lobsang shastri - jalandhara

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Jalandhara in the Eyes of Tibetan and Trans-Himalayan Pilgrims*

Lobsang Shastri

A Look at the Doctrinal Background

The places associated with the Buddha’s miracles came to be considered

sacred and imbued with powers that generate awareness of the enlightened

ones in the mind of devotees. The Collection of Sutras (Sutra-pitaka) extensively

explain the immense benefits that can be derived by doing prostrations, makingofferings and going on pilgrimage to these holy places.

According to tantric explanations, when the Tathagata Buddha propounded

the esoteric teachings of the Sri-Cakrasamvara-tantra,1 he explained how not

absorbed manifestations of mandalas of the father-mother Cakrasamvara (the

principal deities in the Samvara mandala), and of Vajrayogini (the viras of three

cakras of body, speech and mind) from this world helps tantric practitioners

attain mystical experiences and realizations. The Samputa-tantra indicates

that the reason for the existence of the ten grounds of transcendental perfection,

such as Pullir in the language of Mlecchas, is to go on pilgrimage there, as

advised by the yoginis. These pilgrimage places are both internal and external.

In the paramita tradition, the ten grounds, such as Rab tu dga’ ba (“the

joyous one”), and the five paths are presented as spiritual levels of

accomplishment. However, in tantra they are known by the names of sacred

places. This helps to develop skills in causing external places such as Pullir,

where dakas and dakinis congregate, to abide in the internal vajra-body. In

recognition of their abidance and using them as paths, one causes the winds

and drops, which are conjoined with the dakas and yoginis, to dissolve into

avadhuti, the central energy channel. As a result one experiences realizations

connected with the spiritual grounds. This helps to bring under one’s control

the dakas and dakinis dwelling in sacred places. It also helps gain familiarity

with the practices for higher meditative stability. There are innumerable other

benefits and reasons for going on pilgrimage to these sacred places.2

* This paper was presented during the Tenth International Conference on Tibetan Studies

( IATS ), Oxford 2003 titled as “Pilgrimage to Jalandhar: Description and Spiritual

Experiences of Tibetan and Trans-Himalayan Pilgrims”.

This paper was also translated into German language and published title as “Pilgerreise

nach Jalandhara”, Tibethaus - Journal Chokor, NO.45, July 2008, p.25-33.



4 TIBET JOURNAL

Za ma tog bkod pa describes how hills and mountains in Tibet actually are bodies

and abodes of Arya Lokesvara. Laden with sacredness and with carved mantras,

they help practitioners accomplish the enlightened deeds of subduing and taming

countless sentient beings. Guru Padmasambhava discovered hidden “treasures”

(gter ) in these mountains and also in the lakes of the central and border regions

of Tibet, which he later recognized as sacred places for retreat. There-after, numerous

emanations in the form of masters and disciples, endowed with the miraculous

power to transform years into aeons and vice-versa, turned the wheel of the

teachings in these places, thus making them one and inseparable with the

primordially pure vajra land.

Later, higher emanation beings opened the doors of innumerable holy places,discovered hidden treasures and created an atmosphere conducive for those masters

to engage in extensive and transcendental secret practice to benefit the teachings and

sentient beings. The existence and mode of appearance of these sacred places

of vajra-nature proved highly beneficial for the dissemination of Buddhism. It is

widely believed that these places have positive qualities that help tantric

practitioners accomplish ordinary and extraordinary mystical attainments and

realizations swiftly and without difficulties. Among the unending chains of

sacred places blessed by the principal deities from the limitless ocean of

vidhyadharas and dakinis, where masters, shining like the sun and moon,

sojourned, many sacred localities, including those in the southern India, the

land of Chamara, and incomparable vajra places, like Jalandhara, Jwalamukha

and the Land of Zahor (Mandi), are still in existence and can be visited.3

The twenty-four pilgrimage sites are of two types, i.e., the twenty-four inner

pilgrimage sites and twenty-four external pilgrimage sites. The twenty-four inner

pilgrimage sites are located on different inner channels (rtsa) and the twenty-four

external sites are the places subdued and blessed by Cakrasamvara.4 There are some

who say that these are part of the twelve bhumis. In the Hevajra Commentary of

Bla ma Dam pa Bsod nams rgyal tshan (1312-1375) an identification of inner

holy sites which is similar to that of the Cakrasamvara tradition can be found.5

These holy places are called Pitha, Ksetra, Chandoha and are the sites of

Anuttarayogatantra. It is said that the external pilgrimage sites originated from the

vajra-body mandala.

The Hevajra-tantra (Dgyes pa rdo rje’i rgyud ) identifies thirty-seven sacred placesin the continent of Jambudvipa.6 Vajra-dakini-tantra (Rdo rje mkha’ ’gro’i rgyud )

mentions twenty-four sacred places. Bu ston rin chen grub and ’Jam mgon A

myes zhabs Bde mchog chos ’byung, as well as Pan chen Er ti ni Dpal ldan ye



Jalandhara in the Eyes of Tibetan and Trans-Himalayan Pilgrims 5

shes Shambha la’i lam yig state that the twenty-four places are Pullirmaya,

Jalandhara, Odiyana, Arbuda, Godavari, Rameshvari, Devikoti, Malava, Kamarupa,

Odra, Trishku, Koshala, Kalinga, Lampaka, Kanci, Himalaya, Pretapuri,

Grihaddevata, Saurastra, Suvarnadvipa, Nagara, Sindhu, Maru, Kuluta.7

Amongst the works of Tibetan scholars, it seems that the description of

places of Cakrasamvara given in Bu ston’s Bde mchog chos ’byung is the

earliest. It is likely that all the later descriptions are based on Bu ston’s work.

For a closer study of the variations concerning the identification of sacred

places, a detailed explanation is given in Taranatha’s sadhana on Nag po zhabs

(1615) and in Kun mkhyen Pad ma dkar po’s guide to Tsa ri. According to

Taranatha, twenty-four dakas originated from Heruka and twenty-four dakinisfrom Vajravarahi (Rdo rje phag mo).8 These twenty-four deities, known as

twenty-four viras, preside over twenty-four places of India. In the esoteric

rituals, they are localized in as many centres in our body.

In Mthong ba don ldan, the biography of Rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje by

Sangs rgyas dar po, the twenty-four external holy sites correspond to the twenty-

four beings to be spiritually tamed by the twenty-four Herukas. The twenty-four

secret holy sites are on the body (kaya), speech (vak ) and mind (citta) cakras of

the mandala. The twenty-four inner sites are inside our body.9 On the basis of this

concept, Jalandhara, on which this paper focuses, is localized in the upper portion

of the head.The twenty-four places also correspond to the tantric physiognomy

of Vajrakaya.10

The Literature

Accounts of the twenty-four pilgrimage sites of Cakrasamvara can be found

in the Cakrasamvara Tantra, Kalacakra Tantra, Hevajra Tantra, Vajrayogini

Tantra, and in Tibetan works like the Religious History of Cakrasamvara by Bu

ston, Kalacakra Commentary by Mkhas grub rje, the Cakrasamva Sadhana

(Nag po zhabs transmission), the Seven Instruction Lineages by Taranatha,

and the Religious History of Cakrasamvara by ’Jam mgon A myes zhabs.

The popular Buddhist myth, according to tantra, about the subjugation or

conversion of Maheshvara and the birth of Heruka is well docu-mented in Bu

ston’s Bde mchog chos ’byung ,11 Klong rdol bla ma’s Gsung ’bum,12 ’Bri gung

’Jig rten mgon po’s gnas yig,13 ’Brug pa Chos kyi snang ba ’Gyur med rdo rje

snying po’s Tsa’ ri guide,14 in Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen’s identification of

sacred places,15 and in the collected works of ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i

dbang po.16



6 TIBET JOURNAL

According to Ronald M. Davidson,17 the source of the myth is in

Tattvasamgraha, where Vajrapani’s subjugation of Maheshvara is described.

