Karma Tseten

Karma Tseten Dorje belonged to a clan from Nyag which claimed descent from Jñanakumara, a disciple of the eighth-century tantric master Padmasambhava.^[1] In fact he does not seem to have belonged to any noble house. At that time, the Rinpungpa Dynasty held superior power in the Tsang region and was somehow related to Karma Tseten's lineage.^[2]

Coming from relatively modest circumstances, Karma Tseten was used by the Tsang ruler for various tasks, such as chief groom and tax collector. In 1548, he was entrusted with the governorship of the Samdrubtse castle in Shigatse.^[3] This was a place of great strategical importance in Tsang.

Some years later he began to plot against his Rinpungpa master. According to a picturesque but maybe apocryphical story he obtained a written permit to collect 300 sewing needles from the local population. As the words for needle and armour are very similar in Tibetan, Karma Tseten made a slight change in the document, and could thus collect 300 suits of armour.^[4]

In 1557, according to one source, he raised the standard of rebellion, helped by the discontent with the Rinpungpa among vassals such as Narthang, Norkhyung, and Gyatso.^[5] According to another eyewitness account, he bided his time until 1565, when he was appointed magpon (general). Then he started an uprising that took the Rinpungpa ruler Ngawang Jigme Drakpa by complete surprise. The situation was made worse for the Rinpungpa since some nobles close to them committed treason. Karma Tseten was able to take Panam Lhundrup Kyungtse and the Pakmori Gold Castle from Drakpa. The latter was besieged and captured; one of his sons was imprisoned while another one was killed.^[6] The Drukpa lama Kunkhyen Pema Karpo was able to mediate between the warring parties.

However, just after the Tibetan new year in 1566, fresh fighting broke out in lower Nyangtö. The Drukpa lama intervened again. Karma Tseten requested all the lands above Jomo Kharek (a mountain at the border between Ü and Tsang), but was finally content with the entire Panam area.^[7] With these events the Rinpungpa faded into insignificance.

After 1565-66 Karma Tseten, who was also known as Zhingshagpa, declared himself Tsangtö Gyalpo, King of Upper Tsang.^[8] The new royal line did not have the prestige of families descended from the ancient Tibetan kings; in fact, their status as an upstart dynasty may have contributed to their hasty end in 1642.^[9]

The 16th century was marked by a relative decline of secular noble houses in comparison to the main Buddhist sects, such as the Gelugpa and Karma Kagyu, which formed comprehensive ritual alliances with political repercussions. In this volatile political-religious landscape it was important for a new ruler to find support from the sects. The 9th Karmapa hierarch, Wangchuk Dorje, met Karma Tseten in 1567, and again in 1585 and 1590. The meetings seem to have been accompanied by the transfer of tutelary deities to the king.^[10]

The dynasty founded by Karma Tseten also kept good relations with representatives of the Jonang, Sakya and Nyingma sects. The overall strategical aim of his rule was to keep Tibet free from the encroaching Mongols who began to ally with the Third Dalai Lama, Sonam Gyatso, in his time. He wished to bring back the institutions of the old Tibetan Empire in order to achieve a well-governed and prosperous Tsang.^[11]

Karma Tseten and his offspring do not seem to have had any relations with the Ming Dynasty of China.^[12]