HISTORY OF SIKHIM AND ITS RULEKS. 



HISTORY OF SIKHIM AND ITS RULEES. 



Before detailing the legendary history of the descent of the Sikhim 

 Eajas, it may be as well to premise that the alleged Indian origin of 

 the early Tibetan kings is without any real foundation, and is in itself 

 a proof of the modern manufacture of their history, as it is merely 

 an invention in common with the other Buddhist kings to affiliate 

 themselves on to Sakya's stock. It will also be a mistake to take 

 earlier accounts as history, as there is no real history of Tibet obtain- 

 able from indigenous sources previous to Srong-tsan Gampo's time, i.e., 

 the 7th century A.D. Insight into pre-historic Tibet is only obtainable 

 from scattered accounts contained in Chinese records: while even at 

 Srong-tsan's time, when the introduction of writing made records 

 possible, history is so vague that the birth of that king himself may 

 be any time between 600 and 627 A.D. The historical books credited 

 to this epoch were probably written some centuries later. 



It is believed in Sikhim that the Eajas of Sikhim _came of 

 Indian origin by descent through the first king of Tibet, Nah-Thi- 

 Tsanpo. 



The appearance of this monarch in Tibet is usually supposed 

 to have been as follows*: — The fifth son of KingPrasenajit of Kosala 

 was born with obliquely drawnf eyes, with blue eyebrows, webbed 

 fingers, and two rows of full developed, pearly white teeth. His 

 parents, in alarm at such a prodigy, placed the infant in a copper vessel 

 and set it afloat on the Ganges. A poor cultivator found the infant 

 and brought him up as his own. On attaining man's estate the prince 

 felt he had been born to a higher state than that of a cultivator, and in 

 a spirit of restless ambition set out northwards over the Himalayas in 

 quest of some great exploit. With difficulty he reached the lofty 

 snowy mountains of Lha-ri near the modern town of Tse-thang in 

 Tibet. Descending into the plains of Tsan-than he was met by many 

 natives of the country, who, struck with the graceful looks of the 

 stranger, asked him respectfully who he was and whence he came. Not 

 knowing their language, the prince could only reply by signs that he 

 was a prince, and pointing up to top of Lha-ri wished, them to under- 

 stand that he had come from that direction. The Tibetans misunder- 

 stood his meaning, and assumed he was a god descended from heaven, 

 and accordingly entreated him to become their king. On his assent- 

 ing, they placed him in a chair and carried him on their shoulders in 

 triumph to Yumbu Lagan, near the site of the present town of Lhassa. 

 From having been carried on a " chair" on men's "backs," the prince 



* For fuller details see S. C. Das's "Contributions on Tibet." J. A. S. B., No. 3, 1881. 

 t Another version states that the infant winked with the lower eyelids. 



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