This version of the myth gained popularity and was used to establish

authenticity for the Cakrasamvara texts. Besides the twenty-four sacred

places, the thirty-two sacred sites, the thirty-seven sacred places, eight great

cemeteries, eight glorious mountains, a hundred spontaneously-arisen caityas,

eight and thirteen congregational sites of dakinis, and eighty secret caves of

dakinis which are mentioned by ’Bri gung ’Jig rten mgon po,18 ’Brug pa Chos

kyi snang ba,19 and ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po.20 Sa skya pandita

talks about thirteen vajra-grounds.21

Key references to Jalandhara are found in the Cakrasamvara-tantraand relatedtexts, as well as in the religious histories of Cakrasamvara by Bu ston and ’Jam

mgon A myes zhabs, and in the biographies of Rgyal ba Rgod tshang pa, Grub

thob U rgyan pa, Stag tshang ras pa, Zangs dkar ’khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe ring,

Rang rig ras pa, the guide book of Dge ’dun chos ’phel and lastly in the writings of

the previous Karma pa and Dil mgo mkhyen brtse rin po che.

The Hindu legend Padmapura discusses Jalandharapa and one of his consorts

called Vrinda.22 The Sanskrit lexicon Hemakosa includes a section called

Uttarkand which refers to Jalandhara, Raja-tarangini-padmapura mentions

Jalandhara, while the Mahabharata epic also cites it as Trigatra.23

Ptolemy’s Geography, by referring to Jalandhara, was the first book in the

west, which talks about this holy place.24 There is also a brief mention of Jalandhara

in the travel account of Huien Tsiang (dating to 629) that includes information on the

existence of Mahayana and Hinayana Buddhist temples. Jalandhara’s importance

in Punjab and the Third Council of Buddhism that was held there are also well

known.25 Finally, Kalhana’s Raja-tarangini, written in the twelfth century,

mentions Jalandhara and Trigatra.

Regarding the literature about the most important Tibetan masters active in

north-west India, a list of rnam thar s by Rgod tshang pa is given in the colophon

of Mthong ba don ldan nor bu’i phreng ba written by Sangs rgyas dar po. On

this list are slob dpon Byang dpal’s Rtsag ris chen mo, slob dpon Dbang phyug

rgyal mtshan’s Gnad btus sgron me and Mya ngan ’das chung, slob dpon Byang

chub ’od’s Dgos ’dod kun ’byung, Byang sems Sher gzhon’s Khyad ’ phags bdun

ma, and the biographies by Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje and Rtse brgyad pa.

Presently available in print are the biographies written by Sangs rgyas dar po,26

Gnad sdud pa’i sgron me by Sde snod ’dzin pa Rin chen dpal,27 two editions of

Rgod tshang pa’s biography by an anonymous author/authors,28 and Mgur chen

’gas rgyan pa by Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje.29




As for U rgyan pa, there are two biographies at our disposal: Byin brlabs kyis

chu rgyun, written by Rtogs ldan Zla ba seng ge,30 and Rdzogs ldan bdud rtsi’i

dga’ ston in the collected works of Zhwa dmar Mkha’ spyod dbang po,31 not found

in the other Bka’ brgyud gser phrengs. A version similar to the above-mentioned

two biographies is found in Lho rong chos ’byung written in 1446 by Rta tshag

Tshe dbang rgyal.32

References to Jalandhara are also found in the guidebook of Dge ’dun chos

’phel, the Sixteenth Karma pa’s life account and Dil mgo Mkhyen brtse rin po

che’s guide to Tashijong. During his pilgrimage to Rewalsar and Jalandhara, the

latter wrote a five-folio gnas yig of Tashijong. In it, he makes a short note on

Jalandhara, which he considers to be one of the twenty-four pilgrimage placesof Cakrasamvara.33 He adds that there are different opinions on the origin of

name Jalandhara.

Among the Western scholars, the Italian Tibetologist Tucci wrote a

monograph in 1940 entitled Travels of Tibetan Pilgrims in the Swat Valley, in

which he talks about Uddiyana,34 and places it in north-west India. Its location

is still disputed among the Indian authors. Some consider it to be Odisi or

Orissa, while others point to Assam and Kanci.35 Tucci based his work on

Uddiyana on Tibetan texts, primarily the biographies of Rgod tshang pa Mgon

po rdo rje, U rgyan pa Seng ge dpal/Rin chen dpal and Stag tshang ras pa Ngag

dbang rgya mtsho.36 He did not have Rdzogs ldan bdud rtsi’i dga’ ston and

Lho rong chos ’byung’s biography of U rgyan pa at his disposal, and wrote about

this mahasiddha’s travel to Uddiyana basing himself on the bi-ography by Zla

ba seng ge and Padma dkar po’s chos ’byung.

Other western scholars like David Snellgrove, Keith Dowman, Toni Huber,

Hubert Decleer, Ronald Davidson and David Templeman have also written on this

subject. Roberto Vitali presented a paper on the travels of the thirteenth century

Bon po master Dbyil ston Khyung rgod rtsal in north-west India at the Eighth

IATS Seminar, Bloomington, which is to be published. By consulting

biographies and other documents not used by Tucci or found after him, I will

focus on Tibetan and Trans-Himalayan pilgrims to Jalandhara, the importance

of the site, geography and social conditions of the period.

The Historical InterfaceWhile the idea of a mythical land endowed with spiritual characteristics such as

Sham bha la became popular in Tibet with the translation of the Kalachakra-

tantra, the indigenous tradition, recognizing the sacredness of Uddiyana and



8 TIBET JOURNAL

Jalandhara, goes back to much earlier times. These were among the key places

in India, where the study and practice of tantric Buddhism flourished.

Jalandhara, one of the twenty-four pilgrimage sites of Cakrasamvara-tantra,

was of considerable geographical size during earlier times. The Jalandhara

kingdom had Nagarkot, or Kangra as it is presently known, as its capital. In

the Mahabharata epic, this region was called Trigatra (“confluence of three

rivers”) and later Nagarkota or Kangra. The place is recognised as the site of

the female deity Mahamaye or the Mata.

This region even had one or two temples built by king Ashoka, as proved

by archaeology and Indian historical works which are of the view that

Jalandhara is Jwalamukhi (see below). Buddhism flourished in Jalandharaduring the time of King Kanishka (first or second century CE). It is said that

the Third Council of Buddhism took place in Jalandhara during his reign. This

place is also mentioned in the travel notes of the seventh century Chinese

pilgrim Huien Tsiang of the T’ang dynasty.37 There are no further references

to Jalandhara till Mahmud of Ghazni in 1009.38 In 1030 it is mentioned as

Nagarkota in Alberuni’s India.39 Jalandhara is also mentioned in the 1050-

1060 copperplates of Chamba.

Records of the life of individuals contain brief historical references to

Jalandhara. One of the eighty-four mahasiddhas is of some significance to

the issue under study, for he was known by the sobriquet of Jalandharapa

(Drwa ba ’dzin). According to Bu ston ( Bde mchog chos ’byung) and Taranatha

( Bka’ bab bdun ldan gyi rgyud pa’i rnam),40 Jalandharapa received many

empowerments from his teacher Rus sbal zhabs can (“having the feet of a

tortoise”), and mastered the Four Tantras. After undertaking intense meditation

at Jalandhara, he was blessed with the vision of Vajrayogini and attained

enlightenment. He was named after the holy site where he meditated.41

According to Taranatha’s chos ’byung, he received the blessings of Vajrayogini

and realized the Mahamudra accomplishment.42 Bka’ bab bdun ldan gyi rgyud

pa’i rnam thar and Chos ’byung dpag bsam ljon bzang state that the

mahasiddha Jalandharapa was a pioneer of the Na tha yogic tradition and that

Jalandhara is one of the nine Na tha sites. The female deity is Candi and her

male counterpart is Mahadeva.

