Norbu (Wylie: ), with the later title of Depa () and also known as Nangso Norbu (), was a Tibetan government official born in the Central Tibetan province of Ü around the end of the 16th century. In 1644 he was appointed Governor of Shigatse, a post he held until 1659 when he succeeded his elder brother, Desi Sonam Rapten as de facto ruler of Tibet on behalf of Lobzang Gyatso, the Fifth Dalai Lama. After a brief reign he rebelled unsuccessfully against the latter and was banished. His last recorded activity was in 1660.
Place of Origin Norbu was born in the village of Gyalé in the Tolung Valley, north west of Lhasa, Tibet. As younger brother of Desi Sonam Rapten (1595-1658) he was born sometime after 1595.Dungkar 2002, p. 1,205Karmay 2014, p. 3, p. 5Trijang Rinpoche 1967, Gyalchen Todrel (rGyal chen bstod ’grel)
Early career and title His early title "Nangso" (lit.: 'internal spy' or 'border protector') indicates an official with military and religious power, or a manager, and is often applied to the younger sibling of a ruling house.
As a young man Norbu was retained as an aide by his brother who was already Treasurer and "Chagdzo" ( - the personal manager and principal attendant) of Lobzang Gyatso, the young Fifth Dalai Lama. In his autobiography Lobzang Gyatso, using his keen eye for detail and character, keeps his readers informed of Norbu's antics and failures in his various roles over the years.Karmay 2014, pp. 68-435 While only a few histories covering this period even mention Depa Norbu in passing, his iniquitous activities are best described in Lobzang Gyatso’s autobiography.
Fifth Dalai Lama's observations Lobzang Gyatso first mentions Norbu as attending a tea party in 1626, invited by the young Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen (1619-1656) next door at Drepung Monastery (). The host offered Norbu a ceremonial scarf with a sacred knot but Norbu later undid the knot and exchanged the scarf for some baubles from Kongpo. A monk attendant observed: 'Norbu has no faith in the Tulku'.Karmay 2014, p. 68 Norbu is alleged by some, including Trijang Rinpoche, to have suffocated the same Tulku thirty years later with a similar scarf.
A little later Lobzang Gyatso caught the measles and ‘many cats were brought to keep him awake’, apparently as an antidote; Norbu would beat these cats and even stabbed one with a knife. Lobzang Gyatso commented on this cruelty: 'it was the first crowing of a man who would eat man [sic] if he had power'.
Early in 1638, acting as Drepung's Treasurer in a project for each Gelugpa monastery to construct new sets of the Eight Classical Stupas (), Norbu insisted on changing the proportions of the Drepung set, which had been designed by master Zurchen Choying Rangdrol. This resulted in their shape being the worst of all, including those of Sera () and Ganden () monasteries.Karmay 2014, p. 135
Shortly afterwards Sonam Rapten was displeased with his chief assistant Jaisang Depa () who eventually became the Fifth Dalai Lama's third Regent in 1660; he wanted to appoint Norbu in his place, but Lobzang Gyatso was not happy about it. He objected and vetoed Norbu's promotion.
In the summer of 1638, Norbu married Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen's sister at Gekhasa () village in Tolung (), probably modern-day 'Gyekhar' between Yangpachen () and Tsurphu ().Schweiger 2015, p. 39Karmay 2014, p. 135 The heirs to the Gekhasa family had been killed by Mongols so they needed a male groom but Lobzang Gyatso felt Norbu was a poor choice, commenting that the family accepted him "as if it wished to be punished". After this, Norbu was also called 'Gekhasapa Norbu', 'Gekhasapa', 'Gekhasa' and 'Gekha'.Karmay 2014, pp. 66, 403, 409 etc. According to another history, the Tulku's sister, his only surviving sibling, felt obliged to marry the ambitious Norbu, who was proud of being Desi Sonam Rapten's brother. Norbu was not well-off but he was an opportunist and the marriage increased his wealth and status, enabling him to enter politics; he then became notorious for the violent and unscrupulous ways in which he later dealt with certain practical issues on the regent’s behalf that were embarrassing for a high-ranking religious dignitary like Sonam Rapten.Bultrini 2013, Part 4
In 1652 Lobzang Gyatso, invited by the Chinese emperor, left for Beijing and amongst others Norbu accompanied his party a far as the foot of the Nyuglai Lanying pass. Everyone going to China was apprehensive about the diseases and other dangers of the perilous journey, wrote Lobzang Gyatso, but Norbu, who was to remain in Lhasa, and seemingly convinced that nobody would be returning, was delighted that he did not have to go and he did not hide his pleasure.Karmay 2014, p. 270
In 1654 Lobzang Gyatsho proposed to offer a public long-life wang (), a major personal blessing, to all his followers, aware that it would be very popular. The Desi agreed but Norbu started drawing up a tariff of fees to charge everyone for attending the event, according to their status. Lobzang Gyatsho felt embarrassed but rather than rebuking Norbu for his cupidity he simply gave up the idea, not wishing to appear greedy by charging people to attend his teachings.Karmay 2014, pp. 335-336
In 1656 Lobzang Gyatsho was busy organising various religious projects, creating murals, statues, multiple copies of the Buddha’s teachings and so forth. A sculptor called Dol Nesarwa () had neatly carved a complete set of ritual phurba () daggers from teakwood for him and was working on other themes when Norbu suddenly had him transferred to the south of Tibet to help construct military catapults. Lobzang Gyatsho lamented that Norbu made this artist, incapable of doing anything harmful, suddenly disappear from his project staff.Karmay 2014, p. 362
A little later in 1656 Norbu gets a positive mention, the only one he earns in Lobzang Gyatso's autobiography. Diplomatic tensions with Nepal necessitated the rescue of a special statue of 'the exalted Vati', a form of Chenrezig, from Kyirong temple near the Nepal border. Norbu and Dronnyer Drungpa () were deputed to go there and retrieve it and they actually succeeded in doing so. Lobzang Gyatso noted this success as an auspicious occasion. However, he refers to a prophecy warning that the relocation of the statue to central Tibet could portend the death of an important personage. Next mentioned in the autobiography is the illness and death of Tulku Dragpa Gyaltsen aged 36.Karmay 2014, p. 363-365 His spirit is then said to have manifested as the spirit Shugden (), and some, including Trijang Rinpoche, allege that he was murdered by suffocation at the hands of Depa Norbu.
