The mountain is the abode of Shiva for Hindus, Mount Meru and the centre of the world for Buddhists, the place where Rishabhadeva reached liberation for Jains, and the seat of the sky goddess and the heart of the Zhang Zhung country for Bonpos.
Hindus, Buddhists and Jains walk the 53 km circuit clockwise, Bonpos counterclockwise; it starts and ends at Darchen and crosses the Dolma pass; the page says it is not known when the pilgrimage began. The Buddhist tradition has Milarepa (about 1052-1135) win a contest with the Bon master Naro Bonchung here, a story, not a date. Wikipedia's Manasarovar page says Tibetan records of the late twelfth century describe Buddhist monks meditating in the Go-zul cave and circling Kailash, so by 1200 the Buddhist circuit is practised.
The lake (4,600 m, 88 km round) lies below and the Karnali, Sutlej, Indus and Brahmaputra rise in the region. The pilgrim season runs from June to September over the Lipu Lekh and Limi roads.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not known by name for 1200
- Title
- The lords of Purang as hosts; the monasteries of the circuit
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
See the Purang lords record.
How things stand that morning
Shut by snow in winter.
Wealth
Offerings and tolls.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Patron
Pilgrims of all four faiths; the lords of Purang took tolls.
Estates
The monasteries on the circuit were small; none is dated in the pages we read.
Places of note
- Mount Kailash: The mountain.
- Lake Manasarovar: The lake (approximate).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The geography and the four traditions are certain; dated acts for 1200 are not.
On the map: The seat is the pilgrim base at Darchen, approximate.
Primary sources for Guge and Maryul
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- The River of Kings, with Jonaraja's continuation, Kalhana; continued by Jonaraja (Kalhana 1148 to 1150; Jonaraja about 1459). Kalhana's chronicle stops in 1149, so for 1200 the witness is Jonaraja, writing three centuries later and very briefly. Read online
- History of Buddhism in India and Tibet, Buton Rinchen Drub (Bu ston Rin chen grub) (1322). Optional background. Read online
- The Blue Annals, Go Lotsawa Zhonnu Pal ('Gos lo tsa ba gZhon nu dpal) (1476 to 1478). The fullest Tibetan account of who mattered around 1200, written three centuries later from earlier biographies and lineage records, many now lost. Read online
- The Sakya genealogy, and the works of the Sakya hierarch of 1200, Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (Grags pa rgyal mtshan) and Sakya Pandita; the genealogy by Ngawang Kunga Sonam (the hierarchs' writings about 1170 to 1250; the genealogy 1629). Sakya in 1200 was ruled by Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen, the third of the five founders, with his nephew Kunga Gyaltsen (later Sakya Pandita, born 1182) under his teaching. Read online
- Indo-Tibetica (the temples and inscriptions of western Tibet), with the Royal Genealogy of Ngari, Giuseppe Tucci (editor and translator); the genealogy by Ngawang Drakpa (Ngag dbang grags pa) (the inscriptions and temple records of the 11th to 15th centuries; Indo-Tibetica published 1932 to 1941; the genealogy about 1497). Guge, Purang and Ladakh in 1200 are among the least documented kingdoms in the atlas. Read online
Sources and studies
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.