Jalandharapa’s birthplace was Nagarthotha, seemingly corresponding toNagarkota/Kangra, as stated in the history of the eighty-four mahasiddhas.43

Bka’ bab bdun ldan gyi rgyud pa’i rnam thar , too, gives the birthplace of

Jalandharapa, from whom Indrabodhi and Lwa wa pa received oral instructions




on Luminosity and Great Bliss, as the northern city of Nagarthotha, but adds that

it was situated on the bank of the river Sindhu.44 He was born in a shudra family

but became wealthy due to his meritorious karma. Having stayed at Jalandhara

for a long period of time, he was named after that locality. In this case, Nagarthotha

and Nagarkot seem to be different places because Nagarthotha is said to be

situtated on the bank of the Indus, and Jalandharapa performed spiritual practices

in Nagarkot/ Jalandhara.

The biography of the Sixteenth Karma pa, entitled Skyes rabs Dza lan dha

ra, provides a vague historical notion concerning a certain Jalandhara. It says

that he (the Karma pa) was previously born as a king, known as Jalandhara,

who ruled over the rich and powerful kingdom of Bhalaghaji in northern India.He held non-Buddhist beliefs and, to appease the gods, he constantly made

animal sacrifices. The royal family included King Jalandhara, Queen Kun du

’od and the princes Suryaputra and Suryacandra. Incidentally, Jalandhara is

said to be the pilgrimage place of Heruka.45 The Karma pa disclosed his previous

rebirth during his visit to Bhalaghaji/Jalandhara.

In ’Dzam gling rgyas bshad (1820 edition), Btsan po Nomihan says that

Jalandhara, located on the northern spoke of Sri Cakrasam-vara’s (mind-cakra),

was ruled by two kings, Ka and Kanakand, and that the Muslims (Kla klo) called

it Kandhahara and the Hindus Patazala.46 They were conquered by two

incarnations of the Buddha in the form of children. He adds that the place had

stupas built by them and statues of mahabodhisattvas the size of an ant. This

description seems to be drawn from Huien Tsiang, dating back to the seventh

century, with the obvious exception of the Muslims mentioned in it.

Since the region was under a Muslim ruler, it is not clear whether the holy

structures still existed. This story may possibly refer to the critical time in the

thirteenth century when the Mongols and the Delhi Sultanate vied for supremacy

in north-west India or to a later period.

The unsettled state of north-west India during the thirteenth century is evident

from accounts by Tibetan travellers of that period. U rgyan pa, despite the

confrontation between the Mongols and the Muslim, which was in full swing during

his visit, says that Nagarkota was prosperous,47 while in Rgod tshang pa’s

biographies, the place was economically poor to the extent that food was not

easily available, but the reason for this situation is not given.48

A statement inthe Sixteenth Karma pa’s account concerning the affluent economic conditions

of the place is rather difficult to assess from a historical point of view.49



10 TIBET JOURNAL

TIBETAN ANDTRANS-HIMALAYANPILGRIMS INJALANDHARA

Tibetan and Trans-Himalayan people have a long tradition of visiting the holy

places of north-west India. The Rnying ma pas preferred Uddiyana for engaging

in tantric practices, while the ’Brug pa and Kam tshang bka’ brgyud pa traditions

favoured Jalandhara.50 Many great beings from Tibet and the Himalaya have visited

Jalandhara on foot with their walking sticks, just as ordinary pilgrims. Those

whose biographies mention Jalandhara in their travel accounts are Rgod tshang pa

Mgon po rdo rje (1189-1258), Karma pa Rang byung rdo rje’s guru Grub thob U

rgyan pa Rin chen dpal (1229-1309), Stag lung bla ma Ye shes, and Bla ma Rin

chen mgon (whose pilgrimage to Jalandhara is briefly mentioned only in the

biography of ’Khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe ring).Three hundred years after Grub thob U rgyan pa, trans-Himalayan great masters

like Stag tshang ras pa Ngag dbang rgya mtso (sixteenth century), Rang rig ras pa

(seventeenth century) and Zangs dkar ba ’Khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe ring (1657-

1732 or 1717-1794) visited Jalandhara and undertook spiritual practice. A Tibetan

merchant from Khams, Kha stag ’dzam yag, travelled to India and Nepal between

the years 1944 and 1956. His travel account states that he visited Jalandhara during

that period.51 The twentieth century A mdo scholar Dge ’dun chos ’phel (1905-

1951),52 the Sixteenth Karma pa Rang byung rig pa’i rdo rje (1924-1982) and Dil

mgo Mkhyen rtse Rin po che (1910-1991) are among those who also visited

Jalandhara.

The biographies and spiritual songs (mgur ’bum) of these spiritual masters

describe the realizations they achieved in this place, the importance of the site,

its geography, and the ethno-social condition at the time of their pilgrimage.

Most pilgrims in the olden days used trade routes to travel to pilgrimage sites

associated with the highest Yogatantra. Often their starting point was Gu ge, crossed

by the Glang chen kha babs, whose source is not far from Pre ta pu ri, and

following its course downstream, they went to Ri bo Gandhola (Gar sha) and

Kuluta, before reaching Jalandhara. Snellgrove says that it was customary on

this pigrimage to visit Rewalsar, Uddiyana and Taxila,53 but the latter locality is

not included in the itineraries of the masters under consideration in this article,

while Rewalsar is a later pilgrimage place.

Rgod tshang paIn the biography of Rgod tshang pa by Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje, he is said

to have visited holy places like Mount Kailash and Jalandhara, when he was

twenty-five years old, and undertook meditation there for four years.54 One can




assess from the biography by Sangs rgyas dar po that Rgod tshang pa went to

Gangs rin po che in 1214 and proceeded to Jalandhara in the autum of 1216,

reaching his destination sometime in 1217,55 travelling through the land to the

west of Kailash, said to be part of Kashmir at that time.56

According to Gnad bsdus sgron me, not available to Tucci, Rgod tshang pa

stayed at Kailash for three years and travelled from there and Pre ta pu ri to

Jalandhara.57 After spending five months in Jalandhara, Rgod tshang pa

returned to Tibet by a shortcut. On the way, he met the mahasiddha Anupama

at Kuluta and received teachings from him. The biography confirms Jalandhara

as the site of the mind cakra of Vajrayogini and the palace of Cakrasamvara.58

In texts concerning the lives of ’Ba’ ra dkar brgyud pa lamas, it is written thatRgod tshang pa travelled from the Cakrasamvara pilgrimage site at Mount

Kailash to Pre ta pu ri, Ri bo Gandhola (awkwardly said to be located in Kulu

rather than Gar sha), and then to Jalandhara.59 According to Sangs rgyas dar

po’s biography, Rgod tshang pa stayed at Nagarkot for about five months.60

Dge ’dun chos ’phel gives a similar length of stay.

U rgyan pa

U rgyan pa travelled to Ri bo Gandhola in Lahaul on his way to Jal-andhara,61

but his journey, as is well known, took him to farther des-tinations on the

way to Uddiyana that are recorded with remarkable accuracy in his biography

written by Rtogs ldan Zla ba seng ge. U rgyan pa visited Gangs rin po che, Ma

pham mtsho, Kulu, Maru, Ri bo Gandhola and then Jalandhara. The biography

of U rgyan pa in the collected works of Zhwa dmar Mkha’ spyod dbang po

(1350-1405) is conceived along the same lines because it states that from Ri

bo Gandhola, grub thob U rgyan pa went to Jalandhara and visited places like

Langura, Jwalamukhi and Mitrasara. At a place called Nagarjuna Cave, he

met a siddha and held philosophical discussions with him.

