Tsepangsa Magyal Dongkar (, ? – ?) was an Empress consort of Tibet in the eighth century. She was empress of

Trisong Detsen Trisong Detsen () was the son of Me Agtsom, the 37th king of Tibet. As the 38th king, he ruled from AD 755 until 797. Trisong Detsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet — Songsten Gampo, Trisong Detsen, Rapalchen — honored f ...

, the famous Dharma king. Unlike her husband, she was a follower of

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

Life

She was born and raised in "Tsepang" clan. the "Tsepang" clan came from

Zhangzhung Zhangzhung or Shangshung was an ancient kingdom in western and northwestern Tibet, existing from about 500 BCE to 625 CE, pre-dating Tibetan Buddhism. The Zhangzhung culture is associated with the Bon religion, which has influenced the philos ...

, and was one of a most important supports of Bon.

Empress

Trisong Detsen was interested in

Buddhism 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 ...

, he sent

Vairotsana Vairotsana () was a lotsawa or "translator" living during the reign of King Trisong Detsen, who ruled 755-97 CE. Vairotsana, one of the 25 main disciples of Padmasambhava, was recognized by the latter as a reincarnation of an Indian pandita. ...

to India to study

Vajrayana ''Vajrayāna'' (; 'vajra vehicle'), also known as Mantrayāna ('mantra vehicle'), Guhyamantrayāna ('secret mantra vehicle'), Tantrayāna ('tantra vehicle'), Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, is a Mahāyāna Buddhism, Mahāyāna Buddhis ...

together with another four monks. They were ordered to propagate Buddhism after they returned to

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

. Many Tibetan nobles combined against them in the lead of the empress. According to ''Padma-thang-yig'' (), the empress said as below in the public place, and was supported by a majority of ministers: The empress demanded Trisong Detsen to put the five monks to death. The emperor had no choice but to throw them into prison. The emperor arrested five beggars and had them executed, and put their bodies into five copper pots. The pots were thrown into

Yarlung Tsangpo River The Yarlung Tsangpo, also called Yarlung Zangbo () and Yalu Zangbu River () is a river that flows through the Tibet Autonomous Region of China and Arunachal Pradesh of India. It is the longest river of Tibet and the fifth longest in China. The u ...

in the public eye. Then the emperor told his ministers that the five monks were executed, while still-living monks were released secretly and hidden in the palace translating ''

Tantras Tantra is an esoteric tradition in Hinduism and Buddhism. Tantra may also refer to: Religion * Buddhist tantric literature, the literature of the Vajrayana Buddhist traditions *Hindu tantric literature, esoteric scriptures in Hinduism * Neotantra ...

'' into Tibetan. The empress exposed this matter to ministers, Trisong Detsen had to exiled them to Rgyalrong (modern Ngawa Autonomous Prefecture in

Sichuan Sichuan is a province in Southwestern China, occupying the Sichuan Basin and Tibetan Plateau—between the Jinsha River to the west, the Daba Mountains to the north, and the Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau to the south. Its capital city is Cheng ...

). Later, Trisong Detsen invited

Śāntarakṣita (Sanskrit: शान्तरक्षित; , 725–788),stanford.eduŚāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)/ref> whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" was an important and influential In ...

and

Vimalamitra Vimalamitra () was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk. His teachers were Buddhaguhya, Jnanasutra, Jñānasūtra and Sri Singha, Śrī Siṃha. He was supposed to have vowed to take rebirth every hundred years, with the most notable figures bein ...

came to Tibet to spread the latest understanding of the teaching, they were obstructed by the empress without any exception. Śāntarakṣita could do nothing but to invite another famous teacher

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 ...

come to Tibet for help. Trisong Detsen received empowerment from Padmasambhava, in turn, he gave one of his spouses named

Yeshe Tsogyal Yeshe Tsogyal (c. 757 or 777 – 817 CE), also known as "Victorious Ocean of Knowledge", "Knowledge Lake Empress" (, ཡེ་ཤེས་མཚོ་རྒྱལ), or by her Sanskrit name ''Jñānasāgarā'' "Knowledge Ocean", or by her clan na ...

to Padmasambhava as ''

dakini A ḍākinī (; ; ; ; alternatively 荼枳尼, ; 荼吉尼, ; or 吒枳尼, ; Japanese: 荼枳尼 / 吒枳尼 / 荼吉尼, ''dakini'') is a type of goddess in Hinduism and Buddhism. The concept of the ḍākinī somewhat differs depending on t ...

