang,

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 ...

, who founded the dynasty in 1565. He was considered to be a reincarnation of an ancient Tibetan

chogyal The Chogyal ("Dharma Kings", ) were the monarchs of the former Kingdom of Sikkim, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty. The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of Sikkim from 1642 to 1975, when the monarchy was abolished and the Sikkimese peop ...

(religious king). A text refers to him as the Depa Tsangtö, ruler of Upper Tsang, but it is not known when he started to reign. However, he resided in the Samdrubtse castle in

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê (; Nepali: ''सिगात्से''), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...

around 1586, probably while his father was still alive. There he received the cleric Sakya Dorje Nyima Pal Zangpo. Sakya Dorje performed a protective ceremony and made a

talisman A talisman is any object ascribed with religious or magical powers intended to protect, heal, or harm individuals for whom they are made. Talismans are often portable objects carried on someone in a variety of ways, but can also be installed perm ...

for Karma Thutob Namgyal in order to ensure the continuation of his line. Ponsa Yargyabpa, a Yargyab princess who was the consort of the ruler, became pregnant and gave birth to

Karma Phuntsok Namgyal Karma Phuntsok Namgyal (; ) (1587 – March 1620) was a king of Tibet who ruled from 1618 to 1620. He belonged to the Tsangpa Dynasty that held power in Tsang (West Central Tibet) since 1565 and was the foremost political and military power in Tib ...

(1587–1620).

Co-ruler of Tsang

When the old Karma Tseten died from an epileptic attack, apparently in 1599, three of his nine sons divided the kingship between them. Khunpang Lhawang Dorje (d. 1605/06) resided in the main stronghold of the dynasty, Samdrubtse, while the place of residence of Karma Thutob is not clear from the texts. However, the main force in the dynasty was the third brother Karma Tensung (d. 1609 or 1611) who led successful military expeditions against Ü (East Central Tibet). Like the other members of the family, Karma Thutob entertained good relations with 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, ...

sect of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

and invited

Wangchuk Dorje Wangchuk Dorje (1556–1603) was the ninth Gyalwa Karmapa, head of the Kagyu School of Tibetan Buddhism. Wangchuk Dorje was born in Treshod, Kham. According to legend, he said after being born: "I am Karmapa." Other sources say that soon after h ...

, the 9th

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 '' ...

. Nevertheless, he is not known to have been an active figure and apparently stood entirely in the shadow of Karma Tensung. His date of demise is given as 17 October 1610. It was his son Karma Phuntsok Namgyal who became the real founder of Tsangpa's power over Central Tibet in the early 17th century. Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa, ''Tibet. A Political History'', Yale 1967, p. 100.

References

{{Tsangpa rulers Tsangpa dynasty 16th-century Tibetan people 17th-century Tibetan people 1610 deaths