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Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal (1594-1651) was the founder of Bhutan. In addition to unifying the country for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought to create a distinctly Bhutanese cultural identity, separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived.

Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal was descended from a powerful religious family in central Tibet. His grandfather was driven out of Tibet by the rival Gelugpa sect under the control of the Third Dalai Lama, and chose to settle in the Paro valley in western Bhutan, the valley having a close association with his persecuted branch of Tibetan Buddhism, the Kagyupa.

Ngawang Namgyal was the 18th abbott of Ralung monastery in Tibet, a powerful position as Ralung was the traditional seat of the Drukpa Kagyu order. He clashed with the rulers of Tsang province who challenged his recognition as the reincarnation of the esteemed 4th Gwalyang Drukpa, Pema Karpo.

In 1616 the Shabdrung escaped Tibet to establish a new base in western Bhutan, founding Cheri Monastery at the head of Thimphu valley.

In 1627 he built Simtokha Dzong at the entrance to Thimphu valley. From this dzong he could exert control over traffic between the powerful Paro valley to the west and Trongsa valley to the east.

He soon eliminated the Lhapa sect, a rival Kagyupa order who had built the original dzongs in Bhutan. The Drukpa and the Lhapa had been struggling for control of western Bhutan since the 12th century. Later he would conquer and unify all of Bhutan, but would allow the ancient Nyingma sect to continue in central and eastern Bhutan (today the Nyingma comprise approximately 30% of Bhutan's monks even though they are privately funded while the Drukpa Kagyu are supported as the state religion of Bhutan).

In 1627, the first European visitors to Bhutan (the Portuguese Jesuits Estevao Cacella and João Cabral) found the Shabdrung to be a compassionate and intelligent host, of high energy and fond of art and writing. In keeping with his position as a high lama he was also meditative and had just completed a three year silent retreat. He was proud to have the Jesuits as guests of his court and was reluctant to grant them permission to leave and offered to support their proselytizing efforts with manpower and church-building funds, but they pressed on to Tibet in search of the apostate church said to be isolated in the heart of central Asia (cf. Nestorian Stele).

In 1634, in the Battle of Five Lamas Ngawang Namgyal prevailed over the Tibetan and Bhutanese forces allied against him and was the first to unite Bhutan into a single country.

The Shabdrung also established the distinctive dual system of government by which control of the country was shared between a spiritual leader (the Je Khempo) and an administrative leader (the Desi Druk), a policy which exists in modified form to this day.

The Shabdrung ruled the country from the dzong at Punakha until his death in 1651. To avoid political chaos in the wake of his death, his closest advisors hid the news of his death for 54 years. During this time he was said to be ruling the country while in seclusion, a not unreasonable explanation given the extended silent retreats he was known to take during his life, although the length of the retreat must have seemed more and more incredible as the decades wore on.

The Shabdrung's body lies preserved in a sacred inner chamber in Punakha Dzong where it has been under perpetual watch since his death in the 17th century. The task of watching over him is one of the most sacred duties in the kingdom, carried out by two high lamas. Not even the king is allowed in the inner chamber.

See the article under Shabdrung for more information on his subsequent reincarnations.

• Article: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at the Dharma Dictionary.
• Images: Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal at HimalayanArt.org.