Other Masters

Stag lung chos ’byung, in a chapter describing the activities of the eighteen

famous disciples of the Stag lung pa tradition, mentions that one of them was

Sgom pa Ma ni ba who had seventy disciples at Jalandhara and performed spiritual

practices with them.62

The detailed account of this saint, who must have beenactive sometime around the early thirteenth century, is unknown to us. Stag

lung chos ’byung states that the Fourth Stag lung chos rje Bkra shis bla ma’s

disciple Ye shes bla ma (1279-1312), visited Jalandhara with thirteen followers.63



12 TIBET JOURNAL

On the way, Ye shes bla ma warned that an obstacle was expected to prevent

them from crossing that area. Some time later, they were stopped by forty

border officials (sho gam pa). Ye shes bla ma then asked one of his attendants

to sing a song. The latter danced and mischievously sang a song in Tibetan,

full of abusive language. The officials, thinking that he was singing their

praises, were pleased and let Ye shes bla ma and his attendants pass. Thus they

safely reached a cane bridge over a river between two high mountains. Here they

performed a ganacakra under a rock, this being one of the places where hostile

dakinis pelted the mahasiddha Lwa ba pa with a shower of large stones,

which he miraculously stopped in the sky. Ye shes bla ma undertook meditation

in front of a self-originated Tara in the style of Kha che for one week, withoutthinking of food or water, and was blessed with the vision of this deity. He also

met a two hundred year old yogi, surviving on human flesh, who had achieved

Mahamudra (accomplishment). Sindhura dropped from the bagha of

Vajravarahi and imprints of Naropa’s head, body, hands and feet could be seen

on a rock near the Tara statue. They performed tshogs offerings to eight dakinis

who lived on a square area of ground. A huge town, onergyang grags (approximately

two miles) in size, lay ahead of them and, at night, the noise of non-human beings

and jackals sent shivers down the spines of those who heard it.64

Stag tshang ras pa, also known as U rgyan pa Ngag dbang rgya mtsho (1574-

1651), travelled to India and Kha che twice, via Mnga’ ris. During the first visit

around 1613, he proceeded to Jalandhara and Kashmir and then returned to Mar

yul (Ladakh).65 He went to Jalandhara/Nagarkota where he sang songs of spiritual

realization, describing Nagarkota as the palace of Vajrayogini.66 The biography also

states that U rgyan pa went to Kinnaur (Khu nu) and met the mahasiddha Bde ba

rgya mtsho.67 It seems that a young grub dpon chen po Rang rig ras pa took a

different route in order to proceed to Jalandhara, for his biography says that

went there from Nurpur.68

Jalandhara in the Eyes of the Tibetan Pilgrims

Jalandhara is recorded in the Tibetan literature as Klu’i mkhar (“fort of the

Naga”) or Rna ba’i mkhar (“fort of ears”) in Vogel’s The History of Kangra

and Kulu State, for it is said to be situated on top of the area where the

Jalandhara demon allegedly buried his ears.69

Modern Hindu pilgrimageguides to the Kangra temple mention that this area is associated with

Vajratara or Vajravarahi. The temple is at present known as Brajeshwari Mata,

and is situated in Kangra proper, twenty kilometers from Dharamshala.



14 TIBET JOURNAL

of the twenty-four holy places, the mind cakra of Vajrayogini, and the crown of

vajra-body.

The biography of Stag tshang ras pa adds a few details about Jalandhara that are

not found in the previously mentioned sources. Here was a temple of Vajrayogini

in the shape of a stupa and, between two rivers, stood a wonderful statue of

Vajrayogini.79 The biography of Zangs mkhar ’Khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe ring

(1657-1732 or 1717-1794), as was customary, mentions that Jalandhara is the

crown of the twenty-four holy places and the mother of Vajravarahi. The

description of this region is the same as that found in the biography of Rgod

tshang pa and U rgyan pa. It further adds that the ruling king, Hari-candra, was an

incarnation of Cakrasamvara. There is a hill at the confluence of two rivers, shapedlike an elephant, whose trunk faces north and on whose head is a fort. On the left

shoulder lies a city of five thousand families. On the right shoulder is Jwalamukhi,

the abode of Vajravarahi. Going south from there one reaches Jwalamukhi, where

once there were many ruins of the meditation places of yogis that were all destroyed

by Muslims invaders.

In a temple at that place there are flames burning among stones, and to the

south of it is the holy place Bazhernad, which can be provi-sionally identified as

Baijnath. To the southeast lies Di ge sar where a huge tent-sized dark-brown rock

hangs in the sky. This is presently known as Chamunda. The rock was left

miraculously hanging in the sky by Padmasambhava when the dakinis rained rocks

on him. According to Rgod tshang pa, this place is at a distance of one arrow

shot from the latter locality, while U rgyan pa and Lama Rin chen mgon po

state that it is at a distance of an “arrow target”. Nearby it stood a life-size

stone image of Vajrayogini. By the time lama ’Khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe

ring came to the region, Nagarkota had long been destroyed.80

’Dzam gling rgyas bshad says that in the centre of this region there is a fort

called Bru sha pura. Huien Tsiang in his pilgrimage guide-book to India wrote

that the brothers Asanga and Vasubandhu, Dgra bcom pa chos skyob and Vishnu

were born in this place. Btsan po Nomihan, however, says that he is not sure

where the birthplace of Asanga and Vasubandhu is located, despite consulting

their biographies. He thinks that the Vishnu born there was probably Dga’

byed dgra stag can. In this place stood the fort Gandhuhara and some towns,

including Fekshapura and Nagara. To the east is Pushkrapati where the Buddha,in one of his previous lives, became a king and donated his eyes one thousand

times. It is also the place where the holy sage Shamka, in his existence as an

animal, was shot by King Tshangs sbyin, and where the Bodhisattva prince




sacrificed his wife and son. There is also the Tandhakara hill, where the prince,

the king and the queen underwent great hardship.81 All this once again shows that

the ’Dzam gling rgyas bshad account is styled in the main after Huien Tsiang.82

Jwalamukhi

Bu ston, in his Bde mchog chos ’byung , further mentions that there was a deity

called Jwalamukhi whose face could burn everything it gazed upon. Bu ston says

that Jwalamukhi was the Ksetrapala deity miraculously formed of stone and lying

face down on the ground.83

The local deity of Jwalamukhi was, as often was the case in both Hindu and

Buddhist traditions, subdued in order to be absorbed into these religious systems.According to Buddhist religious histories, it was an abode of Siva which later

became that of Cakrasamvara. As for cases of such conversion, one could be

related to Jwalamukhi. The well-known biography of Lo tsa ba Rin chen bzang

po, written by his direct disciple Gu ge Khyi thang pa Jnanasri at Tho ling in the

eleventh century, has an interesting anecdote about the Dzalamati deity,84 who

may be the same as Jwalamukhi. On the issue of the identity of Dzala-mati and

Jwalamukhi sound further investigation is, however, required.

There is a description of Jalandhara, the pilgrimage site of Vajra-yogini, in

the biography of the ’Ba’ ra bka’ brgyud tradition, similar to Bu ston’s, which

highlights the presence of Jwalamukhi in this holy place.85 The biography of

Rgod tshang pa by Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje states that the female

deity of Jwalamukhi is a bee-faced dakini, while the peculiarity of this holy

site is highlighted in a passage of pan chen Er ti ni Dpal ldan Ye shes’s Sham

bha la’i lam yig which, as usual, says that Jalandhara is situated in the hills

and mountains of the north, and the holy site Nagarkoti is the seat of Jwalamukhi

or Jwalamukh but adds that the Tibetans call it Rdo la me ’bar (“fire burning

among the stones).86

’Dzam gling rgyas bshad gives the name Jwalamukhi which is taken from

the tirthika faith, for it says that, at a place called Mahajwala, one could see a

burning hillside where the Goddess ’Bar ma resided. A sacred object associated

with Siva was kept at this locality, visited by Himachalis and many acaryas.

In the twentieth century, Dge ’dun chos ’phel proceeded to this place and, in

his famous pilgrimage guidebook, Rgya gar lam yig, there is a section onJalandhara (or Nagarkota), which he says is present-day Kangra.87 Dge ’dun chos

’phel travelled by train from Amritsar and Pathankot to Nagarkota. Two stations

before Nagarkota, he reached Kangra. He states that to the north of the river, is



16 TIBET JOURNAL

the city of Kangra. With the help of the travel accounts of Rgod tshang pa, his

disciple U rgyan pa, Stag tshang ras pa, and Rang rig ras pa he identi-fied this as

the famous northern pilgrimage place of Jalandhara, one of the twenty-four holy

sites. According to him, Rgod tshang pa stayed in this place for half a year and

wrote such detailed descriptions of the site that there can be no confusion in

identifying the place. He further mentions that in the famous temple of Kangra

there is a head-like linga which was the main object of worship during his visit.

