Thothori Nyantsen

Lha Thothori Nyentsen ( Tib: tho tho ri gNyan btsan, Tibetan: ཐོ་ཐོ་རི་གཉན་བཙན, other spellings: lha tho tho ri Nyantsen, lHa Tho -tho -ri - gNyan btsan ) was according to Tibetan tradition, the 28. King of Tibet. The prefix name Lha is not part of the proper name, but an honorific ( " the divine"). The tradition is legendary way, but Thothori is also mentioned in a Chinese source, and modern research tends to regard him as a historical figure. Today it is assumed that he lived in the 5th century; other datings ( born in 173 or 254 ) are regarded as incredible. He belonged to the Yarlung dynasty, whose name is derived from the region Yarlung ( valley of the river Yarlung in southern Tibet ). There was the center of his power, not stretched across the whole of Tibet.

His reputation outside Tibet owes Thothori a myth that to his reign Buddhism first reached Tibet. A container with relics and Buddhist scriptures (and especially the Karandavyuha Sutra ) to have fallen from the sky onto the roof of the royal palace. This myth may have a historical background (arrival of Buddhist missionaries ), but was this first contact with Buddhism, if it took place at all, apparently without consequence. It was not until the reign of King Songtsen Gampo († 650) has established itself at the Tibetan court of Buddhism.