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. Drakpa Gyaltsen's own collected works include biographies of his father and brother and lineage prayers that give the family's history to his day, the only writing from inside Sakya at 1200. Sakya Pandita's later works add the next generation. The Sakya genealogy (gdung rabs) of 1629 is the standard later compilation of the Khon family's lives and dates. These are religious biographies: for Sakya's lands, retainers and dealings with neighbours they give only incidental notice.
About this source
- Title
- Sa skya'i gdung rabs, with the writings of Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen
- Author
- Jetsun Drakpa Gyaltsen (Grags pa rgyal mtshan) and Sakya Pandita; the genealogy by Ngawang Kunga Sonam
- Author's dates
- Drakpa Gyaltsen 1147 to 1216; Sakya Pandita 1182 to 1251; Ngawang Kunga Sonam 1597 to 1659
- Written
- the hierarchs' writings about 1170 to 1250; the genealogy 1629
- Language
- Tibetan
- Covers
- the Khon family of Sakya from the 11th century; the genealogy to the 17th century
- Kind
- Biography
The Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC) mirrors its scans on the Internet Archive; the texts are in Tibetan only. The 2007 Beijing edition is a modern typeset and in copyright but is distributed by BDRC with permission.
Where to read it
Editions
- Sa skya gong ma rnam lnga'i gsung 'bum dpe bsdur ma: the works of Sakya Pandita (Beijing, 2007), Tibetan; BDRC scan
- Selected writings of Sa-skya rje-btsun Grags-pa-rgyal-mtshan (1985), Tibetan; BDRC scan
- Ngag dbang kun dga' bsod nams, Sa skya'i gdung rabs ngo mtshar bang mdzod (1629), Tibetan; BDRC scan
Translations
- No English translation of the gdung rabs; parts of the hierarchs' lives are translated in modern studies (C. Stearns, Luminous Lives, 2001; in copyright) (not freely online)