Long ago, in the southern part of India, there were two kingdoms called the Northern Abode of Prosperity and the Southern Abode of Racial Purity. The Southern Kingdom came to be ruled by a despotic and unwise ruler known as “Shakpa Shony”. He refused to follow the righteous path of Buddhism, preferring to consult demons and imps for advice. Consequently, his Kingdom was plagued with problems such as drought and disease. Even the nagas (Water spirits) who lived in the sacred lake left the Kingdom to take sanctuary in the Northern Abode of Prosperity. The Northern Kingdom was ruled by old King Norchen and young Prince Norsang, rulers who sincerely practiced the Dharma.

The Plot

The King of the Southern Kingdom, wishing to avert further catastrophe in his land and convince the nagas to return to the sacred lake, sought the help of the greatest sorcerer in the land, the awesome “Holder of the Black Serpent in the Mouth”. After a long journey, ten wizards from the King’s court found the sorcerer and requested his assistance. He agreed, and set off to the Northern Abode of Prosperity, to the Great Lotus life-force Lake where the nagas of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms were now residing.

The Queen of the nagas has no wish to return to the Southern Kingdom and so entreats a poor fisherman who lives by the lake to protect them from the sorcerer. The brave man agrees to do so and the Queen of the nagas, impressed by his courage, gives him a magic whetstone to sharpen his sword. With this magic assistance, the fisherman slays the sorcerer and saves the nagas. To express their gratitude, the nagas present the fisherman with a “wish fulfilling gem”.

The fisherman was unsure what to do with such a precious gift, so he takes the advice of the old Brahmin couple who live with him, and takes the gem to the holy hermit who lives alone in the “Happy Mountain Cave”. The hermit is over five hundred years old, and the fisherman, amazed at his apparent immortality, asks the hermit how such a thing is possible. The hermit confides that he regularly swims in the “Brahma Bathing Pool”, where even the goddesses bathe occasionally.

The fisherman begs the hermit to lead him to the pool and so they depart together on an auspicious day. Whilst at the pool, the fisherman sees the most beautiful goddess, Yidrok Lhamo, and desires to have her. Again with the help of the nagas, he manages to capture the beautiful goddess Yidrok. The union between the fisherman and the goddess is, of course, impossible and the wise hermit advises him to make a gift of the goddess to the young Prince of the Northern Abode of Prosperity, Norsang. Prince Norsang and his court is amazed at the sagacity of the fisherman who has saved the kingdom, protected the lake and presented such a marvellous woman.

The Prince and the goddess soon fall in love, marry in a grand ceremony, and live blissfully for a while in the “Palace of Happiness and Fulfilled Desires”. The only problem is the Prince’s five hundred other wives, who feel very jealous of the attention lavished on his new bride. With the help of the evil High Priest, Black Hari, they invent a convincing story about an impending war, which Prince Norsang believes. He sets off with his army, leaving the goddess alone and vulnerable. Whilst Prince Norsang is off fighting a battle, which he of course wins, the jealous Queens back in the Northern Kingdom try to rid themselves of the beautiful goddess, Yidrok.

Black Hari, the corrupt high priest, causes a dream to enter old King Norchen’s mind when he is sleeping. The King asks the high priest’s interpretation the next day. Black Hari explains that the dream means that the Kingdom is threatened by a great evil, an evil he can counter by the performance of certain magic rites. For these rituals, he needs some strange ingredients, including the heart of a celestial being. Thus, Yidrok’s life is suddenly in danger. All the five hundred wives march down to the Palace and scream for the heart of the goddess. When Yidrok hears this, she begs the old Queen for her tiara and flies off into the sky, much to the rage and frustration of the Black priest and the evil Queens.

Yidrok flies to the “Happy Mountain Cave” where the old hermit lives and tells him what has befallen her. Giving him a ring that was a gift from the Prince, she begs him to return it to Norsang if he comes this way in search of her. Then she leaves for her heavenly home, where she is reunited with her family.

