Gunacäṃdrentsegāthā 2
O Blessed One, Shakyamuni Buddha,
Precious treasury of compassion,
Bestower of supreme inner peace,
You who love all beings without exception,
Are the source of happiness and goodness,
And you guide us to the liberating path.
It is in reverence of your wisdom
That this one will continue the tale
Of your faithful servant, Gunacaṃdre.
It was during the first summer of his reign,
Blessed by good fortune and prosperity,
That Gunacaṃdre received this news.
His admired consort, fair and wise,
The Xangxung princess, Tsame,
A follower of the Four Transcendents,
Had been blessed with a child,
The fruit of the King's vital loins;
Joyous news for all of Krorän's people.
Tsame, a child of the Xangxung people,
Humble in nature, diligent in her duties,
Though prone to bouts of unrighteous anger;
Her resignation to her station, however,
Was admirable, as was her honesty in all things.
This unworthy one thinks highly of her memory.
Fate would be called upon once more
To test the resolve of Gunacaṃdre's benevolence.
For, at the coming of that bitter winter,
The commandery of Gunacaṃdre's host
Acted in a way that reflected most poorly
On their liege and master's honourable repute.
Kalodaye, Gunacaṃdre's lieutenant and servant,
was among those who dishonoured their master.
His reprimand was swift, but deserved and just.
It was out of the kindness in his heart,
For which Gunacaṃdre was well known,
That Kalodaye retained his appointed office.
At the end of the winter, Gunacaṃdre's blessing
Was made apparent — for though she expected one,
Tsame bore two children: one boy and one girl.
The son, who Gunacaṃdre named Wrauske,
And the daughter, who he named Yasodhara,
Were welcomed with great health into the world.
Gunacaṃdre, a pious man, gave his thanks
For this blessing which had been delivered.
There was much rejoicing in his heart that day.
Far from Lhasa, in the land of Kashmir,
A commander in Gunacaṃdre's employ
Was bringing him great honour afield.
His name was Udanalankar, a low-born,
A man of few words but unyielding courage.
I speak of him with most deserved praise.
From the death of that bitter winter,
Through the flame of the summer's heat,
Udanalankar brought glorious victory.
His services to his master will be
Forever remembered, for he is worthy
Of such high praises as can be given.
Through the genius of Udanalankar,
And the unyielding loyalty of Gunacaṃdre,
King Trisong Detsen had his great victory.
The Tibetan King was most pleased with
All of his vassals, who served dutifully.
He shared with them their deserved glory.
How wise was that King Trisong Detsen!
How innumerable in his righteous deeds!
This one cannot praise him adequately.
The fortunes of war had favoured Gunacaṃdre
And his righteous liege, and his host.
It would have been his right to boast of this.
Gunacaṃdre, when presented the chance,
Wisely denied the temptation to praise himself
With the needless minting of new silvers.
For, in his heart, Gunacaṃdre was aware,
That to boast in this manner, in this way,
Would be a misstep in the enlightened path.
He instead made himself rather humble,
And ordered no new silvers to be struck,
And was most righteous in doing so.
Unburdened by the needless minting,
Gunacaṃdre wisely invested instead in
The business of artisans and craftsmen.
Skilled men of fine talent approached him,
Having come from the east, through Yángguān,
To bid his favour and assistance in their craft.
"We are builders, makers of excellent things,
And we can surely enrich your lands tenfold."
These were the words spoken by the craftsmen.
"Should you see the need for our works,
We will gladly pledge our services to you,
Most noble one, who rules here in this land."
"All we require is a treasure of silvers,
By which we can begin our business trades.
This sum we will return to you with interest."
Gunacaṃdre, a shrewd man of business,
Who sought without fail to improve his realm,
For he cared about the people whom he ruled,
Pondered this suggestion with deliberation.
"I shall grant you this adequate purse of silvers,"
He said, granting this boon to the craftsmen.
They gave him thanks, praising his wisdom,
For they surely knew that he was a good King,
And they went among the people to make business.
Gunacaṃdre, a most wise and intelligent man,
Was always quick to seek out the talents of others
In disciplines which were beyond his purview.
When he noticed a penchant for the clandestine
In a lesser-known, quieter member of his court,
He was quick to offer her an appointed office.
With the coming and going of another winter,
Gunacaṃdre was once again blessed by fate
Not with one, but with two healthy children.
Children of a concubine who was named Maya,
He named the daughter for her mother's sake,
And to the son he gave the name Kentarske.
At the closing of his reign's third summer,
A very learned woman came to the court,
And was readily employed by Gunacaṃdre.
