Khedrup Gyatso (1 November 1838 – 31 January 1856) was the 11th
Dalai LamaThe Dalai Lama is a lineage of religious officials of the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism. "Lama" is a general term referring to Tibetan Buddhist teachers...
of
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
.
He was recognised as the Eleventh Dalai Lama in 1840, having come from the same village as
Kelzang GyatsoKelzang Gyatso , also spelled Kelsang Gyatso and Kezang Gyatso, was the 7th Dalai Lama of Tibet.-Early life:Kelzang Gyatso was born in Lithang of Eastern Tibet, in the present-day Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of present-day Sichuan province, and recognized as the new reincarnation thanks to...
, the seventh Dalai Lama, had in 1708. In 1841 the seventh Panchen Lama,
Palden Tenpai NyimaPalden Tenpai Nyima was the Seventh Panchen Lama of Tibet.Lobsang Palden Yeshe, the previous Panchen Lama, died from smallpox in Beijing in 1780...
, gave him the pre-novice ordination, cut his hair and gave him the name Khedrup Gyatso.
In 1842, he was enthroned in the Potala Palace and, in 1846, at the age of eleven, he took the novice vows of monkhood from Fourth Panchen Lama.
He was enthroned on 25 May 1842 and assumed full power on the request of his government on 1 March 1855. However, he died less than one year later, thus becoming the third successive Dalai Lama who died at too young an age to consolidate his power.
- "During the period of the short-lived Dalai Lamas—from the Ninth to the Twelfth incarnations—the Panchen was the lama of the hour, filling the void left by the four Dalai Lamas who died in their youth."
He wrote a book of stanzas,
Story of the Monkeys and Birds (
Bya sprel gyi gtam-rgyud). It is an allegory of the war at the end of the 18th century between the Tibetans and the
GurkhaGurkha, also spelled as Gorkha or Ghurka, are people from Nepal and northern India who take their name from the eighth century Hindu warrior-saint Guru Gorakhnath. His disciple Bappa Rawal, born Prince Kalbhoj/Prince Shailadhish, founded the house of Mewar, Rajasthan...
s ('birds' and 'monkeys' respectively).
During the life of Khedrup Gyatso, wars over
LadakhLadakh is a region situated in the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir between the Kunlun mountain range in the north and the main Great Himalayas to the south...
weakened the lamas' power over the Tibetan Plateau and the
Opium WarsThe Opium Wars , also known as the Anglo-Chinese Wars, were the climax of trade disputes and diplomatic difficulties between China under the Qing Dynasty and the British Empire after China sought to restrict British opium traffickers...
and
Taiping RebellionThe Taiping Rebellion was a large-scale revolt in China from 1850 to 1864, during the Qing Dynasty, by an army led by heterodox Christian convert Hong Xiuquan...
simultaneously weakened Chinese influence on Tibet. This was to pave the way for efforts under the following Dalai Lama to seal Tibet off even more firmly from Western colonial influence which was seen as a threat to Tibetan culture and the power of the lamas.
He died suddenly in the
Potala PalaceThe Potala Palace is located in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region. It was named after Mount Potala, the abode of Chenresig or Avalokitesvara. The Potala Palace was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India, after an invasion and failed uprising in 1959...
,
LhasaLhasa, and sometimes spelled Lasa, is the administrative capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China. It is located at the foot of Mount Gephel....
,
TibetTibet is a plateau region in Asia, north of the Himalayas. It is home to the indigenous Tibetan people, and to some other ethnic groups such as Monpas and Lhobas, and is now also inhabited by considerable numbers of Han Chinese people. Tibet is the highest region on earth, with an average...
on 31 January 1856.
Further reading
- Mullin, Glenn H. (2001). The Fourteen Dalai Lamas: A Sacred Legacy of Reincarnation, pp. 361–367. Clear Light Publishers. Santa Fe, New Mexico. ISBN 1-57416-092-3.