When Prince Norsang returns home after the battle to find his beloved wife gone because of the actions of his high priest and wives, he is full of grief and anger. He rides away immediately, vowing not to return until he is reunited with his wife once more.

Receiving a helpful sign from the gods, Prince Norsang finds his way to the hermit’s cave. The hermit gives Norsang the ring and Yidrok’s instructions. After many trials and obstacles, Norsang finally arrives at the goddess’s heavenly home and is reunited with his love.

Yidrok’s father, the horse-headed king, is unwilling to let his precious Yidrok return to the earth. He devises a series of tests to determine whether Prince Norsang is worthy of such a heavenly prize. The Prince triumphs in all these competitions, and the gods are obliged to allow the goddess to return to the land of men.

Together they return to the Kingdom, much to the joy of the old King and Queen. The evil deeds of the Black Priest and the wives are exposed and they are duly punished according to their iniquities. The old King Norchen relinquishes his throne to Norsang, whose coronation is a huge and spectacular event. The kingdom is ruled wisely by Norsang and he and his celestial Queen live out their lives in marital bliss.

Drimeh – Kunden is a famous jataka (former lives of Buddha) story. The opera has been adapted from a story in the Buddhist scriptures (Tengyur) entitled ‘Prince Sudana Sutra’. This version was translated from original manuscripts in the possession of the Batang players in Eastern Tibet in 1931.

Prelude

A long time ago, the land of Beta was ruled by King Sayong Drakpa. He was a very powerful king, having authority over one thousand ministers and sixty princes, and holding in his possession many rare and beautiful treasures. Amongst these were the precious wish-fulfilling gem, of which it was said that the possessor would be endowed with good fortune.

The Plot

Once upon a time a Prince was born. As he came into the world he recited the words “Om Mani Padme Hum”. He was named Drimeh Kunden, meaning “having all purity”. The Prince is very wise. He understands the nature of suffering of all beings. He weeps in anguish. The King, his father, is very wealthy and the Prince suggests that to relieve some of the suffering of the world, he will distribute his wealth in alms. The King loves his son and agrees to this idea.

The King’s ministers, however, are angry and say that the Prince should marry a rich Princess in order to acquire more wealth. It is decided that the Prince should marry Mande Sangmo, a beautiful, pure, humble and religious girl from Pemajen. The couple meet and fall in love instantly. They are very happy and have three children, two sons and a daughter.

One day the Prince and his father are walking in the garden. The Prince looks sad and the King asks why he is sad. The Prince replies that it is the suffering of the continuous circle of birth, old age, disease and death that causes his anguish. The King tells his son not to worry for others, who suffer from the result of their own deeds, but to be happy in the richness of fortune. The Prince replies that if he could give away all his father’s wealth to the paupers then he would be free from misery. The King agrees out of love for his son and the Prince scatters alms upon the people of the world.

At this time, the neighbouring country is ruled over by an evil, irreligious King. He wants a special wish-fulfilling gem from King Sayang Drakpa’s treasure house. He offers half of his kingdom to any one of his subjects who can acquire this gem. One old man takes up the offer and sets off over the high mountains to the country of Beta. He approaches the King’s palace and begins to weep. The Prince comes to meet the old man at the gate and says that he will grant any request the weary old man may have. The old man tells the Prince a sad tale of his starving family. The Prince gives the old man many jewels. Then the old man says that his only desire is to receive the wish-fulfilling gem.

The prince does not own this gem. He explains this to the old man. This gem belongs to the King so it is impossible for the Prince to give it away. The old man protests that he has travelled far to see the Prince. He storms out in a great rage. The Prince calls the old man back and agrees to give him the gem that fulfills all wishes.

One month passes before the King notices the absence of his most precious gem. He is in a great rage as one minister tells the King that it was his own son who gave this gem away as alm. The King confronts his son. He laments the loss of his wealth and kingdom. The Prince wishes that his father had less attachment to wealth. He explains that he would gladly give his children, his wife, even his own life, to any passing beggar.

