The Stele at Bde Mo Sa
The Rkong Po inscription stands on the north bank of the Gtsang Po river at G.yung Drung Rtse, approximately 325 kilometres east of Lhasa, in the Rkong Po region of southeastern Tibet. It preserves a royal charter from the height of the Tibetan Empire — a petition by the Kar Po ruling family to the imperial court, and the emperor's response.
The petition traces the Kar Po lineage back to the mythological origins of Tibetan kingship itself: to the son of the six celestial Phyva lords, to Nya Gri Btsan Po who descended from heaven to become the first ruler of the human realm, and to the critical moment when the two sons of Dri Gum Btsan Po — the seventh king — parted ways. The younger became emperor. The elder settled in Rkong Po. The Kar Po family are his descendants, and they are asking the court to remember this.
What makes this inscription remarkable is not only the mythological genealogy but the practical urgency behind it. The Kar Po petition because border officials have begun imposing taxes on them — violating ancient privileges that date back to the time "when god and man were not yet divided." The emperor grants their request: hereditary succession, tax exemptions, and protection of their lands and servants. The edict was first issued under Khri Srong Lde Brtsan (r. c. 755–797 CE), the greatest of the Tibetan emperors, and renewed under his son Lde Srong (Khri Lde Srong Brtsan, r. c. 799–815 CE).
H. E. Richardson published a translation in "A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions" (Royal Asiatic Society, 1985). This translation is independently derived from the Old Tibetan source text as digitised by the Old Tibetan Documents Online project (OTDO). First freely available English translation. Translated from Old Tibetan by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
The Petition
During the reign of the divine emperor Khri Srong Lde Brtsan, and his son Lde Srong, father and son — the edict granted to Kar Po of Rkong:
Kar Po Mang Po Rje, together with the minister Gru, petitioned:
"In the beginning, from the son of the six Phyva Ya Bla Bdag — the celestial overlords — Nya Gri Btsan Po came as ruler of the human realm. From the time he descended at Lha Ri Gyang Dor until Dri Gum Btsan Po, through seven generations of the royal lineage, they dwelt at Phying Ba Stag Rtse.
Dri Gum Btsan Po had two sons: the elder, Nya Khyi, and the younger, Sha Khyi. The younger Sha Khyi became the divine emperor. The elder Nya Khyi dwelt in the land of Rkong.
The elder, Kar Po, in the beginning — when the ancestor ascended on high — the two brothers together invoked their formidable divine guardian. With the divine guardian De Mo and the offering, serving as divine lord, even unto risking his own life, Kar Po performed service to the divine prince. He rendered ceremonies down to those touching his very life, and did not spare himself.
The divine prince's dominion has risen this high, his crown exalted. All dwell under the divine prince, who is like the sky itself. Though we were given service under heaven, what was there to complain of?
Yet we say this: from the first separation of the brothers, from the ancestors of old — when god and man were not yet divided — we were granted happiness and prosperity, eternal as the flow of water. But in these times, the border officers and various officials have imposed taxes upon us and oppressed us.
Would the emperor not grant an edict for perpetual peace of mind?"
Having petitioned thus, it was granted accordingly. A copy of the edict contained in the small box was inscribed on this pillar.
The Renewal
From the edict granted to Kar Po during the reign of the divine prince Khri Srong Lde Brtsan — during the reign of the divine prince Lde Srong, an order was given to renew and strengthen the former edict.
The Succession
At no time shall another be placed as ruler of the Kar Po of Rkong. The rulership shall be granted from the expanding lineage of Kar Po Mang Po Rje's sons and grandsons.
If the lineage of Kar Po Mang Po Rje should be broken, let it pass to the elder king. So that the name of Kar Po not perish, the kingship also shall pass from the lineage of Kar Po Rgyal Brtsan.
Should the lineage of Rgyal Brtsan also be broken, then from among the near relations — whoever is designated by testament, examining the hair and matching the lineage — one suitable person shall be granted the rulership.
The Protections
The servants of the Kar Po of Rkong, and their fields and pastures, shall henceforth not be diminished. No corvée labour, taxes, or surcharges shall be imposed.
Whatever offerings of grain they make, let the terms of offering not be extended beyond the present obligations.
In accordance with the order of the divine prince the father — during the reign of the divine prince Lde Srong, the ruler and ministers having deliberated, the order was given.
Colophon
The Rkong Po Inscription (insc_Rkong), also known as "The Rkong Po Bde Mo Sa Inscription," is a stone stele from the Tibetan Empire period, standing at G.yung Drung Rtse on the north bank of the Gtsang Po river. It dates to the reigns of Khri Srong Lde Brtsan (c. 755–797 CE) and his son Khri Lde Srong Brtsan (c. 799–815 CE).
