408 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [August, 1910. 



At the time when he dwelt at the great palace of Vm bu 

 rdzangs mJchar which had come into existence of itself, without 

 being built, as an omen of the [future] spread of Buddha's teach- 

 ing in Tibet, a basket came down from heaven. Accompanied 

 by a ray of light, there came down to the king's palace the book 

 Zamatog (Karandavyuha sutra) ; the Pang kong phyag rgyapa 

 (a book or a symbol) ; the essence [of religion], the six syllables ; 

 a golden rnchod rten, a yard high ; a Thsindhamani thsathsa 

 (terracotta with Buddha's image) ; and all the mudra positions 

 of the fingers. 



The priests of the [Bon] religion did not know what it 



was. They sacrificed to it with beer and turquoise offerings. 



Blessing resulted from it, and [the king] remained strong, till 



Pol. I5fe. he was 120 years of age. Thus, during the time of this king, 



the beginning of the holy religion took place. 1 



His son was Khri snyan bzung btsan. During his time the 

 outlying valleys were brought under notice and cleared for 

 fields. The lakes were furnished with gates and drawn into 

 irrigation canals. The glacier-water was collected in ponds, 

 and the water [which had collected] over night [was used] for 

 irrigation in day-time. Such like things were done in his time. 



His son was 'aBrong snyan Idem. His son was Stag ri 

 snyan gzigs. During the time of this king mDzos and mules 

 originated from cross-breeding. The prices of riches were deter- 

 mined, and the grass of the hills was plaited in bundles. Such 

 like things were done. 



His son was gNarn ri srong btsan. During the time of this 

 king, there came from China [the arts] of medicine and divina- 

 tion. The king of gNya zhur and others who dwelt in the west 

 of India, and Grugu, were subdued. In the north, salt was 

 found. A castle called Khri brtsegs 'abum gdugs was built. 



His son was Srong btsan sgampo (600 — 650 A.D.), an incarna- 

 tion of the Boddhisatva sPyan ras gzigs (Avalokita). During 

 the time of this king, all the kingdoms on the frontier were united 

 under his rule, and every one of the little kings sent presents 

 Fol. 16a. and letters. Although this king made more sealed documents 



than can be comprehended, there were no characters in Tibet to 

 send replies to the letters from [various] quarters. And, as [the 

 books of] the famous sanctuary of his ancestor Tho tho ri snyan 

 shal remained a mystery [as they were written] in Indian char- 

 acters , he thought : ' ' We must translate them into Tibetan 

 writing !" Therefore he sent Thonmi, the son of Anu, with a 

 ' aBre ( a measure) of gold , and sixteen fellow-students , to Kashmir , 



1 S. Ch. Das states in this journal, Vol. L, that the reign of this 

 king was the most flourishing time of the Bon religion. He also states 

 that this king found a salt mine. But the Ladakh chronicles ascribe this 

 discovery to gNam ri srong btsan. 



A few years after the supposed descent of the Buddhist books, 

 several strangers arrived in Tibet to explain them (Bodhimor). 



