Karma Tseten
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Karma Tseten () (died 1599), also known as Zhingshak Tseten Dorje () was a king of Upper Tsang in West Central
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 ...
. He was the founder of the Tsangpa Dynasty, which had an important role in the history of Tibet from 1565 to 1642. Karma ruled during the period 1565–1599.


Rebelling against the Rinpungpa

Karma Tseten Dorje belonged to a clan from Nyag which claimed descent from Jñanakumara, a disciple of the eighth-century tantric master
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava ('Born from a Lotus'), also known as Guru Rinpoche ('Precious Guru'), was a legendary tantric Buddhist Vajracharya, Vajra master from Oddiyana. who fully revealed the Vajrayana in Tibet, circa 8th – 9th centuries... He is consi ...
. In fact he does not seem to have belonged to any noble house. At that time, the Rinpungpa Dynasty held superior power in the Tsang region and was somehow related to Karma Tseten's lineage. Coming from relatively modest circumstances, Karma Tseten was used by the Tsang ruler for various tasks, such as chief groom and tax collector. In 1548, he was entrusted with the governorship of the Samdrubtse castle in
Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê () or Rikaze ( zh, s=日喀则, p=Rìkāzé), 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 ...
. This was a place of great strategical importance in Tsang. Some years later he began to plot against his Rinpungpa master. According to a picturesque but maybe apocryphical story he obtained a written permit to collect 300 sewing needles from the local population. As the words for needle and armour are very similar in Tibetan, Karma Tseten made a slight change in the document, and could thus collect 300 suits of armour. In 1557, according to one source, he raised the standard of rebellion, helped by the discontent with the Rinpungpa among vassals such as Narthang, Norkhyung, and Gyatso. According to another eyewitness account, he bided his time until 1565, when he was appointed ''magpon'' (general). Then he started an uprising that took the Rinpungpa ruler Ngawang Jigme Drakpa by complete surprise. The situation was made worse for the Rinpungpa since some nobles close to them committed treason. Karma Tseten was able to take Panam Lhundrup Kyungtse and the Pakmori Gold Castle from Drakpa. The latter was besieged and captured; one of his sons was imprisoned while another one was killed. The Drukpa lama Kunkhyen Pema Karpo was able to mediate between the warring parties. However, just after the Tibetan new year in 1566, fresh fighting broke out in lower Nyangtö. The Drukpa lama intervened again. Karma Tseten requested all the lands above Jomo Kharek (a mountain at the border between Ü and Tsang), but was finally content with the entire Panam area. With these events the Rinpungpa faded into insignificance.


Political and religious program

After 1565-66 Karma Tseten, who was also known as Zhingshagpa, declared himself Tsangtö Gyalpo, King of Upper Tsang. The new royal line did not have the prestige of families descended from the ancient Tibetan kings; in fact, their status as an upstart dynasty may have contributed to their hasty end in 1642. The 16th century was marked by a relative decline of secular noble houses in comparison to the main
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
sects, such as the Gelugpa and
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, M ...
, which formed comprehensive ritual alliances with political repercussions. In this volatile political-religious landscape it was important for a new ruler to find support from the sects. The 9th
Karmapa The Karmapa Tulku lineage of the Gyalwa Karmapa is the oldest among the major incarnating lineages of Tibetan Buddhism,The Karmapa, "The Karmapas Lineage", Kagyu Office established in 1110 CE by the 1st Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa. Karmapa means " ...
hierarch, Wangchuk Dorje, met Karma Tseten in 1567, and again in 1585 and 1590. The meetings seem to have been accompanied by the transfer of tutelary deities to the king. The dynasty founded by Karma Tseten also kept good relations with representatives of the Jonang, Sakya and
Nyingma Nyingma (, ), also referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The Nyingma school was founded by PadmasambhavaClaude Arpi, ''A Glimpse of the History of Tibet'', Dharamsala: Tibet Museum, 2013. ...
sects. The overall strategical aim of his rule was to keep Tibet free from the encroaching
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
who began to ally with the Third
Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣 识一切 瓦齐尔达喇 达赖 喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...
, Sonam Gyatso, in his time. He wished to bring back the institutions of the old
Tibetan Empire The Tibetan Empire (,) was an empire centered on the Tibetan Plateau, formed as a result of expansion under the Yarlung dynasty heralded by its 33rd king, Songtsen Gampo, in the 7th century. It expanded further under the 38th king, Trisong De ...
in order to achieve a well-governed and prosperous Tsang. Karma Tseten and his offspring do not seem to have had any relations with the
Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...
of
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.


