国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

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XXII. Notes on those Vassal States of which no Chronicles remain

1. THE KHRI-SULTÄNS OF DKAR-RTSE

The principality of Dkar-rtse comprised the valleys of the Su-ru and Dras rivers ;

but the chiefs of Dras may at times have been independent. The capital of the State

was Dkar-rtse in the Su-ru valley, and the towns of Su-ru, Dkar-kyil, Pas-kyum, at

times even Mul-hbye, Wan-la, Sim-sa-mkhar-bu, and Hem-babs (Dras) were subject

to these chiefs. The population was for the greater part of Dard origin, and the Dard

language is still spoken in its western villages. The religion of the state was originally

Buddhism ; but in the fifteenth or sixteenth century this was exchanged for

Muhammadanism. Ran-lidum in the upper Su-ru valley is the only place in the

district which has remained Buddhist.

Inscriptions :—At Dras there are several sculptured stones with inscriptions in

Sarada, one even in Tibetan. They go back to the times of the early chiefs of Hem-babs.

'A-la or Drain-'A-la seems to have been the name of one of those chiefs. The huge sculp-

ture of Maitreya at Mul-hbye is probably the work of one of the earlier chiefs of Dkar-

rtse. It is now stated to be the work of the eight minor sons of Ne-ba, viz. the eight

spiritual sons of Buddha (see S. Ch. Das' dictionary). Similar sculptures near Dkar-rtse

are said to be furnished with Tibetan inscriptions, which have, however, not yet been

examined. A sculpture at Sin-go is pictured in Drew's book (The Northern Barrier of

India, p. 270). A Tibetan inscription mentioning one of those chiefs by his dynastic

name Khri-rgyal (later on changed to Khri-Sultán), is found in my collection of

historical inscriptions under No. 42.—King Hod-den, mentioned in a votive

inscription at Mul-hbye, may be one of the Muhammadan chiefs (Khri-Sultans) of

Dkar-rtse.—An inscription from Wan-la is of the greatest importance with regard to

the history of these chieftains. It seems to be the only Tibetan record of the Kashmir

expeditions against Ladakh in the fifteenth century. It is found on one of the walls

of the Bcu-geig-zal monastery at Wan-la. There the chiefs are called Khri-dpon

(a synonym of Khri-rgyal). Their dominions are said to have included Wa-kha,

Kan-ji, Su-ru, En-sa-ali, and Man-rgyu. The Chief Hbhag-dar-skyabs became a

vassal of the Kashmir king, and apparently in his service conquered (or assisted

in the conquest of) Sbal-ti, Hbrog-pa (district of Mdah), Gu-ge, Pu-hrans, and

Mnah-ris-skor-gsum. At that time began the introduction of Muhammadanism into

Pu-rig ; for names like Khatűn and `Ali appear in the record by the side of perfectly

Tibetan names.

Other records :—ln the Ta'rikh-i-Rashidi (c. 1532 A.D., pp. 462 sqq.) we read of several

expeditions of the Turkomans under 11VIirza Haidar against Su-ru. Apparently they were

not crowned with much success. From the Ladakhi chronicles we learn that two

chiefs of Pu-rig were fighting with one another (c. 1550-80 A.D.). One of them was the

chief of Cig-tan, and the other in all probability the chief of Dkar-rtse.—Then in the

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