89 
1904.] Sarat Chandra Das —The Hierarchy of the Dalai Lama. 
been on the top of a hill called Potala-giri (the habour-hill) # somewhere 
in the south of India. Henceforth, from this circumstance, Potala 
became the chief place of pilgrimage of the Buddhist of the northern 
school who regarded the Dalai Lama as the holiest of holies. His young 
Desrid, an adept in statecraft, than whom a greater statesman has not 
appeared in Tibet, in course of three years, firmly established the grand 
Lama’s temporal authority all over the country, including Kham and 
Amdo. In 1681, Lozang Gya-tsho died, but the wily Desrid managed 
to keep the occurrence secret from the public. He gave out that the 
Dalai Lama, whose spirit was in communion with the gods, had entered 
into a samadhi (deep-meditation) under a solemn vow not to come out 
to public view for a period of twelve years. He now dressed himself in 
lamaic robes, and assumed a holy character, for it was not desirable for a 
Desrid not to be looked upon as a holy man. He was regarded as a 
wise minister and efficient ruler: in 1683 he wrote a valuable work on 
astronomy, astrology and chronology called Vaidurya Karpo. In 1693, 
he completed the nine-storeyed building called Phobrang Mar-po (the 
red-palace) on Potala, and entombed the remains of Gongsa-tiga-pa 
chen-po, in the central hall, in a golden Chorten ( chaitya ). In the 
same year he installed, under the name of Tshang-yang Gya-tsho, 1 a child, 
three years old, as the incarnation of the deceased Dalai who had 
passed out of his body at the termination of his twelve years trance in 
profound samadhi. During this long period the Desrid had consolidated 
the Dalai Lama’s authority, having governed the country with consum¬ 
mate skill. He being the central figure in the government, and a layman, 
too, was called De-ha , and his government came to be known by the name of 
shung . 2 At the close of the year, with a view to commemorate the 
accession of his late master to the sovereignty of Tibet, he inaugurat¬ 
ed the Tshog-choi 3 the congregational service in connexion with 
the annual prayer meeting called Monlam Ghenpo , of Lhasa, founded by 
Tsong-khapa. In 1697, he wrote the work called Vai Ser-Ghoijuug , 
the history of the rise of the Yellow Church. The boy Dalai 
# The Sanskrit name Potala in Tibetan, is Gru-hdsin ( ) meaning 
'O 
‘harbour.’ The Chinese Buddhists have located Potala the residence of their 
favourite saint Kwan-yin (Avalokite^vara in his Chinese form) in the island of 
Putoshan, situated on the coast of China about 200 miles off Shanghai, N.N.E., 
where pilgrims from China and Mongolia go annually in large number. 
Alex-Csoma de Koros, by mistake, located Potala in the neighbourhood of the 
town of Khara Tata in the mouth of the Indus in Sinde. 
J. i 12. 
2 
signifying the central. 