'' (see also ''

Karmamudrā Karmamudrā (Sanskrit; "action seal," Tibetan: ''las-kyi phyag-rgya''; commonly misspelled as: kāmamudrā or "desire seal") is a Vajrayana Buddhist technique which makes use of sexual union with a physical or visualized consort as well as the ...

''). The emperor's decision was strongly opposed by many nobles, including the empress Magyal Dongkar, and the famous general

Nganlam Takdra Lukhong Nganlam Takdra Lukhong (, ? – ?), also known as Nganlam Tara Lukhong (), Nganlam Lukhong or Lon Takdra (), was a famous general of the Tibetan Empire who served as '' Lönchen'' during Trisong Detsen's reign. In many Chinese records, his name ...

. They thought it was "absolutely ridiculous": Padmasambhava occupied the emperor's spouse, and he would occupied the emperor's throne next time. In response, the emperor hosted a famous debate between Buddhist and Bon supporters, and the winner would be recognised as the " state religion" in Tibet. Bon was supported by the empress and Nganlam, but finally, Trisong Detsen announced that Buddhist was the winner. Bon was declared as illegal religion, their

scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They often feature a compilation or discussion of beliefs, ritual practices, moral commandments and ...

s were buried into ground or thrown into water. Nganlam refused to carry out this order. He was

cane Cane or caning may refer to: *Walking stick, or walking cane, a device used primarily to aid walking * Assistive cane, a walking stick used as a mobility aid for better balance * White cane, a mobility or safety device used by blind or visually i ...

d in public then exiled to

Changtang The Changtang (alternatively spelled Changthang or Qangtang) is a part of the high altitude Tibetan Plateau in western and northern Tibet extending into the southern edges of Xinjiang as well as southeastern Ladakh, India, with vast highlands and g ...

. The king of Zhangzhung was also dissatisfied with this decision. He led a rebellion against emperor, and was quickly put down. Now Magyal Dongkar and her clan members had to convert to Buddhism. She built a temple named ''Kams-gsum-zangs-kang-gling'' () for Buddhist, but was still not trust by the emperor due to her relationship with

and

before. "Tsepang" members were banned from political affairs, and came into conflict with the powerful '' Lönchen'', Nanam Shang Gyaltsen Lhanang, whom was Trisong Detsen's uncle. On one occasion, the emperor sent ''dbu ring'', whom was Shang Gyaltsen's son, to guard the palace gate in order to prevent "Tsepang" members from entering. Prince Murug, who was the empress' own son, was angered. He killed ''dbu ring'' and broke into the palace. Trisong Detsen was infuriated, and exiled Murug to Changtang.

Empress dowager

Shang Gyaltsen died in 796, and Trisong Detsen died next year. The empress' son

Muné Tsenpo Muné Tsenpo () also known as ''Murub Tsenpo'' was the second son of King Trisong Detsen and the de-facto King of Tibet (r.797-799), from the Yarlung dynasty. Since his older brother died at a young age, Muné Tsenpo was enthroned when his fa ...

was installed as the new emperor, "Tsepang" members came into power again and exiled

. But, Muné Tsenpo was interested in Buddhism instead of Bon, and he buried his father in Buddhism rites. The young king also tried to protect his wife ''pho-yong-bza' rgyal-mo-btsun'', a devout Buddhist whom the former emperor wanted him to protect, which made Magyal Dongkar very angry. She found an excuse then had her killed. The relations between mother and son became strained after this event.Shakabpa, Tsepon W. D. Tibet: A Political History (1967), pp. 46-47. Yale University Press, New Haven and London. Magyal Dongkar poisoned the young emperor, and ordered the exiled prince Murug come back to take the throne. Murug was assassinated by "Nanam" members on his way to Lhasa.

Sadnalegs Mutik Tsenpo the 39th king of Tibet had several names: formally ''Tridé Tsenpo'' (), and his nickname ''Sadnalegs'' (). He was the third and youngest son of King Trisong Detsen. He reigned between the disputed king of Tibet, Mune Tsenpo, and th ...

was the only one survived prince of Trisong Detsen after this assassination, and he came to the throne with the help of a Buddhist monk,

Nyang Tingngezin Sangpo Nyang Tingdzin Zangpo (, ? – ?), also known as Nyang Tingdzin or Banchenpo Tingdzin, was a Buddhist monk of the Tibetan Empire. He was the master of Sadnalegs. After Trisong Detsen's death, Tibet was in a turmoil, two prince were murdered. N ...

. After Sadnalegs' succession, "Tsepang" members were removed from their positions and banned from taking part in any political activities. Her name was not mentioned in the later history records.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magyal Dongkar Empresses consort of Tibet 8th-century Tibetan people Year of birth unknown