National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

INTRODUCTION   7

As stated by the early Tibetan writers of history, they made use of several

historical books which were then current in Ladakh. In parts ii, iii, and iv, the

following are mentioned :-

1.  Rnam-brad-moon pahi-mdzod (Abhidharma-kosa).

2.  Chos-hbyun.

3.  Rgyal-cabs-che-chum-rnams.

4.  Hjig-rten-gdags pa.

5.  Rgyal-rabs-spun po-gsum-khug-blon pohi-rgyal-mtshan.

6.  Gsan-ba or Hbru-bdus (Guhya-samája ?).

7.  Dan po-dban-byed-rim pahi-dgu-bywn.

8.  Hkhor-lo-sna-bdun.

Of these works No. 7 is still known in Ladakh, where it is called Rim-dgu.

This work may possibly come to light again. As I understand, this book contains

not exactly folklore, but popular legends, ,referring to the early reigns. The book

called Chos-hbyun is given in Csoma's list . of historical books. To these eight works

may be added the Rgya-cher-rol-pa (Lalita-vistara), which book was utilized by

the writer of part iii, the genealogy of the Sakyas. The little song, Rgyal-rigs-

bram-zehi-bu-mo-daii, etc., was directly copied from that book.

The office of chronicler does not appear to have been continually occupied in

Ladakh. We know only of the following occurrences : Under King Mu-khri-btsan-po

(798-804 A.D.) a first history of Tibet was written. Then King Bde-ldan-rnam-rgyal

(c. 1625-45 A.D.) wrote a biography of his father, Sell-ge-rnam-rgyal. Finally,

Munshi Tshe-rin-dpal-rgyas, of Leh, has acted as chronicler of . more recent times.

It is, of course, very probable that between these three there worked a great

number of chroniclers who have been forgotten. At present we cannot expect

to find any more MSS. of the Rgyal-rabs, dating from King Mu-khri-btsan-po's

times. Still, the early parts of the text of the royal MS. (S MS.) were possibly copied from an ancient MS. of the Rgyal-rabs of c. 800 A.D.

It is very probable that some of the early historians of Ladakh or Tibet took

Indian Vamsávalis as their model. The Vamsávali of Chamba, for instance, as

published by Dr. J. Ph. Vogel in his Antiquities of the Chamba State, bears a strong

resemblance to the older portions of the La-dvags-rgyal-rabs. Both productions

begin with an introductory hymn, in which the book is called a necklace. The

necklace is represented as being wound round the neck of the deity or saint to

whom the book is dedicated. Then, both books contain a long list of names of

mythological beings, the supposed supernatural ancestors, of the race of kings, and,

in a third part, the names of the actual human kings are given. The Indian

Vamsávalis, even if they contained nothing but names, were written in metre, and

such was also the case, probably, with the Tibetan productions. A last remnant

of such a Tibetan metrical Vamsávali we may have in Schlagintweit's folios 13 and

14a (the seven heavenly thrones), where there are ten lines of metrical verse which

contain in lines 1-6 only names, and in lines 7-10 a few notes on that group of kings.