The Early History of India, from 600 B.C. to the Muhammadan Conquest, including the Invasion of Alexander the Great c31.s1.9

c31.s1.9

At this time Tibet was under the rule of the famous king, Srong-tsan-Gampo (acc. A. D. 629), who founded Lhāsa in A. D. 639, introduced Buddhism into his country, and, with the help of Indian scholars, devised the Tibetan alphabet.¹ While still very young he married Bhrikuti, a daughter of the king of Nepāl, and two years later, in A. D. 641, he succeeded with much difficulty in winning by his victories the hand of the princess Wen-cheng, daughter of the Chinese emperor, T'ai-tsung. Both these ladies being zealous Buddhists, converted their young husband, and so determined the whole course of Tibetan history. The Church has not been slow to recognize the merit of its patrons. The king has been deified as an incarnation of Buddha, Avalokitesvara, the Saviour, while his Nepalese consort is revered as the ‘Green Tārā’ and the Chinese princess as the ‘White Tārā’. The Chinese marriage secured the maintenance of friendly relations between Tibet and China during the life of Srong-tsan-Gampo, which ended, according to most authorities, in or about A. D. 698, but may possibly have come to a close several years earlier. In consequence, the Chinese envoys, in the years 643–5, when on their way to the court of Harsha, were able to pass through Tibet and its dependency Nepāl as allied countries, and both those kingdoms willingly sent troops to rescue Wang-Hiuen-tse from the troubles into which he fell after Harsha’s death.¹