A monastery on the Indus north of Alchi.
Wikipedia gives the foundation as 1065 by Lama Duwang Chosje on land from King Lhachen Gyalpo (Lha chen rgyal po), whom it calls the fifth king of Ladakh (c. 1050-1080 on the Ladakhi chronicles). It says the house 'presumably' belonged to the early Kadampa order (an inference), and that it was converted to the Gelug school in the fifteenth century. Tradition has a square room at the base of the chorten below the monastery as the earliest temple on the spot.
A later king, Lha-chen-dngos-grub (c. 1290-1320), is said by the inscription to have begun sending novices to Lhasa. The Gelug is not yet founded in 1200. See the discrepancy note on the number of the kings.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not named for 1200
- Title
- The abbot of Likir
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
Wikipedia's Likir page: founded 1065 by Lama Duwang Chosje on land given by Lhachen Gyalpo; presumably Kadampa; converted to the Gelug in the fifteenth century.
How things stand that morning
Standing in some form; the order is Kadampa on the inference.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Patron
King Lhachen Gyalpo, on the page's account.
Estates
The land the king gave; not itemised.
Places of note
- Likir: The monastery.
Where the sources disagree
- Wikipedia's Likir page calls Lhachen Gyalpo the fifth king of Ladakh (c. 1050-1080); its Lhachen Utpala page, which we used for the Maryul king record, gives the fifth king as Utpala (c. 1080-1110). The two pages number the early kings differently.
Evidence: One Wikipedia page; the order is an inference.
On the map: A point.
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.