Before reaching Kangra Dge chos visited Jwalamukhi where the flames coming

from the ground still existed.88

Mystical Experiences of the Tibetan Pilgrims at JalandharaExtraordinary mental and physical experiences occurred in the Tibetan masters who

visited Jalandhara, in particular in the cases of Rgod tshang pa and U rgyan pa. An

extensive account of Rgod tshang pa’s mystical realizations at this holy place is

found in his biography by Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje. Rgod tshang pa saw

the inhabitants of Jalandhara not as ordinary human beings but as viras and the

virinis of the subtle body helping him to attain mystical realizations. He received

teachings from the bee-faced dakini deity embodied in the holy image of

Jwalamukhi, performed Gcod at a cemetery near the site where the statue was

kept, and participated in the tshogs (ganacakra) that the dakinis performed in a

local temple while his companions (Dam pa gtsang and Yon btsun ’bum rgyal)

were not allowed to do so. Rgod tshang pa received from mkha’ ’gro ma ’Gro ba

bzang mo a prophecy that he would attract a great number of disciples in Tibet.

He performed Guru Yoga, and was enthroned by the local viras and dakinis as

the most prominent master.

According to Byin brlabs chu rgyun,89 U rgyan pa travelled to Jalandhara in

his defiled body. He performed the daka feast offering, achieved many realizations

and heard the utterances of many demi-gods. Near the king’s palace was a cemetery

called Mitrasara where the enlightened yogi Mitra glu pa lived in Nagarjuna’s

meditation hut. After holding philosophical discussions with U rgyan pa, the latter

received empowerments from him, and the yogi recognized U rgyan pa as an

equally realized master. U rgyan pa performed his practices at Nagarjuna’s hut and,

one evening during his meditation, his awareness became all-encompassing, his

body undefiled, and the city appeared to him as the palace of Vajrayogini. Once,due to an obstacle, he fell down and broke his teeth but the dakinis restored

them to their former condition.90 U rgyan pa, with his companions Srin po

gdong pa and Dpal ye shes, performed a ganacakra and prayed for a safe journey

to Uddiyana.91




Despite these realizations, U rgyan pa was embroiled in some dispute about his

religious curriculum with fellow ’Brug pa practitioners and his acceptance as a

descendant of Gtsang pa rgya ras was questioned. He did not give importance to

these issues but concentrated on his spiritual practice. This biography thus stresses

that several Bka’ brgyud pa practitioners were at Jalandhara at that time, which

reinforces the evidence that, apart from U rgyan pa, the ’Brug pa had chosen to go to

Jalandhara for their spiritual practice, possibly in the footsteps of Rgod tsang pa.

Records remain that Stag tshang ras pa, too, had great spiritual experiences

in Jalandhara. He is known for having composed mystical songs at the holy place,

stressing that the attainment of Phyag rgya chen po realizations was the peculiar

trait of ’Brug pa practice, hence showing that he was looking for the samemystical accomplishments that Rgod tshang pa had sought some three hundred

years earlier.92

Like Rgod tshang pa and U rgyan pa, the great realized master of the

seventeenth century, Rang rig ras pa states in his spiritual songs and oral

instructions that at an early stage of his life he visited Jalandhara and

Jwalamukhi, said by him to be the fields of the Ma mo dakinis and the area

protected by the great Vajravarahi, where the supreme Tantra was uttered. He

experienced the blessings of innumerable dakinis dissolving into his heart and

his veil of darkness was removed. Rang rig ras pa prayed for all sentient

beings with a happy and pure mind, after which he was able to establish an

inseparable mind-relationship with Vajravarahi.93

To sum up, Rgod tshang pa and U rgyan pa are considerd by the Tibetan tradition

as the two supreme masters of antiquity who travel-led to the great sacred

destinations of north-east India (Jalandhara and Uddiyana respectively, although U

rgyan pa was in Jalandhara too). Rgod tshang pa was driven to the former holy

place by his quest for Phyag rgya chen po realizations, and U rgyan pa by the

idea that the north-west was a paradisal land not much different from Sham bha

la, where he had originally planned to go.94

From the material available at present, it seems that the Tibetans never

established Jalandhara as a permanent place of practice. Their frequent visit to

this holy place was limited to a few great individuals (and their disciples), with a

concentration during within a hundred years more or less, the thirteenth century.

However, it is the task of future research, if new sources resurface, to establishwhether other Tibetan masters made of Jalandhara the holy site of their mystical

realizations and if the flow of Tibetan pilgrims formed a more stable cultural

pattern, despite the many changes in the secular status of the lands of north-west

India through time.



18 TIBET JOURNAL

Notes

1. The Tantra of Sri Cakrasamvara, according to Slob dpon Rdo rje’s Tshig don

rab gsal, was expounded by Shakyamuni Buddha to vanquish the wrathful Isvara

during the Dvaparayuga (“aeon of two-fold segeneration”). However Tibetan

masters maintained that it was taught during the Kaliyuga (“aeon of strife”).

2 . ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, Gsang chen rdo rje theg pa phyi

’gyur gsar ma gtso bor ston pa’i zin bris sna tshogs dang mdo rgyud

lung btus bcas bzhugs so, The collected works of ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen

brtse’i dbang po, vol.Nga, p.540-541.

3. Dil mgo mkhyen brtse rin po che, Bkra shis ljongs kyi gnas yig zin thun/

bde chen thig le gcig gi rol pa sogs, Collected Works, vol.Za, f.2.4. Like the twenty-four Buddhist pilgrimage sites, the Hindus have twenty-four

gods of the Agnicayana ritual in the Vedic literature. The Vedas mention

twenty-four deities of the fire rituals (homavidhi), and the followers of

Vishnu believe in twenty-four incarnations of Vishnu, called Vaibavavilasa (see

Kazi Dawa-Samdup, Sri Cakrasamvara-Tantra, p.16). Tucci, The Temples of

Western Tibet and Their Artistic Symbolism. Tsaparang ( Indo-Tibetica III.2),

p.44 states that the twenty-four holy pilgrimage sites of Krishna are documented

in the twentieth chapter of Caitanya carita-mrta madhyalila popular with the

followers of Krishna in south India and Bengal. In the Saivite documents too

there is reference to the twenty-four holy sites.

5. Lama Dam pa Bsod nams rgyal mtshan, Rgyud kyi rgyal po dpal kye rdo

rje ’i rgya cher ’grel pa nyi ma’i ’od zer , f.140-143.

6. ’Jam dbyangs Mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, Gsang chen rdo rje theg pa phyi


lung btus bcas bzhugs so, The Collected works of ’Jam dbyangs Mkhyen

brtse ’i dbang po, vol.Nga, p.545.

7. ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen brtse’i dbang po, Gsang chen rdo rje theg pa phyi


lung btus bcas bzhugs so, The Collected Works, vol.Nga, p.540-541; Dpal

’khor lo bde mcog gi rnam par sprul pa dang/ yul nyi shu rtsa bzhi’i rgyu

mtshan ces bya ba bzhugs, Snar thang rGyud ’grel, vol.Pu; Bde mchog

chos ’byung by Bu ston and A myes zhabs; and Pan chen dPal ldan ye shes,

Shambha la’i lam yig, Pan chen dPal ldan ye shes kyi gsung ’bum, vol.Nya,f.13-20. See also Tucci, Temples in Western Tibet , p. 38-41; and Ronald

Davidson, “Reflections on the Mahesvara subjugation myth: Indic materials, Sa-

skya-pa Apologetics, and the birth of Heruka”, Journal of the International

Association of Buddhist Studies, vol.14 (2), 1991, p.197-235.




