The third Degé king, Pönchen A Nga (mid-fifteenth to early sixteenth century), was the head of the house of Degé in its thirty-third generation. He had two sons (though here it mentions seven), of whom the elder, Joden Namkha Lhunsang, took monastic vows and the younger, Yangyal Pal, took over the Degé kingdom. For more on his life see his entry at The Treasury of Lives.

Also known by his Sanskrit name, Śāntarakṣita (725–88), he was a Bengali monk and scholar and the first abbot at Samyé monastery. He was one of the most important figures in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet.

A Kashmiri paṇḍita who was invited to Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. He worked with several Tibetan translators on the translation of a number of sūtras.

The great tantric master who helped establish Buddhism in Tibet. He would later become the central figure of the Nyingma tradition where he is known as Guru Rinpoché.

The seventeenth of the twenty-seven constellations, or nakṣatras, in Vedic astrology. In Tibetan it is known as Lhatsam (lha mtshams). This constellation is symbolized by the lotus.

Also known as Ga Anyen Dampa Künga Drakpa (rga a gnyan dam pa kun dga’ grags pa, 1230–1303), he was a student of Sakya Paṇḍita.

A vernacular language of northern India in the medieval period, in use between the fifth and twelfth century.

Arjuna is a central protagonist in the Sanskrit epic, the Mahābhārata. He is the third among the five sons of Pāṇḍu.

Āryadeva (third century ᴄᴇ) was a direct student of Nāgārjuna and an influential writer on Middle Way philosophy.

The historical Indian king of the Maurya dynasty who ruled over most of India ca. 268–232 ʙᴄᴇ. His name means “without sorrow.”

A central figure in the second spread of Buddhism from India to Tibet, Atiśa was born as a prince in the region of Bengal in 982 and passed away in Tibet in 1054.

Paltsek (eighth to early ninth century), from the village of Kawa north of Lhasa, was one of Tibet’s preeminent translators. He was one of the first seven Tibetans to be ordained by Śāntarakṣita and is counted as one of Guru Rinpoché’s twenty-five close disciples. In a famous verse by Ngok Lotsawa Loden Sherab, Kawa Paltsek is named along with Chokro Lui Gyaltsen and Zhang (or Nanam) Yeshé Dé as part of a group of translators whose skills were surpassed only by Vairotsana.

He translated works from a wide variety of genres, including sūtra, śāstra, vinaya, and tantra, and was an author himself. Paltsek was also one of the most important editors of the early period, one of nine translators installed by Tri Songdetsen (r. 755–797/800) to supervise the translation of the Tripiṭaka and help catalog translated works for the first two of three imperial catalogs, the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) and the Samyé Chimpuma (bsam yas mchims phu ma). In the colophons of his works, he is often known as Paltsek Rakṣita (rak+Shi ta).

Vajrabhairava is a wrathful form of Mañjuśrī. Practiced by Sarma traditions, he is classified under highest yoga tantra.

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

Here appears to refer to local mountain guardian deities.

A Kashmiri paṇḍita who was invited to Tibet during the late eight and early ninth centuries. He worked with several Tibetan translators on the translation of a number of sūtras.

The first Degé king, Bothar Lodrö Topden (late fourteenth to mid-fifteenth century), was the head of the house of Degé in its thirty-first generation. He is remembered for establishing the site that would later become the center of the Degé kingdom. He had two sons, Lama Palden Sengé and Gyaltsen Bum. For more on his life see his entry at The Treasury of Lives.

The son of a Kashmiri merchant who was one of the earliest translators in Tibet.

A clan or tribe in Tibet. According to the Catalog, one of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo, belonging to the divine lineage of Go.

A clan or tribe in Tibet. According to the Catalog, one of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo, belonging to the divine lineage of Go.

Buton Rinchen Drub (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) was the abbot of Zhalu monastery and one of Tibet’s most famous scholars and historians.

Cakrasaṃvara is a deity from the highest yoga tantras and is especially popular among the new schools of Tibetan Buddhism.

Cāṇakya (375–283 ʙᴄᴇ) was an ancient Indian polymath.

The Cāṇakyarājanīti­śāstra (Toh 4334) by Cāṇakya (fourth century ʙᴄᴇ).

Toh 431.

A clan or tribe in Tibet. According to the Catalog, one of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo, belonging to the divine lineage of Go.

A Tibetan translator of grammatical texts from the late eighth through the early ninth century. A common alternate spelling of his name is lce khyi ’brug.

A clan or tribe in Tibet. According to the Catalog, one of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo, belonging to the divine lineage of Go.

See “Chim Chenpo Namkha Drak.”

It is believed that the term “Tongku” is derived from the Chinese dong jing (東京) or “Eastern capital” but came to refer to the Chinese lands east of Tibet. Use of this term is attested as early as 960 ᴄᴇ, before the creation of the modern political designation “China,” but it was used as an epithet for various Chinese empires over the course of centuries. For more on this term, see van Schaik 2013.

An area of central Tibet.

Chokro Lui Gyaltsen was a renowned translator during the imperial period.

See “Drogön Chögyal Phakpa.”

A Tibetan translator during the imperial period.

See “sixth Shamar.”

See also “Chom Ralpa.”

A clan or tribe in Tibet. According to the Catalog, one of the eighteen tribes of Nguchen Gyalmo, belonging to the divine lineage of Go.

A monastery in Tsang, located west of present-day Shigatse.

An epithet of Tibet. Similar to Land of Snows (gangs can ljongs).

A traditional unit of length, measured from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.

Along with Kongpo and Powo, Dakpo is one of the three main regions of southeastern Tibet.

See “Jampa Phuntsok.”

A Kashmiri paṇḍita who was invited to Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. He worked with several Tibetan translators on the translation of a number of sūtras.

A manuscript translation of The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines that appears to have been named after Langdarma (glang dar ma u dum btsan), the king of Tibet who succeeded his brother Ralpachen and is traditionally blamed for the decline of Buddhism in Tibet in the late ninth century.

A son of Karchen Jangchup Bum.

The name of a kingdom in eastern Tibet. Its name literally means “happiness and goodness.”

A Tibetan imperial-era catalog of translated Buddhist scripture. According to Situ Paṇchen, compiled after the Phangthangma.

Pakmodrupa Dorjé Gyalpo (1110–70) was one of the three foremost students of Gampopa and the founder of the Pakdru Kagyü school. His younger brother was Kathokpa Dampa Deshek.

A Tibetan translator during the imperial period.

The god of medicine from the Indian Ayurvedic tradition.

A monk at the monastery of Latö Olgö who produced copies of the Vinaya.