Nyatri Tsenpo

Nyatri Tsenpo (, ) was the first king of Tibet and a legendary progenitor of the Yarlung dynasty. Although stories of his origin vary, most describe him as an outsider whom the Tibetans accepted as their king because of his physical abnormalities and strength.

Tibetan Buddhist sources generally describe him as having had webbed hands, with one account stating he was an Indian prince with the additional deformity of eyelids closing from the bottom rather than from the top. More recent Tibetan Buddhist sources describe him as a descendant of the Shakya clan. The Dunhuang manuscripts give Nyatri Tsenpo a divine origin, stating that he was a sky god who descended from heaven to rule Tibet after seeing its natural beauty. Nonetheless, all accounts conclude the story of his origin with the Tibetans carrying him on their necks and shoulders and giving him the Tibetan name "Nyatri Tsenpo", which means "Neck-Enthroned King".

The start of his reign is traditionally placed at 127 BC, which marks the first year of the Tibetan calendar. According to Tibetan mythology, Nyatri Tsenpo constructed the first Tibetan building, Yungbulakang Palace. At the end of his reign, Nyatri Tsenpo is said to have ascended or returned to heaven by climbing a rope. Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is celebrated in his honour.

Origin There are conflicting stories about the origin and mortality of Nyatri Tsenpo. His place of origin has been variously claimed to be Tibet, India, China, or heaven.

In the pre-Buddhist, indigenous Bon religion, it is traditionally held that the early kings of Tibet were gods who had descended from heaven to rule the people of earth. He made his way down the valley where he met a group of Tibetans, whom he impressed with his beauty, charisma, and power. The Tibetans asked him where he had come from due to his physical appearance, which differed from the Tibetans'. Unable to speak the Tibetan language, he responded by pointing to the sky, which the Tibetans interpreted as a confirmation of his divinity. Believing the encounter to be fated, the Tibetans lifted him onto their necks and shoulders (in some accounts using a yoke ) and made him their king, giving him the Tibetan name "Nyatri Tsenpo", which means "Neck-Enthroned King". Buddhist canons differ as to his exact lineage, and he has been variously described as a descendant of Bimbisara of Magadha, Prasenajit of Kosala, or Udayana of Vatsa. One story claims Nyatri Tsenpo was a son of Udayana who was born with multiple physical deformities, including "unusual marks", webbed hands, and eyelids closing from the bottom instead of the top.

Alternatively, Changkya Rolpai Dorje, an 18th-century Tibetan Buddhist teacher in the Qing court, recorded that Nyatri Tsenpo was originally a mortal named Wubera. He was the youngest of nine sons born to a woman named Chamotsun from Powo (present-day Bomê County, Tibet Autonomous Region). Some sources record 127 BC as the year of his birth, while others state he was born in 115 BC (Fire-Tiger year).

Followers of Bon and Tibetan Buddhism both revere Nyatri Tsenpo and the six kings who followed him as divine and immortal beings. In Tibetan mythology, it is said that the first seven kings of Tibet, upon completing their respective reigns, returned to heaven by climbing a rope dropped from the skies. The eighth king, Drigum Tsenpo, lost his immortality because a minister he had quarreled with named Longam cursed him with magic and cut the rope between heaven and earth. Drigum Tsenpo was subsequently assassinated by Longam and became the first Tibetan king to be entombed.

Legacy The year of Nyatri Tsenpo's enthronement marks the first year of the Tibetan calendar. Losar, the Tibetan New Year, is celebrated in his honour.