8. Taranatha, ’Khor lo sdom pa nag po zhabs lugs kyi sgrub thabs bde ba

chen po’i char yang, The Collected Works of Taranatha, vol.7, p.75-109;

and Padma dkar po, Gnas chen ca ri tra’i ngo mtshar snang ba pad dkar

legs bshad , f.6-7.

9. Sangs rgyas dar po, Rgyal ba Rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje’i rnam par

thar pa mthong ba don ldan nor bu’i phreng ba , Bka’-brgyud-pa

Hagiographies, vol.4, 1976, p.87.

10. Kazi Dawa-Samdup, Sri Cakrasamvara-Tantra , New Delhi 1987, p.16.

The main deity is mahakankala who is blue with one head, four arms (two

arms embrace the Shakti holding vajra and bell, right hand damaru, left hand

khatvanga). The consort is Gtum mig ma or Pracandaksi.11. The myth is documented as “Mahesvara, the god of the north-east, one of the

protectors of the ten directons ( phyogs skyongs), riding on an ox and with a

trishul in his hand, was considered to be the chief of all the worldly gods. He

is said to have emanated four manifestations associated with peace, maturation,

power and wrath, namely the white Indra and his consort Gauri (Ri sras), as

gods of peace; the yellow Brahma and consort Ekajati as gods of maturation;

Mahesvara of Paranirmitavasavartin realm and consort Rakta as gods of power;

and wrathful Kalabhairava and consort Kalaratri as gods of wrath”. The texts

further narrate how two wrathful Kalabhairvas, once, descended in Magadha

and ruled over this world. They appointed their representatives in twenty-

four sacred places, and further selected four devas and four gandharvas to

rule the space above, four yaksa s and four raksas to reign over the ground,

and four nagas and four asuras to rule the realm below. Although the

representatives invited Mahesvara to their places, he declined [the invitation],

and instead sent each a stone lingam as objects of worship. The twenty-four

places were, thus, dotted with indestructible stone lingams.

“Once, when false views and denial of the law of causality were

widespread throughout the world, the Buddha Sakyamuni assumed the form of

Sri Cakrasamvara and suppressed Mahesvara and the goddess Uma under his

feet. Having defeated the devas in the twenty-four places, Sri Cakrasamvara

replaced them with eight viras and eight virinis from the sky above, eight

viras and eight virinis from the ground below, the dakinis of the three realms,

and the assemblage of gods dwelling in the bodily, verbal and mental cakrasof the Samvara deity. The eight doorkeepers were appointed following the

banishment of four pisaccis and four kinnaras serving under Mahesvara. The

four yoginis functioned as substitutes for Mahesvara’s four consorts, other



20 TIBET JOURNAL

than the goddess Uma. However, scholars consider the representatives as

manifestations of the Buddha.” Also see Bu ston, Rgyud sde spyi rnam, The

Collected Works of Bu ston, vol.15; Dpal ’khor lo bde mchog gi rnam par

sprul pa/ dang yul nyi shu rtsa bzhi’i rgyu mtshan ces bya ba bzhugs,

Snar thang Rgyud ’grel, vol.Pu, f.115; and Klong rdol bla ma, Bstan srung

dam can rgya mtsho’i ming gi grangs, vol.Ya, f.9.

12. Klong rdol bla ma, Bstan srung dam can rgya mtsho’i ming gi grangs,

Klong rdol bla ma’i gsung ’bum, Delhi 1973, vol.Ya, f.9b:3 and Klong rdol

bla ma, Bstan srung dam can rgya mtsho’i ming gi grangs, Klong rdol

Ngag dbang blo bzang gi gsung ’bum, vol.2, Bod ljongs bod yig dpe rnying

dpe skrun khang 1991, p. 479-481; and Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen,Gsang chen rgyud kyi rgyal po rnams nas bstan pa’i gnas yul chen po

rnams kyi ngos ’dzin, vol.Ja. See also Shes bya kun kyab, vol.1, Mi rigs

dpe skrun khang, 1982, p.366-371.

13. ’Bri gung ’Jig rten mgon po, Gnas chen dril bu ri dang ghan dho la’i gnas

yig don gsal bzhugs so, f.1-2; “At a time when an assemblage of wrathful

gods and other celestial beings including Mahesvara ruled over sentient beings,

Samantabhadra is believed to have descended on to the peak of Sumeru and

subjected the wrathful gods through the process of subjugation, dissolution

and dissipation. He then blessed the twenty-four sacred places above, on

and below the world, the thirty-two sacred sites, the eight great cemeteries,

the eight glorious mountains, the hundred spontaneously-arisen caityas, the

eight and thirteen congregational sites of dakinis, and the eighty secret caves

of dakinis.”

14. ’Brug pa Chos kyi snang ba (the eighth ’Brug chen), Tsa’ ri tra ye shes ’khor

lo ’i gnas kyi ngo mtshar cha shas tsam gsal bar brjod pa’i yi ge skal

ldan dga ’ bskyed dad pa’i nyin byed ’char ba zhes bya ba, ff.1-2.

15. Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen, Gsang chen rgyud kyi rgyal po rnams nas

bstan pa’i gnas yul chen po rnams kyi ngos ’dzin shes bya’i ltad mo’i me

long zhes bya ba, Zhu chen’s gsung ’bum , vol. Ja, f.2b.



lung btus bcas bzhugs so, The Collected works of ’Jam dbyangs mkhyen

brtse’i dbang po, vol.Nga; p. 542-543.17. Ronald M. Davidson, “Reflections on the Mahesvara subjugation myth: Indic

materials, Sa-skya-pa Apologetics, and the birth of Heruka”, Journal of the

International Association of Buddhist Studies, vol.14 (2), 1991, p.197-235.




The translation of myth in Tattvasamgraha and Hevajratantra according to

the Lam ’bras tradition is also given in Davidson’s article. The myth in Lam

’bras is slightly different from the usual one.

18. ’Bri gung ’Jig rten mgon po, Gnas chen dril bu ri dang ghan dho la’i gnas

yig don gsal bzhugs so, f.1-2.

19. ’Brug pa Chos kyi snang ba (8th ’Brug chen), Tsa’ ri tra ye shes ’khor lo’i

gnas kyi ngo mtshar cha shas tsam gsal bar brjod pa’i yi ge skal ldan

dga’ bskyed dad pa’i nyin byed ’char ba zhes bya ba, f.1-2.



lung btus bcas bzhugs so, The Collected works, vol.4; p.545-546.21. Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen, Gsang chen rgyud kyi rgyal po rnams nas

bstan pa’i gnas yul chen po rnams kyi ngos ’dzin shes bya’i ltad mo’i me

long zhes bya ba, Zhu chen gyi gsung ’bum , vol.Ja, f.2b; and Zhu chen Tshul

khrims rin chen, gNas yul chen po rnams kyi ngos ’dzin shes bya’i ltad

mo ngom pa’i me long which briefly presents twelve classifications

including sacred places to help determine their names and number. The He-

vajra-tantra (Kye rdo rje rtsa rgyud ) states: “O Blessed One, how many

congregations are there? To this, the Blessed One replied: “They are twelve:

sacred places and secondary sacred places, fields and secondary fields,

chhandos and secondary chhandos, congregational sites and secondary

congre-gational sites, ’thung spyod s and secondary ’thung spyod , and

cemeteries and secondary cemeteries”.

Secondly, the [following] detailed exposition is presented in three parts:

the presentation of the twenty-four sacred places, the presentation of the thirty-

two sacred regions, and the presentation of the thirty-seven sacred regions.

From the point of certainty in terms of their number, the first is further

explained in terms of a general explanation and a specific identification of places.

Firstly, based on some early historical documents, there are slight differences

in views concerning time and process of evolution of this physical world. If

generalized, it is as follows. Since the advent of Kaliyuga, one of the four

cosmic aeons, humans, due to intense distrust, committed the non-virtuous action

of killing one another. The corpses of the dead were spread in the eight cardinal

and intermediate directions, thus forming the “eight cemeteries.” The steamevaporating from the corpses collected in the sky to form the “eight clouds.”

