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

above. Gesar's (Kesar's) name is found three times in the chronicle, viz. in parts i,
ii, and vi. He is the revealer of historical knowledge.

Let me now review the text of the La-dvags-rgyal-rabs. It consists of ten parts,
some of which have headings in Tibetan, whilst others have not.

Part I : Introductory Hymns. One hymn is found in S MS., another in L MS.

Part II : Cosmology and Cosmogony. Dr. K. Marx mentions such a chapter
as occurring in A MS. The following text is based on a copy of this chapter
provided by Joseph Tshe-brtan of Leh.

Part III : The Genealogy of the Śākyas. This chapter is found in A MS.,
S MS., and L MS. It is interesting that several of the mythological names contained
in it are found also in inscriptions of Ladakh and in folklore. This shows how
deeply rooted is the belief of the people that the kings of Ladakh are descended
from the Śākya race. The following text is based on S MS. But A MS. might
be adduced for comparison. The history from Rna-ba-can to Gautama Buddha is
almost literally identical in S MS. and A MS.

Part IV : The Tibetan Kings of Leh and Lhasa down to Glaṅ-dar-ma, the
Apostate. This chapter is entitled in Tibetan 'History of the First Spread of
Buddhism'. It is found in A MS., C MS., S MS., and L MS. The same times
we find described in Central Tibetan and Mongolian historical books and in Chinese
works. The latter were translated by S. W. Bushell (JRAS., 1880). A most
successful attempt to reconcile the Chinese with the Tibetan accounts was made by
Herbert Müller in the Zeitschrift für vergleichende Rechtskunde, Bd. xx. My
chronology is based on the Chinese chronicles. The following text is based on
S MS.; but L MS. has been adduced for comparison.

Part V : Glaṅ-dar-ma's Persecution of Buddhism. This chapter is entitled in
Tibetan 'The Submerging of Buddha's Religion'. It is found in A MS., C MS.,
S MS., and L MS. The same times are described in Central Tibetan, Mongolian,
and Chinese historical works. Even Albîrûnî speaks of Long-dherman, Langdarma.
The text of this chapter is based on S MS.; but L MS. has been adduced for
comparison.

Part VI : The Kings of the First West Tibetan Dynasty. This chapter is
entitled in Tibetan 'The Story of the Later Spread of Buddha's Religion'. It is
found in A MS., C MS., S MS., and L MS. The Chinese works do not contain
any passages relating to those events. The Central Tibetan and Mongolian authors
tell the tale down to King Dpal-gyi-mgon. Of later times they supply only
occasional notes, as, for instance, the note on a census of Tibet and Ladakh under
the Emperor Kublai Khan in the thirteenth century. The text of this chapter is
based on A MS.; but C MS., S MS., and L MS. have been adduced for comparison.

Part VII : The Kings of the Second Dynasty down to Seṅ-ge-rnam-rgyal.
This is probably the 'Biography of Seṅ-ge-rnam-rgyal' compiled by his son Bde-ldan-
rnam-rgyal, as stated in S MS. No Oriental would begin a biography with the
birth of his hero. The hero's history is given at the end of a long narrative of his