The high officials sentence the Prince to death for stealing the gem. The King changes the sentence and decrees that the Prince and his family are banished for 12 years to the Demon Kingdom of Mount Hashang. The family set off and the Prince urges his wife to stay behind. He explains that he would be willing to give her and their children away to beggars. The Princess is firm that she will follow the Prince as his servant wherever he goes.

They set off along the road and soon the Prince has given away all their possessions as alms. Some Brahmans stop the Prince and ask him for alms. He replies that he has nothing to give and the Brahmans ask for the three royal children. Sangmo protests, but the children are handed over tearfully and the royal couple continue on their journey alone.

The gods Indra and Brahma wish to test the Prince’s vow of alms giving. They manifest themselves in the form of two Brahmans begging for alms. The Prince tells them he has nothing to give and they ask for the Princess. The Prince knows he must fulfil his vow but feels great compassion for Sangmo, who has suffered so much. He hands her over to the Brahmans, begging her to go happily. After walking for some time, the gods reveal their true identities to the Prince, return the Princess and promise him future happiness. The royal couple are led to an illusory city of great beauty where they are entertained for seven days. The Prince insists that they cannot stay here so the place vanishes and Drimey and Sangmo continue on their way.

At the edge of a dark forest they meet a hermit with a long yellow beard. He warns them of the dangers of where they are headed, but still the couple continue. In the forest, there are many wild and ferocious animals. The Prince speaks to them with great calmness and clarity and the animals become peaceful and tame.

Drimey and Sangmo live in this desolate place for 10 years. Finally, the time comes for them to leave and they bid farewell to the creatures of the forest. The royal parents are reunited with their children. As they approach the kingdom of Drimeh’s father, a blind beggar by the roadside asks for alms. The Prince replies that he has nothing to give and the beggar implores the Prince to give his own eyes. The Prince at once draws out a knife and cuts out his own eyes. Later the Prince prays to the God and he is granted new eyes so that he can continue on his journey.

The Prince is received after 12 years absence with great joy and celebrations. The King begs forgiveness of his son and offers him the entire treasury to give as alms. The King announces that Prince Drimeh Kunden is his regent. All of the people prostrate themselves before him. Under the rule of Prince Drimeh Kunden the Kingdom of Beta prospers and strengthens. He and Sangmo eventually attain enlightenment.

This opera is based on the legendary Indian play Shakuntala, written by Kalidas. It was believed that the first translation into Tibetan in the eighth century was by Vairocana and completed by the eleventh century translator Shrewoo Lotsawa.

Prelude

There once was a kingdom near Bodh Gaya in India called Semkyi Lodro (Wisdom of Thought), which was ruled by a monarch who was, in turn, ruled by an evil god. This evil god demanded the sacrifice of many innocent animals. Nearby, in a cave in the woods lived an old hermit called Drangsong who led a life of austerity and meditation. He deplored these evil practices and prayed that one day the ruler and his people would become Buddhist.

The Plot

One day an old couple come to seek the teachings and blessings of the hermit Drangsong. To show their gratitude, they present him with a white loin cloth. The hermit wears it immediately, thanking them. That evening while he sleeps he experiences a wet dream, so he washes the garment in a stream. After he returns to his cave, a female deer comes to drink from the stream, and as a miraculous consequence becomes pregnant.

The kindly hermit looks after the deer during her pregnancy and nine months and ten days later, amid extraordinary signs of rainbows and uncommonly bright sunshine, the deer gives birth to a baby girl. As soon as she is born, the baby recites the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum” and offers prayers to the Three Jewels of Refuge. Drangsong, amazed by her beauty, calls her “Sukyi Nyima” which means “embodiment of sun”. The girl grows up to be a gentle maiden and lives her young years happily with the hermit Drangsong in his humble dwelling.

Meanwhile, the barren Queen of this kingdom performs special Pujas for fertility and gives birth to two consecutive sons, firstly Dawa Sengey (Moon’s Lion) who grows to disagree with his father’s religious practices, and secondly Dawa Shonnu (Young Moon). After some discussion, the King proclaims his elder son, Dawa Sengey as his successor and orders him to visit the temple of his evil god. On the way to the temple, Dawa Sengey and his minister encounter a maid called Rignyen Bumo, who pretends to be a princess. The young Prince is smitten by her, but the minister distrusts her and urges the Prince to move on.

