Yeshe Tsogyal

Given Yeshe Tsogyal's important place in the various schools of Tibetan Buddhism, it is not surprising that there are questions about whether she is an actual historical figure.[7][8] There are at least four translations of Yeshe Tsogyal's spiritual biography in English,[9] and one in French.[10] Yet,

From a historical perspective, however, this hagiography of Ye she's mtsho rgyal leaves some important questions unanswered. . . More basic yet is the question of whether Ye she's mtsho rgyal is a historical figure at all. The problem is that none of the contemporary epigraphy ever mentions a Ye shes mtsho rgyal, nor a Mkhar chen bra' (her clan title), at least as far as we know.[11]

Even so, in another publication, this same scholar writes,

There are no contemporary inscriptions that mention her, and so there is some question about whether she is really a historical figure. But she appears at a relatively early point--by at least the twelfth century--in the mythologized accounts of the conversion of Tibet to a Buddhist country, and references to her clan title Mkhar chen Bza (Karchen Za) also make her historicity credible. It is certainly possible that there was such a queen who became involved in Buddhist meditative practices, even if her story was elaborated greatly as the narrative of Tibet's conversion developed.[12]

So whether there is enough historical evidence to confirm or deny Yeshe Tsogyal as a historical figure, from the perspective of the spiritual traditions within which she is prominent, the details of her life are rich. Here are some of the details of Yeshe Tsogyal's conception and birth:

From the mouth of a lotus was born

The swift goddess, heroic liberator

Who went forth in human form

Amid the snowy mountains of Tibet.[13]

According to legend, Yeshe Tsogyal was born in the same manner as the Buddha, a mantra sounding as her mother gave birth painlessly. She is considered a reincarnation of the Buddha's own mother, Maya. Her name, "Wisdom Lake Queen" (Wylie: ye shes mtsho rgyal ), derives from her birth causing a nearby lake to double in size.[14]

Her spiritual inclinations were present from a very young age and Yeshe Tsogyal wanted to pursue a life of dharma practice rather than marry. She felt so strongly about this, that she ran away and had to be brought back by force. At the age of sixteen, she was compelled into an unwanted arranged marriage with the then-emperor of Tibet, Trisong Detsen.

It was after their marriage, that Trisong Detsen invited Padmasambhava to come to Tibet from India and propagate the Buddhist teachings. Yeshe Tsogyal was given by Trisong Detsen to Padmasambhava as an offering. Padmasambhava freed Yeshe Tsogyal and she became Padmasambhava's main disciple and consort.[15]

Yeshe Tsogyal is also considered a manifestation of Saraswati and sometimes identified with the Buddha Tara.[14][27][28] She is also considered to be an emanation of Samantabhadrī, Prajnaparamita, and Vajrayogini.[29] In the Life of Yeshe Tsogyel, Padmasambhava predicted that Yeshe Tsogyel would be reborn as Machig Labdrön; her consort, Atsara Sale,[30] would become Topabhadra, Machig’s husband; her assistant and another of Padmasambhava’s consorts, Tashi Khyidren, would be reborn as Machig’s only daughter, and so on. All of the important figures in Tsogyel’s life were to be reborn in the life of Machig Labdron, including Padmasambhava himself, who would become Dampa Sangye.[31]

• Mandarava
• Lamrim Yeshe Nyingpo
• Khandro Rinpoche
• Vajrakilaya
• Samantabhadrī (tutelary)
• Urgyen Tsomo

• Klein, Anne Carolyn (1995). Meeting the Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self. Beacon Press: Boston. ISBN 0-8070-7306-7.
• Gyatso, Janet (2006). A Partial Genealogy of the Lifestory of Yeshé Tsogyal. Harvard University. JIATS, no. 2 (August 2006), THDL #T2719, 27 pp. Source: (accessed: November 16, 2007)

• Dowman, Keith. (1984). Sky Dancer: The Secret Life and Songs of the Lady Yeshe Tsogyel. Routledge & Kegan Paul, Boston, MA. ISBN 0-7100-9576-7.
• Gyalwa Changchub, and Namkhai Nyingpo. (1999) Lady of the Lotus-born: The Life and Enlightenment of Yeshe Tsogyal. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Shambhala, Boston & London. ISBN 1-57062-384-8.
• Kunga, Drime and Yeshe Tsogyal. Chonyi Drolma, translator. (2017) The Life and Visions of Yeshe Tsogyal: The Autobiography of the Great Wisdom Queen.Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1611804348.
• Nam-mkha'i snying-po (translated by Tarthang Tulku). (1983). Mother of Knowledge: The Enlightenment of Ye-shes mTsho-rgyal. Dharma Publishing, Berkeley, CA. ISBN 978-0913546918.
• Anne Carolyn Klein. (2008). Meeting The Great Bliss Queen: Buddhists, Feminists, and the Art of the Self. Snow Lion Publications. ISBN 978-1559392914
• Allione, Tsültrim. (2000) Women of Wisdom. Snow Lion Publications, ISBN 1-55939-141-3, ISBN 9781559391412`
• Vajra Love—Essays from the Sites of Keith Dowman
• Drolma, Chonyi, translator. (forthcoming in 2017). The Supreme Secret Biography of Yeshe Tsogyal: The Exceptional Inner Meaning of Symbols. Shambhala Publications. http://www.jnanasukha.org/news-blog?category=Translation
• Gross, Rita M. "Yeshe Tsogyal: Enlightened Consort, Great Teacher, Female Role Model." The Tibet Journal, vol. 12, no. 4 (winter 1987), pp. 1–18.
• Mikles, Natasha L. "A Tantrika in the Modern World: The Sexual Agency of Yeshe Tsogyal." The Monitor (fall 2007), pp. 28–39.
• Terton Drime Kunga. "The Secret Symbolic Biography of Yeshe Tsogyal." http://skydancerpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=107