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Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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[VOL. II

118   ANTIQUITIES OF INDIAN TIBET

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one of the conditions of the ` Peace of Gtiii-mo-sgaii'. The present mosque of Leh was erected, according to a Persian inscription, in 1077 A.H. I believe that we shall not be mistaken, if we accept c. 1650 A.D. as the probable date of the battle. It is remarkable that, whilst Cunningham gives (Ladák, pp. 327-8) a Tibetan date of the battle, none of the MSS. at my disposal contain such a date. If Cunningham's dates were correct, we should have to place the battle about ten years earlier. But Cunningham's account is not quite trustworthy ; for he places the battle in King Bde-ldan's reign, whilst it certainly took place under King Bde-legs, as stated in all my MSS. Mir-Izzat-Ullah, who wrote in the Quarterly Oriental Magazine (vol. iii, pp. 103 sqq.), adds the following items with regard to Bde-leg's dependence on the Mughal emperor:—(1) Bde-legs had to accept the Muhammadan name of Akabet-(or Akabal) Mahműd-Khán ; (2) he had to coin the jau (a Ladakhi coin worth 3l annas, pictured in Cunningham's Ladák, pl. xii) in the name of Mahműd-Shah; (3) a mosque had to be erected at Leh; (4) one of his sons, Hjig-dpal (? Cunningham's Jigbal), had to go to Kashmir as a hostage. A document with Aurangzib's seal was discovered at Lamayuru by Moorcroft (ii, p. 14). It testifies to the dependence of the Ladakhis on the Mughal emperors after the battle of Bab-sgo. Inscriptions containing the name of Bde-legs-rnam-rgyal as King of Ladakh have not yet been discovered ; but some mentioning Mi-pham-mgon (Mi-pham-dbaii-po) as regent of Ladakh after the battle of Bab-sgo have been found at Suur-la, Rgya, and Phug-thal (compare No. 108 of my collection). After the battle a treaty was concluded between the Tibetan and the Bashahr State. Several documents of this treaty have come to light recently. A fresco representing the treaty is to be found in a garden house of the Rájà's palace at Rampur. A song of the siege of Bab-sgo (Ba-mgo) is found in my article `Ten Ancient Historical Songs from W. Tibet ', Indian Ant., 1909, song No. X. According to popular tradition the numerous ruins at Mkhar-rdzoii in Nub-ra are connected with the Mongol general Dgah-ldan-tshe-dbaii, of whom a portrait head may be seen at the Bde-skyid monastery, where it is placed in the hands of the ogre Mgon-dkar.

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(B MS.) His sons were Lha-then-Ni-ma-rnam-rgyal, Nag-dbaii-rnam-rgyal (L MS. Na-dban-rnam-rgyal), Dban-phyug-rnam-rgyal, (L MS.) Don-grub-rnam-rgyal, and (B MS.) Dgah-ldan-rnam-rgyal. Of these four (five) brothers Ni-ma-rnam-rgyal (c. 1680-1720 A.D.) was made king. (S MS.) Through the prayers of the brave-minded religious kings (Mahá,sattvas) he erected all kinds of religious buildings and statues, according to the religious merit of all beings. (B MS.) In accordance with the rule of acting upon the model of the biographies of the ancient kings of faith,

He lauded the virtuous, And suppressed evil-doers.

In pronouncing judgment even he never merely followed what first presented itself to his own mind, but [always] in the first place consulted his state officers. From every village he appointed as elders men of superior intelligence to assist him, and such as wanted his decision in rescripts, questions relating to field or house [property], he did not leave at the mercy of interlopers or partial advisers ; but, having instituted [the councils of] three state officers and elders, he introduced the oath on the three symbols (body, mind, and word) ; first he investigated the primary origin [of any dispute], and extracted the root whence future [evil] report might spring. This edict surpasses in excellence any of those that were passed by all the dynastic kings of Tibet.

(C MS.) He lauded the virtuous

And showed honour to excellent men.

p. 44.   Old men were respected

And devotion was shown to the lamas. Evil-doers were suppressed ;