They get to the temple and make the appropriate prayers to the King’s god. Dawa Sengey asks the god through an oracle where he shall find a wife. Such absurdities are offered as answers, such as “Winter will be cold and summer will be hot” and “If you eat tsampa all year you will never lose your teeth!” At last the prince is told that he will find his wife in the east.

On the journey home, they are once again way-laid by the captivating Rignyen Bumo who offers him chang (Tibetan beer) and seduces him into believing that she is the girl of the oracle’s prediction. Willingly, the prince takes Rignyen Bumo to his palace where they celebrate their marriage with a huge feast.

The new King has a patriotic talking parrot who attempts to awaken the King’s mind to his new wife’s evil origins, but Dawa Sengey will not listen. His wife is beautiful, and this alone satisfies him. He does not notice her perverse characteristics, such as her desire to kill animals. One day a boar enters the garden and she gleefully orders the hunter to kill it. The hunter tries to do so, but loses sight of the boar in the forest. Next he spots a deer and decides to pursue it instead, but it too escapes. Finding himself hopelessly lost, tired and frightened of the Queen’s anger, he falls asleep next to a steam. As he sleeps, Sukyi Nyima comes to draw water, and the man awakens and sees her. The hunter asks her for directions and may be a protective charm to help him get home, and she kindly gives him what he askes.

On returning to the palace, the hunter tells the King of the astounding beauty and kindness of this girl in the forest. The King decides he must see her for himself and sets off into the forest. On finding Sukyi Nyima, the King is overcome with love and begs her hand in marriage. The modest girl says nothing, but directs the King to her father. The hermit Drangsong has his apprehensions, but consents to the marriage on two conditions. Firstly, she must prostrate back to her home at the top of every hill on her journey, and secondly, she must never part from the protective rosary that he gave her.

Unfortunately, Sukyi Nyima forgets to prostrate and the old hermit, overcome with grief, falls off the roof and is taken to heaven by five angels.

The new Queen Sukyi Nyima so overshadows the King’s other wife, Rignyen Bumo, that the latter becomes green with jealousy. The new Queen gives birth to a son, but still feels sad and lonely. To cheer her up, she is given a maid, Yama, who can sing and dance. What is unknown to Sukyi Nyima is that Yama is a witch. She and Rignyen Bumo conspire to get rid of the beautiful Queen.

Yama tricks her into parting with her protective rosary and whilst unprotected, poisons her. Sukyi Nyima, unconscious, is framed for the murder of the King’s favorite white elephant. The King was furious, until the parrot tells him that Sukyi Nyima is not guilty of the crime. However, when Sukyi Nyima is found lying next to their own son’s dead body, knife in hand, then no amount of reasoning will calm the King down. He orders the execution of the Queen.

The parrot pleads with the King, telling him that if he is lying about Sukyi Nyima’s innocence, then his blood will flow red. The angry King cuts off the parrot’s head, and sure enough, the blood is white. Still fury clouds the King’s reason and the planned execution is to go ahead. The executioners took Sukyi Nyima to the forest with the idea of feeding her to the wild animals. Luckily, her mother, the deer, came along at that very moment and saved her.

Shaken by the recent events, Sukyi Nyima decides to go into meditation for three years. She then decides to go amongst the people, preaching Buddhism. One day, her former maid, unaware of her identity, confesses all her sins to Sukyi Nyima who forgives her immediately. One of the King’s ministers also goes to the renowned Lama Mani (religious story-teller) and, noticing that one of her front teeth is made of conch, recognises her as Sukyi Nyima and in amazement hurries off to tell the King.

The King rushes to her and passionately begs her forgiveness. She grants him this and returns to the palace as his Queen. The wicked Queen is imprisoned and Yama is maimed for life for punishment of her sins. Sukyi Nyima and the King live happily together, and have another son called Nyima Sengey (Sun Lion), who eventually grows up to become King and spread Buddhism throughout the land. People come from all of the different regions of Tibet to celebrate and rejoice.

