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CH. VI]   THE CHRONICLES OF LADAKH : TRANSLATION .   93

(A MS.) His sons were Skyid-lde-ni-ma-ingon and Khri-bkra-sis-rtsegs-dpal (L MS. : Khri-bkra-sis-brtsegs-pa-dpal), these two. Skyid-lde-ni-ma-mgon (c. 90030 A.D.), when on his way to Upper Miiah-ris—Tibet being in a state of revolution—and accompanied by a hundred horsemen under the leadership of Hbal-ma-zug-btsan, Khun-mo-nag-pa, and 'A-ka-badzra, these three (S and L MSS. : a hundred horsemen under the leadership of Dpal-ma-zug-gar, Khyun-dpal-ldan-grub, and 'A-kabadza of Me-nag, these two (?)) happened to be obliged to eat fish and eggs. [The servant] brought [the food] wrapped in a napkin, and they became satisfied. From this it came to be a custom with the kings of Tibet to use the [so-called] giant's napkin (also explained as a napkin with eight folds). Eventually he arrived at Ra-lahi-rgyud. He built Mkhar-dmar of Ra-la in the horse-year, Rtse-go-rgya-ri (S and L MSS. : Rtse-tho-rgya-ri) in the sheep-year. He thought of causing many villages and hamlets (towns) to be built throughout the broad valleys of Dam and Lag (or Dam-lag). Mar-yul he left undisturbed. At that time Upper Ladakh (La-dvags-stod) of Mar-yul was held by the descendants of Gesar, whilst Lower Ladakh (Smad-rnams) was split up into small independent principalities. At that time Dge-byes-btsan (L MS. : Dge-ses-bkra-sis-btsan) invited him to Pu-hraiis, and offered him Hbro-za-Hkhor-skyon to be his wife, and he married her. She bore him three sons. He now built the palace of Ni-zuns and erected a capital. Then he conquered Mnah-ris-skor-gsum completely and ruled in accordance with the faith.

NOTES

The name of this king is given in the same spelling in the Dpag-bsam-ljon-bzan, p. 152. The Bodhimör (op. cit., p. 365) calls him Jir-ghalang-Koissun-itegel, and his brother Olsöi-dabchur-lagsan. The Central Tibetan as well as the Mongol authors assert that Ni-ma-mgon was the son of the great queen, and his brother the son of a minor queen.

The following inscriptions from Ladakh are probably of king Ni-ma-mgon's time, although they do not contain his name :—(1) The Sheh inscriptions ; (2) some of the Alci-mkhar-gog inscriptions (see my article ` Archaeology in Western Tibet ', ,Ind. Ant., vols. xxxv—vi) ; (3) several inscriptions at Bya in Zaiis-dkar, discovered by the Rev. G. Hettasch, of Kyelang. A song of a king Ni-ma-mgon is found in my article ` Ten Ancient Historical Songs from W. Tibet ' (Ind. Ant., 1909).

With regard to king Ni-ma-mgon's marriage the following may be said :—Dge-ses-btsan is in all probability the name of a king of Pu-hraiis. Names ending in btsan are generally names of kings or of members 'of royal families. Dge-ses-btsan probably had an only daughter, who was heir to the throne. Thus, in marrying this daughter Ni-ma-mgon became master of Pu-hraiis. That he was actually in possession of it is shown by the fact that he handed it over to one of his sons.

Dr. Marx notes that the so-called ` Giant's napkin ' is still in use with the kings of Ladakh. It is called Gsai -khebs, ` cover of the hidden thing.' The Ladakhis do not eat fish or eggs. To them a fish ifi a kind of Naga. The avoidance of eggs is shared by the Dards.

Geography.—The following place-names have already been identified by Dr. Marx :—Mnah-ris-skor-gsum usually includes the districts of Ru-thogs, Gu-ge, and Pu-hrafis only. Here, however, it seems to include all Ladakh, Zaus-dkar, etc., as well. (Let me add that in the Sheh inscriptions the word mnah-ris is used inclusive of the whole of Ladakh.) Ladakh, the Persian transliteration of the Tibetan La-dvags, is warranted by the pronunciation of the word in several Tibetan districts. The terminal gs has the sound of the guttural gh or even kh in various Tibetan dialects. The boundary between Upper and Lower Ladakh is the plateau between Basgo (Bab-sgo) and Sa-spo-la. Mkhar-dmar of Ra-lahi-rgyud is said to be a steppe-district inhabited by nomads, beyond Ru-thog ; near it, the ruins of an old castle, called Khar-mar,

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