King of Upper Tsang

Karma Tseten's dynastic regime became known as the Tsangpa, after the Tsang region. He made friendly overtures to the Phagmodrupa dynasty, the weak line of kings in Nêdong in Ü (East Central Tibet). He also made contacts with the
Mongols Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
of the Kokonor region, and secured a promise of assistance from the Chogthu tribe. He furthermore undertook expansion towards western Tibet, where the territories Latö Lho and Latö Chang were placed under his authority. This was probably just a case of loose overlordship, since these areas had to be reconquered by his grandson Karma Phuntsok Namgyal in 1612–13. The Rinpungpa tried to revive their fortunes and performed an abortive raid on Kyishö in Ü in 1575. Possibly connected to this, Karma Tseten clashed with the Rinpungpa in the next year. The
Karmapa The Karmapa Tulku lineage of the Gyalwa Karmapa is the oldest among the major incarnating lineages of Tibetan Buddhism,The Karmapa, "The Karmapas Lineage", Kagyu Office established in 1110 CE by the 1st Karmapa, Düsum Khyenpa. Karmapa means " ...
and Shamarpa hierarchs stepped in to mediate in the conflict. A new war flared up in 1588-89 between Rong, the heartland of the Rinpungpa, and Karma Tseten. In the following year 1590, the Rinpungpa finally had to capitulate which, according to the influential exorcist Sogdogpa, was "just as the stream of earlier and later wars had become like water reaching a boil". The event fulfilled the prophecy "the polity of Tsang will become a stable alliance" and the region henceforth enjoyed a certain inner stability. However, Central Tibet was repeatedly threatened by incursions of Mongol groups. In 1587, they reached Oyug close to Rinpung, and in 1596, they roamed a wide area including Purang, Mustang, Dolpo in
Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...
,
Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part ...
, Latö, and Chang. The partial failure of the Mongol raids was attributed to the powerful exorcism of Sogdogpa.


Family and demise

Karma Tseten had nine sons, of which the most prominent were Karma Thutob Namgyal, Khunpang Lhawang Dorje and Karma Tensung. Of these, Khunpang Lhawang Dorje intervened in a local feud where two brothers of the Changdakpa line quarreled, and favoured the elder brother. Karma Tseten forced the younger brother Tashi Tobgyal (1550?-1603) in exile to Ü. The vengeful Tashi Tobgyal performed tantric rites, with the supposed result that Karma Tseten died from "the sharp pain from Vishnu's sword". The year of his demise is given differently in the literature, but according to the near-contemporary text ''Sogdog gyi tsulgyi logyu'' he died in 1599.James Gentry, 2013, p. 138. Benjamin Bogin, 2014, p. 325, also mentions 1599 as the date of his death. His regnal dates are given as 1565-1588 by a Chinese site, http://www.huisongshu.com/ming.htm . The same site says that he was succeeded by his sons Khunpang Lhawang Dorje 1588-1608, and Karma Tensung 1588-1611. The details of his succession are likewise unclear; his sons Khunpang Lhawang Dorje and Karma Thutob Namgyal are mentioned as rulers in 1582 and 1586 respectively. The next important Tsangpa king was Karma Tensung who seems to have taken over the throne in 1599.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tseten, Karma Tsangpa dynasty 16th-century Tibetan people 1599 deaths Founding monarchs in Asia