During the period 617 to 698 A.D. Tibet was ruled by the 33rd mighty King Songtsen Gampo of the Yarlung dynasty. He established Lhasa as the capital of Tibet and built a fort where the Potala palace now stands. Although the first faint contacts with Buddhism had been made earlier, Songtsen Gampo devoted himself to the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. He drew up a legal code for the observance of the ‘Ten virtuous acts’, founded hermitages and built monasteries. This story is based on popular folk legends.

The Plot

The incarnation of Avaloketsvara, King Songtsen Gampo, when once contemplating the fragile hold of Buddhism in the land of snows, decided that the two most holy images of Buddha, Jho Mingyur Dorjee in Nepal and Jho Thukche Chenmo in China, must be brought to Tibet in order for the Dharma to flourish. He knew the two countries would not give up such treasures easily, but if he took as Queens the princess of Nepal and the princess of China he would then demand the two holy images as gifts with the brides. Songtsen Gampo dispatched one hundred ministers loaded with gold and other presents to the palace of the king of Nepal. The King and Queen of Nepal were delighted with the idea of giving their daughter, Bhelsa Tri-tsun, an incarnation of the goddess Tara, to the incarnation of Avaloketsvara, Songtsen Gampo. The King and Queen sent a number of precious articles as gifts with their daughter including the sacred image of Buddha, Jho Mingyur Dorjee.

The princess Bhelsa was married to Songtsen Gampo in a grand ceremony that lasted many months. After the festivities, King Songtsen made plans to obtain the Chinese princess and the Chinese holy image, Jho Thukche Chenmo. This task was more difficult since the Emperor of China was not too well disposed towards Tibet. Songtsen could not make up his mind as to which of his many valiant ministers be sent to China, so he decided to put this matter to the gods. The King and his ministers rode to the holy ‘Central High Mountain’ to burn incense. They tossed coins to see who would go to China, and the great minister Gar Tongtsen was chosen by the gods. Now King Songtsen Gampo, who because of his spiritual powers could see into the future, knew that the Emperor of China would not easily give up his daughter. So he gave the minister Gar three letters for the Chinese Emperor, which the minister Gar was only to deliver when the situation became extremely difficult for him.

When Gar Tongtsen reached the capital of China, the beautiful city of Chang An, the ministers of the King of India (land of Dharma), the ministers of the King of Nepal (land of turquoises), the ministers of the King of Tak-zik (land of wealth) and the ministers of King Khesar (land of war) had all assembled to plead for the honour of taking the princess Gyasa Wen Cheng as a bride for their respective kings. Now the Tang Empress, Tai-tsung, revered the Dharma and wished to give her daughter to the King of India, but the Emperor, who had a weakness for jewellery and wealth, wanted to give his daughter to the King of Tak-Zik. The princess’ uncle, a martial man, insisted that his niece be wed to the King of Khesar, while the princess herself, who was fond of turquoises, was inclined towards the King of Nepal. Because of this difference of opinions (which caused much unrest in the court), the Emperor decided to hold a contest between the ministers of all the different nations to resolve the problem once and for all.

One morning a great drum was beaten from the parapets of the “Palace of Heights, at Heaven”, the palace of the Emperor of China, summoning all the ministers of the different nations who were contesting for the hand of the Chinese princess. The ministers, including our hero Gar Tongtsen, gathered at the palace where the Emperor announced that if he gave his daughter to any one nation, the others would become jealous and angry. Therefore he would only give his daughter to the nation whose minister would be able to succeed in the never-before-accomplished task of stringing the “Great Spiral Turquoise of China”. All the ministers were given three days each to perform this task and none of them succeeded.