A follower of the Path and highly literate,
She was made the guiding light of the realm,
As well as one of his favoured concubines.
Of nobler pedigree and of the land of Bod,
Her name was Bum, of the family Gos.
Her esoteric wisdom was matched by few.
With the third summer of his reign ending,
Gunacaṃdre's wise and trusted Steward, Siddharte,
Came to him with a proposal to enrich the realm.
The Northern Khans of the Uyghur clans
Who reigned to the north of the Tian Shan,
Would make excellent trading partners.
"Who could deny your wisdom, King,
If you could sway the great Uyghur Khans
To purchase from us, and accept our business?"
Siddharte made this plea to Gunacaṃdre,
Who heard it with wisdom in his mind,
And agreed to his proposal most prudently.
They travelled to the north of the Tian Shan
To the land of the great Uyghur Khan of Khans.
Tengri-Bögü is what they called him in their tongue.
Their meeting bore the fruits of commerce,
And the great Uyghur Khan of Khans agreed
To the terms put forward by Gunacaṃdre.
It must be said, in order to be faithful to truth,
That Tengri-Bögü was initially not particularly fond
Of the King of Krorän who came before him.
But, though his heart was at first quite hard,
He would soon come to see Gunacaṃdre's value,
And regard him as a friend and as a brother.
Thus, the right of Krorän's diligent merchants
To trade their goods among the Uyghur people
Was established between the two great Kings.
Siddharte, the faithful Steward to Krorän's King,
Was adequately rewarded with a payment of silvers
For the excellent work he had done for his master.
With the new influx of wealth from the north,
Gunacaṃdre turned his attention to improvement.
It was not himself but his realm that he built up.
A new garrison, a barracks for his soldiers,
Would be constructed in the city of Krorän.
The wisdom of this move, as yet not revealed.
In another display of his worldly wisdom,
Gunacaṃdre sought the aid of a faithful ally.
For this he turned to his new, northern Friend.
Valuing the strength of the Uyghur Khans,
Gunacaṃdre sought to betroth his younger son,
To the daughter of the Khan, Tengri-Bögü.
This arrangement pleased the Uyghur Khan,
Who gave his blessing to the proposed union.
The Friendship of the Uyghurs was not doubted.
During the harshness of the winter of that year,
The craftsmen, whom Gunacaṃdre had gifted
With adequate silvers to make business in his land,
Returned to his court with the fruits of their labours,
Offering their king a return of his investment,
Twice the silvers he had initially gifted them.
Gunacaṃdre thanked them, accepting his due.
This reward, which he was justified in accepting,
Would further enrich the prospering realm of Krorän.
During the coming of the following summer,
Tsame bore Gunacaṃdre a healthy daughter,
To whom he gave the noble name of Roce.
It was in that selfsame summer's flame,
Gunacaṃdre arranged the betrothal of
His eldest daughter, little Yasodhara.
Yasodhara Gunacaṃdretkacer would therefore
Be married, fate willing, to the Tibetan Prince,
Trisong Detsen's second son, Purgyal Muné.
This agreement, which pleased the Emperor,
Was a blessing and a boon to Krorän,
And there was much rejoicing to be had.
That year passed along with time's march,
Endless, wholly unyielding and unstoppable.
Gunacaṃdre's concubine, Bum, gave birth.
A son entered the world, though frail and weak,
And he was given the name Ksmawarme.
He was not expected to live. He did nonetheless.
Thirty-two days after Ksmawarme's birth,
His mother, Bum, acted most unmercifully,
Demanding the death of an unenlightened soul.
Gunacaṃdre did not buckle under the pressure
From his Upadhyayani to act so unmercifully.
He spared the life of the follower of the Four.
Recognising his wisdom, King Trisong Detsen
Blessed the betrothal of two more of their children.
Roce would be married to his third son, Sadnalegs.
It would not be twenty-five days thereafter
When the great Dharma King, Trisong Detsen
Would be met with mortal death on the field.
Far from Lhasa, in the lands of Hindustan,
Trisong Detsen fell by the sword of Vajrayudha,
On the banks of the Karṇālī river.
This one praises the righteous Trisong Detsen!
His reign in that life was cut short by fate,
But his memory blesses us with gladness.
Trisong Detsen's realm was cut into pieces,
With his eldest son inheriting Tibet's crown:
Purgyal Mutri, a boy of fifteen years of age.
Mutri was his mother's child without doubt,
Following her in her reverence of the Transcendents,
Rather than his Father's path of enlightenment.
Gunacaṃdre gave thanks for his Friend's life,
The Dharma King, Trisong Detsen of Tibet.
Thus it was so, and so it was.
