Zanskar is a high valley country of barley farms, monasteries and rock-cut shrines, divided among two to four related ruling families (Zangla, Padum, Stongde and Karsha are the seats named in later sources).
The translator Phagspa Shesrab (Zanskar Lotsawa) founded Karsha, whose oldest chapel, the Chukshik Jal, has paintings associated with the age of Rinchen Zangpo; the Phugtal cave hermitage was already a resort of translators. The present Phugtal monastery is of the early fifteenth century and Karsha is today under the Gelug order, a school of the fifteenth century that does not yet exist.
Who he is
- Name
- Not known by name
- Title
- Kings or chiefs of Zanskar (two to four related houses)
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not known
- Family
- Descended from Detsukgon (Lde gtsug mgon), the third son of Kyide Nyimagon, to whom Zanskar, Lahul and Spiti went (Wikipedia, Maryul); two royal houses were founded in the tenth and eleventh centuries and Karsha and Phugtal began then (Wikipedia, Zanskar).
- Confidence
- low
No ruler of Zanskar is named for 1200 in the sources read; Zanskar is 'more or less independent' under two to four related royal families until the fifteenth century (Wikipedia, Zanskar).
What it holds
- Padum, Karsha, Zangla and the Stod and Zhung valleys
- the cave hermitage of Phugtal
- the passes to Lahul (the Shinku La) and to Ladakh (the Pensi La route)
Allies and rivals
The kings of Maryul (the brother's line), Guge, the hill rajas of Lahul and Chamba.
How things stand that morning
Independent, small; nothing dated.
Military
No army is recorded and no number is known.
Places of note
- Karsha monastery: Founded by Phagspa Shesrab.
- Phugtal cave hermitage: Cave site; the monastery is of the early fifteenth century.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: Wikipedia's Zanskar page is brief; no genealogy for 1200.
On the map: 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
- Wikipedia (English): Zanskar
- Wikipedia (English): Karsha Monastery
- Wikipedia (English): Phugtal Monastery
- Wikipedia (English): Maryul
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.