This translation is independently derived from the Old Tibetan transliteration as published by the Old Tibetan Documents Online project (OTDO, Osaka University). H. E. Richardson's translation in A Corpus of Early Tibetan Inscriptions (Royal Asiatic Society, 1985) was not directly consulted, but its existence is acknowledged. Richardson's work is the standard scholarly reference but is not freely available. This translation was produced to make the inscription accessible to the public.
Translated from Old Tibetan by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. Formatted for the Good Work Library by Tanken (探検), the sixth of this name, Expeditionary Tulku Life 56.
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Source Text: རྐོང་པོའི་གཙིགས་བྱང་
Old Tibetan source text from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) project, Osaka University. Transliteration of the stone inscription at G.yung Drung Rtse. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
(1) lha btsan po khrI srong lde brtsan dang / lde srong yab sras kyI ring la' / /
(2) rkong dkar po la gtsIgs gnang ba' / /
(3) kar po mang po rje dang / blon po gru'I 'zung g'Is gsold ba' / / thog ma phyva ya bla bdag drug gI sras las /
(4) nya grI btsan po myi yul gyI rjer / / lha rI gyang dor gshegs pa tshun chad / drI gum btsan po phan chad / gdung rabs bdun gyI bar du / / phying ba stag
(5) rtse na bzhugs bzhugs / / drI gum btsan po'i sras / gcen nya khyI dang / gcung sha khyI gnyis las / / gcung sha khyI ni / lha btsan po / gcen nya khyI
(6) 'ni rkong yul du bzhugs ste / gcen kar po nI / thog ma yas gshegs pa'I tshe / / mched gnyIs kyi / sku bla gnyan po gsol ba dang / sku bla de mo dang bshos pa
(7) 'I lha bdag bgyId kyis kyang / lha sras kyI sku rIm gro la / bdagIbdag gI srog la' bab pa man chad kyI cho gar mdzad pa / srog phongs ma bgyIs te / / lha sras kyI chab
(8) srId 'dI ltar mtho / dbu rmog brtsand / yong lha sras gnam dang 'dra ba'I chags 'og na / / gnam kol du gnang ba'ang cIs bas zhIg mchis na / bdag
(9) cag lta zhIg / thog ma mched gyes nas / / pha myes dang po lha myI ma phye ba tshun chad / bde skyid cIng / chu srId g.yung drung dang 'dra bar gnang gIs kyang / deng sang
(10) du / khab so dpon sna dagIsdag gIs / / khral kyI sna 'tshal te / gtses shIng mchis na / / nam du'ang bde bar thugs bag mdzad pa'I / gtsIgs tsaM zhig cI gnang zhes
(11) gsold nas / / de bzhIn du gnang ste / / gtsIgs 'phra men sgrom bu stsald ba'I dper brIs pa' /
(12) btsan po lha sras khrI srong lde brtsan gyI ring la / / kar po'I gtsIgs gnang ba las
(13) lha sras lde srong gI sku ring la / / gtsIgs snga ma bas bskyed par / bka's / / gnang b'a /
(14) nam zhar gyang / / rkong kar po'i rgyal por gzhan myI gzhug par / / kar po mang po rje'i bu tsa 'phel rgyud las stsald bar gnang ngo /
(15) kar po mang po [rj]e['I] rgyud rab's chad na' gcen rgyal po / kar po'I mying myi rlag par / / rgyal por yang / / kar po rgyal brtsan gyI rgyud las
(16) bsko'o / / rgyal brtsan gyi rgyud kyang rabs chad na / / nye 'tshams las / / kha chems kyIs gang / gsol ba'I nang nas / spu dang
(17) sbyard te / / gang 'os pa gcIg stsald bar gnang ngo /
(18) rkong kar po'I bran dang / / zhIng 'brog / slan chad myI dbrI zhing / / rje blas dang / / dpya' khral bla skyes myI dbab pa dang /
(19) stsang dphya' nas dang / / 'bras gang 'bul yang rung / / 'bul ba'I sa tshigs / / da ltar gyI las mI bsring bar / / lha sras /
(20) yab kyi bka's / / gnang ba [b]zh[i]n du / / lha sras lde srong gI sku ring la / / / rje / / blon mol te /
(21) bka's / / gnang ngo / /
Source Colophon
Old Tibetan transliteration from the Old Tibetan Documents Online (OTDO) project, Research Institute for Humanity and Nature / Osaka University. Identifier: insc_Rkong. URL: https://otdo.aa-ken.jp/. The OTDO transcription is based on the readings of H. E. Richardson, supplemented by subsequent epigraphic surveys. The inscription is extant at G.yung Drung Rtse, north bank of the Gtsang Po, approximately 325 kilometres east of Lhasa.
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