The country south of Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar, the Karnali head and the roads from Kumaon (Lipu Lekh) and Humla (Limi) to Guge: a separate line from Guge since 1088.
The pilgrim stage of four faiths and the trade of salt, wool and borax come here. The Kailash circuit of 53 km starts and ends at Darchen (Wikipedia, Mount Kailash). Dolpo falls to Purang's reach on one account.
Who holds it
- Name
- Not known by name for 1200
- Title
- Lords of Purang
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- not known
- Confidence
- low
See the Purang lords record.
What it holds
- Taklakot and Khorchag
- Darchen and the Kailash circuit
- the Manasarovar shore
How things stand that morning
The pilgrim and trade seasons run from June to September; nothing is dated.
Wealth
Tolls, pasture, the pilgrim trade.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Customs
Pilgrimage by Hindus, Buddhists, Jains and Bonpos; Hindus, Buddhists and Jains circle Kailash clockwise, Bonpos counterclockwise.
Tribute
Tolls on the roads; unrecorded.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Wikipedia's Taklakot, Kailash and Manasarovar pages.
On the map: Purang's limits are not pinned.
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
- Wikipedia (English): Taklakot
- Wikipedia (English): Mount Kailash
- Wikipedia (English): Lake Manasarovar
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.