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Antiquities of Indian Tibet : vol.2 |
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12 ANTIQUITIES OF INDIAN TIBET [VoL. II
to be such. It was begun as a pedigree of the kings of Leh, whose chief intention
was to prove their descent from the famous line of the ancient kings of Lhasa.
Thus the first portion of this chapter, covering roughly the period from 900 to 1400 A.D.,
does not contain much beside mere names. About the year 1400 the account begins
to become fuller. This may be due to the, fact that the second dynasty branched
off at about that time, and this new line of kings may have had a stronger instinct
for history. Or it may be due to Muhammadan influences. At any rate, the
accounts grow in fullness after 1400 A.D. Still, they leave much to be desired from
a European point of view. The writers were lamas, and to them the greatest events
during the reign of a king were his presents to lamas and monasteries, or his
building of chortens (mohod-rten, stúpa) and mani-walls. Much ink has been expended
on these events, which are of very little interest to the average European. On the
other hand, the campaigns of the kings are treated with extraordinary brevity, and
of their economical work we hear nothing at all. Only in the case of the last
few kings are we able to form an idea of their characters, and of theme tactics
employed during the campaigns we hear practically nothing. The chronicler is quite
satisfied with telling us the final result. Thus we see that all those points which
go to make a history of a country serviceable are missing in these Western Tibetan
records ; and yet the naïve tone of the chroniclers has often a charm of its own.
An important question is this : do the Ladakhi historians tell the truth, or is
their history entirely or partially fabricated matter ? The best test of the veracity
of a historical account is a comparison with other entirely independent documents.
Only in comparatively few cases are we enabled to compare a Western Tibetan
account of an event with that of a foreign country. Of greater importance in that
respect are the many inscriptions on rock and stone which are scattered all over
the country. I have made a special study of these records, and have come to the
following conclusion : from the inscriptions it becomes evident that at any rate the
kings of the Rnam-rgyal dynasty are historical realities, and their order of succession
is the same on the records on stone as in the chronicles. Records containing the
names of all of them have been found, from Lha-dbaii-rnam-rgyal down to Tshe-dpal-
rdo-rje-rnam-rgyal. As far as contemporary history of other countries can. be adduced
by way of comparison, the chronicles do not contain anything that conflicts there-
with. The test of the veracity of the account of the first dynasty is of a more
insufficient nature. Records on stone relating to the time from c. 850 to 1400 A.D. are
rarer than those of later times, and several of them do not contain the proper name
of the sovereign. This much has so far come to light. King Hbum-lde's name is
found on the rock at Mul-bhe, which contains an edict by him. The name of his
son, Blo-gros-[mchog-ldan], occurs in an inscription on the wall of the Byams-pa-
dmar-po temple at Leh. An inscription at Tabo in Spi-ti mentions King Lha-chen-
byan-chub-sems-dpah (first half of the eleventh century) as a contemporary of
the Gu-ge king Byan-chub-hod and the famous Indian teacher Ati a. Thus
the testimony of the inscriptions which have become known up to the present does
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