The Tumuli of the Tibetan Kings Tibet Travel

The Tumuli of the Tibetan Kings

Author:sichuan Source:china-panda time:2006-3-24

The Tumuli of the Tibetan Kings

Located at chong Gye, the tumuli of the Tibetan kings is 30 km from Tsedang. Buried here the kings, the ministers and the royal concubines from the 29th Tuboking, to the last. It is also the only tumuli group in Tibet. From all of the tombs, the most remarkable one is King Songtsan Gampo's.

According to historical records there are five underground chambers containing statues of Songtsan Gampo, Shakyamuni and Padmasambava with great quantities of gold, silver, pears and agates as funeral objects. The coffin itself is said to have been laid in the central chamber and to its left side it is said to a suit of amour worn by Songtsan Gampo on expedition; to its right side to have laid knights and battle horses made of solid gold as the retinue of Songtsan Gampo after his demise. Buried at the head of the coffin is a coral statue of Lord Loyak Gyalo, whose function is supposed to give light to the dead king and at the foot of it is a cache of pears weighing 35 kilograms, wrapped in silk, as Songtsan Gampo's share of wealth.

Thirty third King Songtsan Gampo, moved his capital to Lhasa, then unified the whole Tibet. In order to cherish the memory of their hometown and the relatives, also ancestor Kings from the 33 on wards were buried back to Chonggye. This is main reason why the tumuli is as big as3illion square meters.

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