The clouds show-ered rain, which flowed and gathered to form the “eight

waters.” Moisture produced from these waters gave rise to the “eight trees.”



22 TIBET JOURNAL

The eight raksas occupied the eight trees and nagas took control of the

eight waters. Then the twenty-four sacred places and the thirty-two sacred

regions gradually developed. At that time, Sumeru and its dwellers, Mahesvara

and the goddess Uma, came into being. From them arose the four manifestations

of mind, speech, body and miraculous deeds. They, in turn, occupied

Pullirmalaya in the east, Jalan-dhara in the north, Odiyana in the west, and

Arbuda in the south. The four places were thereafter called gnas in the

language of the gods”. The same text also clearly mentions the twenty-four

and thirty-seven sacred places, besides the twelve and thirteen grounds.

22. Vogel, History of Kangra, p.2-3.

23. Vogel, History of Kangra, p.5.24. V. Smith, Early History of India, p.81. See also Vogel, ibid. p.5.

25. Samuel Beal (transl.), Si yu ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World ,

p.175, n.30. See also Cunningham, Ancient Geography of India, Varanasi,

1963, pp.115-119.

26. Don rgyud Nyi ma (the Eighth Khams sprul) (ed.), Bka’-brgyud-pa

Hagiographies, vol.4, 1976, p.1-350; and Mon rtse ba Kun dga’ dpal ldan,

Bka’ brgyud gser phreng, 1970, p. 293-352.

27. Sde snod ’dzin pa Rin chen dpal, Rgyal ba Rgod tshang pa’i rnam thar

gnad sdud pa’i sgron me, Rwa lung dkar brgyud gser phreng, vol.2, 1975,

p. 73-82.

28. Chos rje rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje’i rnam thar , in Bka’ brgyud gser

phreng ’ba’ ra ba dkar brgyud pa, vol. 1, 1970, p. 452-543; and Rgyal ba

rgod tshang pa’i rnam thar in Rare Tibetan Texts from Lahul, 1974, Gemur

Monastery, Lahaul, p. 1-325.

29. Sangs rgyas dar po, Rgyal ba rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje’i rnam par


Hagiographies, vol.4, 1976, p.1-350.

30. Zla ba Seng ge, Grub thob O-rgyan pa’i rnam par thar pa byin rlabs kyi chu

rgyun, Gangtok, 1976, p.1-244. In the biography of U rgyan pa published in

1997 by the Tibet Autonomous Region’s Old Texts Publishing Press, the author

of the biography is given as Bsod snyom pa bsod nams ’od zer, the longtime disciple

of U rgyan pa.

31. Zhwa dmar Mkha’ spyod dbang po, Chos kyi rje rgyal ba audyana pa chen po’irnam par thar pa rdzogs ldan bdud rtsi’i dga’ ston, The Collected Works of

Zhwa-dmar Mkha’-spyod-dbang-po, vol. 2, Gangtok 1978, p.89-121.

32. Stag tshag Tshe dbang rgyal, Lho rong chos ’byung, 1994, p.717-750.

33. Dil mgo Mkhyen brtse rin po che, Bkra shris ljongs kyi gnas yig zin thun

bde chen thig le gcig gi rol pa, vol.Za, f.1-3. This is also written on the




inside walls of Tashijong Monastery’s assembly hall, as communicated to

me by Tashi Tsering.

34. Earlier than Tucci, S. Levi, followed by Benoytosh Bhatacharya and Aurel

Stein, travelled to the place and identified it as a sacred site, basing himself on

Huien Tsiang’s pilgrimage guide.

35. Lokesh Chandra, “Oddiyana: A New interpretation”, In International Association

of Tibetan Studies, Oxford 1979, p. 73-78.

36. Tucci, Travels of Tibetan Pilgrims in the Swat Valley, Calcutta 1940, p.41-64.

37. Samuel Beal (transl.), Si yu ki, Buddhist Records of the Western World , p.175,

n.30. See also Cunningham, Ancient Geography of India, Varanasi, 1963, pp.115-119.

38. Vogel, History of Kangra, p.5.39. Vogel, ibid. p.5; and Abu Rihan, Alberuni’s India, 1910, p.260.

40. Bu ston, Bde mchog spyi rnam don gsal zhes bya ba, Collected Works of

Buston, vol.Cha, f.41-42. See Taranatha, Bka’ bab bdun ldan gyi brgyud

pa’i rnam thar (Five Historical Works of Taranatha), f.25.

41. Bu ston, Bde mchog chos ’byung , vol.Cha, f.42; On him also see ’Gos lo tsa ba

gZhon nu dpal, Deb ther sngon po, f.15a; Bu ston, Dus ’khor chos ’byung,

f.1a and 23b; Taranatha’i chos ’byung, Varanasi, p.200-201; Sum pa Ye

shes dpal ’byor, dPag bsam ljon bzang, p.112-113; and Alaka Chattopadhyaya,

Atisa and Tibet , p.107. S.C. Das, Tibetan-English Dictionary, 1902, p.1047

states that Jalandhara was: “a province in the Punjab, now Jalundur. Formerly

the kingdom of Jalendra comprised Kashmir, Punjab and a part of Kabul; and

was ruled by king Kaniska and his successors”. Rahul Sankritiyan, Tibetan-

Hindi Dictionary , vol.1, 1930, p.162, says that Jalandhara is Kangra. In Jaschke,

Tibetan-English Dictionary, 1965, p.461, Jalandhara is spelled Jellundur. There

it is said: “Dza-lán-dha-ra, n. of a province in the Punjab, now ‘Jellundur”.

Skyes rabs Dza lan dha ra, The Biography of the Sixteenth Karma pa, Sikkim

edition, f.63 says that the Karma pa was previously born as the king of

Jalandhara, a kingdom in northern India.

42. Jo nang Ta ra na tha, Dam pa’i chos rin po che ’phags pa’i yul du ji ltar

dar ba’i tshul gsal bar dgos ’dod kun ’byung: Rgya gar chos ’byung,

Arunachal Pradesh , 1974, f.93a-93b.

43. Slob dpon Mi ’jigs sbyin, Grub thob brgyad cu rtsa bzhi’i lo rgyus, Peking

edition, vol.Lu, f.42b (translated into Hindi by Sempa Dorje, Varanasi in 1979).44. Keith Dowman, Masters of Mahamudra: Songs and Histories of the

Eighty-Four Buddhist Siddhas, University of New York Press, Albany,

1985, pp.248-249. He claims that Nagarthotha is Tukhara (Tho gar), and



24 TIBET JOURNAL

adds that Jalandhara is indeed part of present-day Kangra district, the

pilgrimage place of both Hindus and Buddhists.

45. Karma pa Rang byung rig pa’i rdo rje (16th Karma pa), Khams gsum ’gro

ba’i mgon po rigs kun khyab bdag rgyal mchog bcu drug pa chen po

rang byung khyab bdag rig pa’i rdo rje mchog gi sngon gyi skyes rabs

ngo mtshar pad mo’i dga’ tshal, Sikkim Edition, f.63.

46. Btsan po Nomihan, ’Dzam gling rgyas bshad , p.114:4.

47. Rtogs ldan Zla ba seng ge, Byin rlabs chu rgyun, f.23. See also Stag tshag

Tshe dbang rgyal, Lho rong chos ’byung, p.722.

48. Rtogs ldan Zla ba seng ge, Byin rlabs chu rgyun, Bka’-brgyud-pa

Hagiographies, vol.4, 1976, p.89.49. Karma pa Rang byung rig pa’i rdo rje, Khams gsum ’gro ba’i mgon po rigs

kun khyab bdag rgyal mchog bcu drug pa chen po rang byung khyab

bdag rig pa’i rdo rje mchog gi sngon gyi skyes rabs ngo mtshar pad mo’i

dga’ tshal, Sikkim Edition, f.63.

50. The Tibetan custom of writing guidebooks to tantric pilgrimage places was

possibly initiated with Uddiyana ad Jalandhara in mind.