Military commander, 1641-1643 In 1641, during the Tibetan civil war, Norbu was deputed to lead a body of troops west from Shun, six miles east of Lhasa, via upper Tolung to reinforce Gushri Khan's Mongol army besieging the fort at Shigatse. Avoiding Kagyu resistance en route he progressed at a snail's pace, finally reaching Chushur () on the north bank of the Tsangpo () after dawdling along and losing time. His men eventually engaged in battle in Tsang () under Gopa Tashi of Drungme (). Some were assigned to operate cannons, others to take positions on hilltops. However, Norbu refused to do anything and when the cannon station was lost to the enemy he was the first man to leave his post and run away.Karmay 2014, pp. 158-159
In the summer of 1642 during the first uprising in Tsang after the war he was charged with holding Gyantse fort () but when a small group of rebels attacked he abandoned it and fled.Karmay 2014, p. 175Shakabpa 2010, p. 348
In 1643, to quell another rebellion in Kongpo (), east of Lhasa, Sonam Rapten despatched an army under the joint leadership of Norbu and Tardong Donnyer (). The latter complained it was more like a boss and his servant, rather than co-commanders.Karmay 2014, p. 185
Governor of Shigatse, 1644-1659 Regent Sonam Rapten appointed Norbu as Governor of Shigatse in 1644. Lobzang Gyatso wrote that most people began to call him 'Desi' or 'Depa' and he put on airs of being the Regent's brother.Karmay 2014, p. 187 'Depa' ('Governor' or 'Commissioner') was in current use but 'Desi' (Regent, Administrative Ruler or Prime Minister) was hardly used during Lobzang Gyatso's lifetime; it was only retrospectively applied to his Regents from the early 18th century.Richardson 1998, pp. 448-449. Norbu retained this post until 1659.Karmay 2014, p. 401
Military investigator, 1646 In 1644 Sonam Rapten, angered by Bhutan’s support for the rebellions of 1642/43, and imagining that his victorious, combined Tibetan/Mongolian forces were invincible, despatched an army to punish and if possible capture Bhutan but to his surprise it was easily routed by the Bhutanese defense forces.Aris 1980, p. 224Shakabpa 1984, p. 112 Bhutan was founded by 'Zhabdrung' Ngawang Namgyel (Zhabs Drung Ngag Dbang Rnam Rgyal, 1594–1651) of the Drukpa Kagyu tradition, who had fled Tibet in 1616 over a dispute concerning his claimed status as the incarnation of the Fourth Drukchen, Padma Karpo ('brug chen pad+ma dkar po, 1527-1592). Once welcomed into exile by the Bhutanese the Zhabdrung assumed national leadership by popular acclaim and consolidated the Himalayan country into its modern form. He was renowned as a tantric magician having allegedly attained spiritual powers which he used inter alia to protect Bhutan against such invasions from Tibet, of which this was the fourth attempt he had successfully faced but the first from the new Geluk government; the first three had been from the king of Tsang.Phuntsho 2013, pp. 207-238Aris 1979, pp. 201-226
This surprise defeat became a popular topic for mockery of Tibet's new Geluk regime in Lhasa.Phuntsho 2013, p. 240 In 1646 Norbu was sent south to the Bhutan border to investigate the humiliating rout. Norbu returned to report inter alia that the Bhutanese had indeed captured twenty five Tibetan army officers including the three most senior commanders and all the army's weapons, armour and equipment.Aris 1980, pp. 224-226
A satirical song then became popular using word-play to mock Norbu, the new Governor of Shigatse, for acting as a common spy (Tibetan: ‘’), playing on his earlier title, ‘Nangso’ ('border protector'), on his name Norbu ('jewel'), on the Zhabdrung's renown as a magician as the lama in the south and finally on the precious vertebrae relic of the First Drukchen Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorje (gtsang pa rgya ras ye shes rdo rje, 1161-1211, founder of Ralung monastery and the Drkpa Kagyu tradition), which was brought from Tibet by the Zhabdrung:Shakabpa 2010, pp. 350-351
"The lama must be residing in the south, For all offerings [armour, weapons etc.] were made to the south. The Drukpas have captured Nidup [Ngodrup, one of the Tibetan officers: also spiritual powers]; Norbu [jewel, i.e. the vertebrae relic] has worked as a spy [protector, as in protective deity or spirit]".Phuntsho 2013, pp. 241-242Aris 1980, p. 226
Army commander, 1648-1649