Ngawang Jigme Drakpa

Ngawang Jigme Drakpa (Tibetan: ཎགག་དབང་ཨཇིགས་མེད་གྲགས་པ, Wylie: Ngag dbang ajigs med grags pa) (died 1597) was the last ruling prince of Tsang (West Central Tibet) of the Rinpungpa Dynasty. He was also a renowned author.

Ngawang Jigme Drakpa was the third son of the Rinpungpa prince Ngawang Namgyal. The chronological tables of Sumpa Khanpo allege that he was born in the Water-Tiger year 1482, which is unlikely. The eldest living brother Dondup Tseten Dorje took over the possessions of his father at the latter's death in 1544 (or later); he is however not known for political activity after the mid 16th century, although he bore the titles miwang (prince) and desi (regent) until his death in 1620. At any rate Ngawang Jigme Drakpa was counted as the main Rinpungpa ruler of Tsang by the 1560s. He was a well-respected and accomplished scholar who translated several Sanskrit texts and wrote on various subjects. Among his works were a history of the Tartar kings, a romance of Shambhala, a biography of Sakya Pandita, and a treatise on poetry, An Ornament of a Monk's Thought. He was popularly known as Pandita Gyalpo, the scholar king.

Although Ngawang Jigme Drakpa is characterized as able in temporal affairs, the rule of the Rinpungpa drew towards its end. An invasion in western Tibet was conducted in 1555, either by him or his predecessor. The aim was to subjugate Ngari and Latö (western Tsang) which had once stood under Rinpungpa suzerainty but were autonomous by this time. However, the local rulers Kunga Drakpa Dorje of Mangyül Gungthang and Sonam Gyalpo of Tsada formed an alliance and met the Tsang troops. The latter failed badly in the decisive battle. As a result of the war the Rinpungpa lost the dzong (fortress) of Shelkar. In 1563 there was warfare in Tsang itself; Ngawang Jigme Drakpa interfered in a conflict between Sakya and Changdakpa, and personally led his troops in the field. Meanwhile, various omens were seen. A cloud appeared in the form of the wrathful deity Rahula, causing a hailstorm that destroyed the crops. Religious sites were damaged and meteorites fell. Dried torma offerings fell on the roof of the ruler's castle.

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