51. Ldan ma Acharya A rag bande ’Jam dbyangs dbang rgyal , Zhu sgrig gnang ba

tshong dpon kha stag yag nas phyi lo 1944 -1956 bar bod dang bal po rgya

gar bcas la gnas bskor bskyod pa’i nyin deb, Delhi 1997, p.146-147.

52. Dge ’dun chos ’phel, Rgya gar gnas chen khag la bgrod pa’i lam yig, Bod

gzhung chos don lhan khang, 1968, p.28-29.

53. Snellgrove, Buddhist Himalaya: Travels and Studies in Quest of the Origins

and Nature of Tibetan Religion, Oxford, 1957, p.171-172.

54. Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje, Rje rgod tshang pa’i rnam thar rgyal

thang pa bde chen rdo rjes mdzad pa la mgur chen ’gas rgyan pa, Bka’-

brgyud-pa Hagiographies, vol.4, p.356.

55. Vitali, The Kingdoms of Gu.ge Pu.hrang, n.571 and 671.


thar pa mthong be don ldan nor bu’i phreng ba, Bka’-brgyud-pa

Hagiographies, Vol.4, 1976, p.87.

57. Sde snod ’dzin pa Rin chen dpal, Rnam thar gnas bsdus sgron me, Rwa

lung bka’ brgyud gser phreng, vol.2, p.76-77.

58. Sde snod ’dzin pa Rin chen dpal, ibid , p.73-82.59. Chos rje Rgod tshang pa mgon po rdo rje’i rnam par thar pa, Bka brgyud

gser phreng chen mo, vol.Ka, Dehradun 1970, p.495.






Hagiographies, vol.4, 1976, p.89.

61. Rtogs ldan Zla ba seng ge, Byin rlabs chu rgyun, f.22-23.

62. Stag lung Ngag dbang rnam rgyal , Stag lung chos ’byung, p. 243.

63. Stag lung Ngag dbang rnam rgyal, Stag lung chos ’byung, Tibet Autonomous

Region’s Old Texts Publishing Press, 1992, p.321: and Roberto Vitali,

“Accounts of the journey to the “Western Regions” with particular reference

to Khyung-rgod-rtsal and his ’das-log experience. A historical view”,

(unpublished), n.15.

64. Stag lung Ngag dbang rnam rgyal, Stag lung chos’byung, Tibet AutonomousRegion’s Old Text Publishing Press, 1992, p.321. Roberto Vitali, “Accounts

of the journey to the “Western Regions” with particular reference to Khyung-

rgod-rtsal and his ’das-log experience. A historical view”, (unpublished), n.15.

65. U rgyan pa Ngag dbang rgya mtsho, Baidurya dkar po’i rgyud mang, Hemis

Monastery edition, f.23; and Roberto Vitali, “Accounts of the journey to the

“Western Regions” with particular reference to Khyung-rgod-rtsal and his

’das-log experience. A historical view”, a paper read at the 8th IATS,

Bloomington, July 1998, (un-published), n.1.

66. U rgyan pa Ngag dbang rgya mtsho, ibid., f.21-24, and U rgyan pa Ngag

dbang rgya mtsho, Mgur ’bum zhal gdams zab don utpala’i ’phreng ba,

Hemis Monastery edition, f.17b.


dbang rgya mtsho, Rdo rje’i mgur skal ldan yid kyi mun sel , Hemis

Monastery edition, f.33b.

68. Vagendra Vajra (ed), Rej btsun khyab bdag chen po rang rig ras chen gyi

gsung mgur dang zhal gdams ’chi med bdud rtsi’i rlabs ’phreng zhes

bya ba, 1982, f. 10.

69. Vogel, ibid. p.5.

70. Bu ston, Bde mchog spyi rnam don gsal, Collected Works, vol.Cha, f.28a:1-

4. See also Zhu chen tshul khrims rin chen, Gsang chen rgyud kyi ryal po

rnams nas bstan pa’i gnas yul chen po rnams kyi ngos ’dzin shes bya’i ltad

mo ngom pa’i me long, Collected Works, vol.Ja, f.8-9.

71. ’Jam mgon A-myes Ngag dbang kun dga’ bsod nams, Dpal sa skya pa’i yab

chos kyi snying khu ’khor lo sdom pa’i chos byung ba’i tshul legs par

bshad pa bde mchog chos kun gsal ba’i nyin byed , f.45-47, has a paragraph

manifestly styled after Bu ston’s Bde mchog chos ’byung: “Jalandhara is a

big city to the north-west of Gu ge and located at the confluence of three



26 TIBET JOURNAL

rivers: the Shab ru of Tho ling; the Pi pa sha na, the snow-mountain river of

[Gar] sha; and the Me ra pe river of Sha la dza. Nearby is a stone linga lying

on its back with a hole on one side and, in a temple, the self-originated stone

image of Ksetrapala Jwalamukhi which also faces downwards. At the distance

of one furlong, there are a hundred meditation caves, a hundred springs, and a

hundred trees. From the middle of the rocks gushes water where the heretics do

their ablutions. This pilgrimage place is Odi.”

72. Zhu chen Tshul khrims rin chen, Gnas chen rgyud kyi rgyal po rnams nas

bstan pa’i gnas yul chen po rnams kyi ngos ’dzin shes bya’i ltad mo

ngom pa’i me long, vol.Ja, New Delhi, 1973, f.218b.

73. Gnas chen dril bu ri dang gha dho la’i gnas yig don gsal , f.9.74. Khams sprul Don brgyud nyi ma (ed.), Bka’-brgyud-pa Hagiographies, vol.4,

1976, p.89-96. Stag tshag Tshe dbang rgyal, Lho rong chos ’byung p.696

states: “At Jalandhara, he saw dakini ’Gro ba bzang mo surrounded by many

wisdom ( ye shes) dakinis making religious offerings. The dakini said: “In

ten years, we will go to Tibet to work for all sentient beings. You will have

eighteen thousand disciples”. He realized the sameness of the three times and

meditated at the site for four years”. As said above, Rgod tshang pa actually

stayed at Jalandhara for about five months.

75. Sde snod ’dzin pa Rin chen dpal, Rnam thar gnad bsdus sgron me, Rwa lung

bka’ brgyud gser phreng, vol.2, p.77

76. Stag tshag Tshe dbang rgyal, Lho rong chos ’byung, p.722.

77. Zla ba seng ge, Byin rlabs chu rgyun, The Biography of U rgyan pa, f.23.

Stag tshag Tshe dbang rgyal, Lho rong chos ’byung, p.722.

78. Rgyal thang pa Bde chen rdo rje, Rje rgod tshang pa’i rnam thar rgyal thang

pa bde chen rdo rjes mdzad pa la mgur chen ’gas rgyan pa, Bka’-Brgyud-pa

Hagiographies , vol.4, Tashijong, 1976, p.386.


dbang rgya mtsho, Rdo rje’i mgur skal ldan yid kyi mun sel, Hemis Monastery

edition, f.33b.

80. ’Khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe ring, Kun du bzang po’i zlos gar yid kyi bcud

len, f.56b-59a. There is a similar description in ’Khrul zhig Ngag dbang tshe

ring, Smad du byung ba ngo mtshar ba ’i stong, f.26a-30b.

81. Btsan po Nomihan,’Dzam gling chen po’i rgyas bshad snod bcud kun gsalme long zhes bya ba, Gangtok, 1981, p.114:4.

82. The guide book of India by Huien Tsiang was translated into Tibetan during

the reign of the Emperor Qianlong between 1740-1780 by Gung Mgon po



28 TIBET JOURNAL

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companions.

92. Grub pa’i dbang phyug dam pa o-di yana pa gyis pa Ngag dbang rgya

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’Khon ston Dpal ’byor lhun grub, ’Jam dpal gshin rje’i gshed skor gyi bla mabrgyud pa’i chos ’byung gdul bya’i re ’dod skong ba yid bzhin gyi nor bu’i

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lobsang shastri - jalandhara

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