Finally the turquoise was given to minister Gar, who later took it back to his lodge. A few days before, he had gone out to a park and found an ant which he had fed well and massaged with oil for a few days, until it grew in size and strength. Finally Gar took the turquoise to the roof of his boarding house where he let it get hot in the sun, after which he tied a length of string around the waist of the stout ant and pushed it through the hole in the turquoise. Since the turquoise was now hot and uncomfortable, and since the ant could not go back because Gar was blowing at the entrance, the ant quickly traversed the full length of the spiral hole and finally came out of the other end, pulling the string along with it in the process. (Since the minister Gar had tied the string rather tightly around the ant, all ants, since that day are said to have very pinched waists). Releasing the ant, Gar then took the strung turquoise to the palace, but the Emperor, though acknowledging the minister’s victory, declared he could not give his daughter to the King of Tibet on the strength of a single victory. He then arranged another contest.

All the contestants were required to attend the “Great Banquet of China” where they were all required to slaughter a large number of sheep each, cure the skins, eat all the meat, eat one hundred measures of tsampa or barley meal, drink barrels of “Chang” or ale, and yet not throw up or become so drunk as to be unable to return to their own lodging.

Despite Gar’s success in all these and many other contests of skill and wisdom, the Emperor of China would still not give up his daughter. Gar was naturally annoyed with the Emperor’s behaviour and he delivered the second letter given to him by Songtsen Gampo. The letter warned the Emperor that he should play fair and not deceive the Tibetans. So, unable to make a flat refusal, the Emperor devised another test for the Tibetan minister. On the following day five hundred Chinese maidens would gather at the “Field of Flowers” and if anyone could pick out the princess, then he could take her back to his own land. This, the Emperor added, would be the last and final test.

The minister returned to his lodge and confided in his landlady, Apchi Gamu, that there was no way he could identify the princess from the five hundred other maidens. The old lady told Gar that since her own daughter was a maid to the princess she could give an accurate description of the princess, but since there were many numerologists and fortune tellers in the Emperor’s court it would surely be divined by them that she had revealed the secret to the Tibetan minister. But Gar told the old woman to have no fear, and he devised a plan to confound the fortune tellers and numerologists. On three white rocks he placed a large pan full of water. In the center of the pan he strewed a number of feathers of various birds, and on the side of the pan he scattered leaves. Gar covered the old woman with a net and both of them sat by the pan. He then tied a large iron horn around the mouth of the old lady and large copper dish around his own ear. Then the old lady gave him the detailed description of the princess.

Much later, when the suspicions of the emperor had been aroused, he summoned his numerologists and fortune tellers to divine who had revealed the princess’ description to Gar. Now, divination not being an exact science, the numerologists and fortune tellers made a strange discovery which they hurriedly reported to The Emperor. This was what they told the Emperor: “Between three snowy mountains we saw a large lake, the center of which was inhabited by various birds, and the shores of which were covered with trees and bushes. On the side of this lake was a being whose entire body was covered with thousands of eyes and who had a beak of iron. This being revealed the secret of the princess’ identity to another being who possessed ears of copper”. Clearly, this report did nothing to enlighten the Emperor on this matter.

On the day of the contest in the “Field of Flowers”, all the other ministers were unable to distinguish the princess and picked the wrong maidens. Only the minister Gar, following the description given to him by his old landlady, recognized the princess, and planting a mystic arrow on her back, declared his choice in a loud voice.

Even now the Emperor was reluctant to give up the princess, and so the exasperated minister Gar delivered the last letter from Songtsen Gampo. In the letter the Tibetan king declared that if the princess was not given to him then he would unleash an army of 100,000 avatars and reduce China to a wasteland. So finally the Emperor realised that he had no choice but to submit. Even though the princess was unwilling to go to Tibet, he persuaded her that for the good of the Empire she should become the queen of the mighty Songtsen Gampo.

Finally they arrived at Lhasa where they were greeted by Tibetan officials and their ladies who performed a special dance called Gyal-Shay or the Royal dance, in honour of the princess’ arrival. The princess then presented the holy image of the Buddha, Jho Thukche Chenmo, to Songtsen Gampo. Tribute bearers and ambassadors came from many lands to pay homage to the mighty Tibetan king and his two queens.