Gungsong Gungtsen

Gungsong Gungtsen གུང་སྲོང་གུང་བཙན་
Tsenpo
34th King of Yarlung Dynasty
Reign	649-655
Predecessor	Songtsen Gampo
Successor	Mangsong Mangtsen
Born	637 Tashi Zhelyékhang, Lhasa, Tibet
Died	655 Red Fort, Lhasa, Tibet
Burial	Gungchen Gungri Mausoleum, Valley of the Kings
Spouse	Azhaza Mongjé Trikar (from Tuyuhun)
Issue	Mangsong Mangtsen
Lönchen	Gar Tongtsen Yülsung
House	Yarlung dynasty
Father	Songtsen Gampo
Mother	Mongza Tricham

Gungsong Gungtsen (637-655, r.649-655) was a Tsenpo during the Tibetan Empire, and the only known son of Songtsen Gampo, the 33rd king of Tibet.

Early life

Gungtsen was born on 605/617 C.E in Lhasa, Tibet during his grandfather Namri Songtsen's reign.

Biography

Gungsong Gungtsen was born to Mangza (or Mongsa) Tricham (Wylie : mang bza' khri lcham, mang bza' khri mo mnyen ldong steng), the noble woman from the Mang or Mong clan of Tölung (Wylie : stod lung), a valley to the west of Lhasa. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

If Gungsong Gungtsen was married and had a son before 641, he was most probably born sometime before 625. ^[4]

He is traditionally said to have been born at a nine-storied palace known as the "Celestial Auspicious Mansion of Draglha", built by Bhrikuti to the south of Lhasa. ^[5] It is said that a shrine and a stupa were then built by his father on a rocky mountain near Yerpa which resembled a seated image of Tara. ^[6]

Accounts say that when Gungsong Gungtsen reached the age of thirteen, his father Songtsen Gampo, retired. This corresponds to the period when he learned Tibetan grammar and worked on the Tibetan constitution. Gungsong Gungtsen also married 'A-zha Mang-mo-rje when he was thirteen and they had a son, Mangsong Mangtsen (r. 650-676 CE).

Gungsong Gungtsen would have only ruled for five years when he died at the age of eighteen. His father, Songtsen Gampo, took the throne again. ^[7] He is said to have been buried at Donkhorda, the site of the royal tombs, to the left of the tomb of his grandfather Namri Songtsen (gNam-ri Srong-btsan). The dates for these events are unclear. ^{[3] [8] [9]} Written records of the actual enthronement ceremony of Gungsong Gungtsen are said to be scant.^{[ citation needed ]}

References

1. Ancient Tibet: Research materials from the Yeshe De Project. 1986. Dharma Publishing, California. ISBN   0-89800-146-3, pp. 215, 224-225.
2. Gyaltsen, Sakyapa Sonam (1312-1375). The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age, p. 188. Translated by McComas Taylor and Lama Choedak Yuthob. (1996) Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York. ISBN   1-55939-048-4.
3. Stein, R. A. Tibetan Civilization 1962. Revised English edition, 1972, Faber & Faber, London. Reprint, 1972. Stanford University Press, p. 63. ISBN   0-8047-0806-1 cloth; ISBN   0-8047-0901-7 pbk.
4. Ancient Tibet: Research materials from the Yeshe De Project. 1986. Dharma Publishing, California. ISBN   0-89800-146-3, p. 225.
5. Gyaltsen, Sakyapa Sonam (1312-1375). The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age, pp. 129, 188. Translated by McComas Taylor and Lama Choedak Yuthob. (1996) Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York. ISBN   1-55939-048-4.
6. Gyaltsen, Sakyapa Sonam (1312-1375). The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age, p. 189. Translated by McComas Taylor and Lama Choedak Yuthob. (1996) Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York. ISBN   1-55939-048-4.
7. Shakabpa, Tsepon W. D. (1967). Tibet: A Political History, p. 27. Yale University Press. New Haven and London.
8. Ancient Tibet: Research materials from the Yeshe De Project. 1986. Dharma Publishing, California. ISBN   0-89800-146-3, p. 215, 224-225.
9. Gyaltsen, Sakyapa Sonam (1312-1375). The Clear Mirror: A Traditional Account of Tibet's Golden Age, p. 192. Translated by McComas Taylor and Lama Choedak Yuthob. (1996) Snow Lion Publications, Ithaca, New York. ISBN   1-55939-048-4.