The Chogyal ("

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

Kings", ) were the monarchs of the former

Kingdom of Sikkim The Kingdom of Sikkim (Classical Tibetan and , ''Drenjong'', , ''Sikimr Gyalkhab'') officially Dremoshong (Classical Tibetan and ) until the 1800s, was a hereditary monarchy in the Eastern Himalayas which existed from 1642 to 16 May 1975 ...

, which belonged to the Namgyal dynasty, . The Chogyal was the absolute monarch of

Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Koshi Province of Nepal in the west, and West Bengal in the ...

from 1642 to 1973, and the

constitutional monarch Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

from 1973 to 1975, when the monarchy was abolished and the

Sikkimese people Sikkimese may refer to: * Relating to the Indian state of Sikkim Sikkim ( ; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in th ...

voted in a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

to make Sikkim the 22nd

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

History

From 1642 to 1975, Sikkim was ruled by the Namgyal Monarchy (also called the Chogyal Monarchy), founded by

Phuntsog Namgyal Phuntsog Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''phun tshog rnam rgyal'') (1604–1670) was the first Chogyal (monarch) of Sikkim, now an Indian state. He consecrated in 1642 at the age of 38. Phuntsog was a fifth generation descendant of Khye Bu ...

, the fifth-generation descendant of Guru Tashi, a prince of the

Minyak The Western Xia or the Xi Xia ( zh, c=, w=Hsi1 Hsia4, p=Xī Xià), officially the Great Xia ( zh, c=大夏, w=Ta4 Hsia4, p=Dà Xià, labels=no), also known as the Tangut Empire, and known as Stein (1972), pp. 70–71. to the Tanguts ...

House who came to Sikkim from the

Kham Kham (; ) is one of the three traditional Tibet, Tibetan regions, the others being Domey also known as Amdo in the northeast, and Ü-Tsang in central Tibet. The official name of this Tibetan region/province is Dotoe (). The original residents of ...

province of

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

. Chogyal means 'righteous ruler', and was the title conferred upon Sikkim's Buddhist kings during the reign of the Namgyal Monarchy. The reign of the Chogyal was foretold by the patron saint of Sikkim,

Guru Rinpoche Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is considered an em ...

. The 8th-century saint had predicted the rule of the kings when he arrived in the state. In 1642,

was crowned as Sikkim's first Chogyal in

Yuksom Yuksom () is a historical town 40 km north of Gyalshing in the Gyalshing district in the northeast Indian state of Sikkim. It was the first capital of Kingdom of Sikkim established in 1642 AD by Phuntsog Namgyal, the first Chogyal of Sikkim. ...

. The crowning of the king was a great event and he was crowned by three revered

lama Lama () is a title bestowed to a realized practitioner of the Dharma in Tibetan Buddhism. Not all monks are lamas, while nuns and female practitioners can be recognized and entitled as lamas. The Tibetan word ''la-ma'' means "high mother", ...

s who arrived there from three different directions, namely the north, west, and south.

Chogyal kings of Sikkim

List of chogyals

Titular chogyals

The son from the first marriage of

Palden Thondup Namgyal Palden Thondup Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: ''dpal-ldan don-grub rnam-rgyal''; 23 May 1923 – 29 January 1982) was the 12th and last Chogyal (king) of the Kingdom of Sikkim. Biography Palden thondup Namgyal was born on 23 May 1923 at the ...

Wangchuk Namgyal Chogyal Wangchuk Tenzing Namgyal ( Sikkimese: ; Wylie: '' stobs-rgyal dbang-phyug bstan-'dzin rnam-rgyal''; born 1 April 1953) is an Indian former prince who is the second son of Palden Thondup Namgyal, the last sovereign king of Sikkim. Educ ...

(; born 1 April 1953), was named the 13th Chogyal after his father's death on 29 January 1982, but the position no longer confers any official authority. Chogyal Wangchuk Namgyal was officially consecrated on the 19th day of february in 1982 in Tshu-khla-khang at Gangtok, Sikkim. But the position no longer confers any official authority it is only a legacy of the past and symbolic to the people of Sikkim.

Family tree

Royal Flag

File:Royal flag of Sikkim.svg, Royal Flag of Sikkim 1877–1975

Rulers of other Himalayan kingdoms

Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan

In Bhutan, "dharmaraja" or "Righteous King" is a title which was also conferred upon a special class of temporal and spiritual rulers. In Bhutan, the Chogyal were given the respectful title Zhabdrung. In this context, the Chogyal was a recognised reincarnation (or succession of reincarnations) of

Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal Ngawang Namgyal (; alternate spellings include ''Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel;'' 1594–1651), known colloquially as ''The Bearded Lama'', was a Tibetan Buddhist Drukpa Kagyu school Rinpoche, and the unifier of Bhutan as a nation-state. He was late ...

, the 17th century

an-born founder of Bhutan. A position of supreme importance, the Bhutanese Chogyal was above both the highest monastic authority, the

Je Khenpo The Je Khenpo (; "The Chief Abbot of the Central Monastic Body of Bhutan"), formerly called the ''Dharma Raja'' by orientalists, is the title given to the senior religious hierarch of Bhutan. His primary duty is to lead the Dratshang Lhentsh ...

, and the highest temporal ruler, the Deb Raja or

Druk Desi The Druk Desi (, Wylie: 'brug sde-srid; also called Deb Raja)The original title is , Wylie: sde-srid phyag-mdzod. was the title of the secular (administrative) rulers of Bhutan under the dual system of government between the seventeenth and ni ...

. There were two main lines of Zhabdrung incarnations in Bhutan.

Gyalpo of Ladakh

The region of

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory and constitutes an eastern portion of the larger Kashmir region that has been the subject of a Kashmir#Kashmir dispute, dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and India an ...

was ruled by a separate line of the Namgyal dynasty that lasted from 1460 to 1842 and were titled the ''Gyalpo'' of Ladakh.

Notes

References

{{Sikkim Sikkim monarchy