16 Facts About Karma Tenkyong

Karma Tenkyong, in full Karma Tenkyong Wangpo, was a king of Tibet who ruled from 1620 to 1642.

Karma Tenkyong belonged to the Tsangpa Dynasty which had been prominent in Tsang since 1565.

Karma Tenkyong's reign was marked by the increasingly bitter struggle against the Gelugpa sect and its leader the Dalai Lama.

Karma Tenkyong was born in 1606 as the son of the Tsangpa ruler Karma Phuntsok Namgyal.

In 1618, when Karma Tenkyong was twelve years old, his father successfully invaded U which was a stronghold of the reformist Gelugpa sect.

Related searches

Karma Tenkyong met them in battle at Gyathanggang but was decisively defeated.

Karma Tenkyong proceeded to repair the temples in Lhasa where the ravages of the Mongols caused the religious service to lapse for two years.

Karma Tenkyong was known to his contemporaries for his hasty temper, strength, and audacious rashness, characteristics that incidentally were reminiscent of early Indian legends of Vajrapani, the deity he was believed to incarnate.

Karma Tenkyong's palace was built on the top of a mountain, with a construction similar to a Portuguese fortress but without artillery.

Karma Tenkyong's court was kept with great luxury and the various rooms were gilded and painted.

Karma Tenkyong furthermore allied with the senior ruler of the Mongols, Ligdan Khan, a convert to the Shamarpa sect.

Karma Tenkyong's troops conquered Shigatse and Gyangtse but were then dispersed by another Mongol chief.

Karma Tenkyong inherited from his father a latent conflict with Ngawang Namgyal, a Drukpa cleric who had founded a polity in Bhutan in 1616.

Karma Tenkyong had previously visited Tibet as a pilgrim and was attached to the Dalai Lama faction.

Meanwhile, Karma Tenkyong tried to counter Gelugpa influence in the east by allying with Donyo Dorje, the king of Beri in Kham.

Karma Tenkyong was put in an ox-hide bag and thrown in the Tsangpo river near Neu.