sagiLong, long ago, in Marpori, there lived the great king, Strontsan Gampo. He built himself a strong fort. Now he wanted for himself a beautiful wife. Just across the border was the kingdom of China. Gampo wanted to make friends with China and also marry the king’s daughter. He sent for his minister, Garpa, and said, “We want you to prepare for a very long and difficult journey. We will give you many presents to carry with you. You must be careful of robbers on the way. And, most of all, when you reach China, you must do your best, for we want to marry the beautiful princess, Wong Shen Konjo.”
Then King Gampo gave Garpa lots and lots of beautiful presents for Tai Tung, the king of China. He also gave him a beautiful ring to be presented to Wong Shen. Garpa went home and prepared a caravan. On horses and yaks, he loaded all these goods. Then, dressed in beautiful silks, he sat in his palanquin. The rosewood palanquin had velvet curtains on it and lovely rugs from Bokhara.
After offering prayers and saying his goodbyes, Garpa left on his difficult mission. After long days of difficult travel, Garpa reached the borders of China. He put up his tents near a stream and sent a messenger to Tai Tung.
The messenger rode a fast horse and was soon admitted to the king’s presence. “Your Majesty, | come as a messenger of my king, Strontsan Gampo. My king is a great warrior and just. He is feared by all. Even the grass that grows has its points towards the Tibetan fort. My king desires the hand of the honourable Wong Shen Konjo. He will give you many presents in return. Above all, he will give you his friendship.”
Now Tai Tung had heard all about the brave and fearless Tibetan king and his army. He was scared the Tibetan armies would march on him if he said no. Yet, he did not want to send his beloved daughter so far away. He said to his ministers, “Go and escort the noble Garpa from his camp. We shall speak with him.”
The next day Garpa came riding a sleek white horse. He offered his greetings, and his servants marched in with the numerous presents he had brought. After the proper greetings, Tai Tung said, “We have received your message. But there is a custom in our land. Whoever wishes to marry the princess will first have to pass four tests.”
Garpa said, “No test can be hard enough for my king. But if he comes, he will not come alone. He will come with his armies.”
Tai Tung replied, “Your great king does not have to come himself. As you represent him, you can take the tests instead.”
The next day the tests were to begin. Great crowds gathered. They all believed that the minister of a savage country would not be able to pass the tests; he would certainly fail. A trumpeteer announced the first test. On either side of a wall were a hundred foals and a hundred mares. Each foal was to be united with his own mother. Garpo, who was very clever indeed, noticed a door in the wall. With his foot he kicked the lock aside and opened the door. Neighing with delight, the foals all scampered and frisked through it, each rushing to its mother. A great cheer went up from among the crowd. But they still felt Garpa would never pass all the tests.
Next, Garpa was taken to a building with a hundred chambers. Each room was identical to the other. Garpa was taken in at night and brought back while it was still dark the next morning. He was then asked to find the room he had spent the night in. The minister had carried in his pocket a piece of musk, the scent his country was famous for. While leaving the room, he had broken off a piece and left it in a corner. When led back from room to room, Garpa could easily find it again by the powerful scent.
Again, he had passed a test. Now, Tai Tung sent a coral bead to Garpa, with instructions that he should thread it. It looked simple enough. But the bead had a twisting, crooked and tiny hole in it, through which no needle could pass. While thinking of a method, Garpa noticed some ants in his room. With a smile he tenderly picked up an ant. He then tied the thread to the leg of the ant and put it inside the bead. While crawling out at the other end, the ant pulled the thread behind it and the bead was threaded.
Now came the last and most difficult of all the tests. Out of a hundred young girls he was to recognise the princess Wong Shen Konjo. Garpa had never seen the princess. He did not know how he would know her.
The maid-servant who cleaned Garpa’s room was working when he walked in. Taking out four lovely turquoise rings, he gave it to the girl. He asked her to tell him something by which he could recognise the princess. She said, “I have heard that all the girls will wear flowers in their hair. Only the princess will have real flowers. The rest will all have paper flowers. Because you people do not have flowers in your land, you will not be able to tell the difference.”
The next day, everyone gathered in the court. A hundred beautiful young girls dressed in lovely silks walked in. Each had flowers in her hair. For some time, Garpa was very confused. He did not know what to do. Everyone was looking at him. The king was sure he would fail and he wouldn’t have to send his daughter away. But just then a bee flew in. Garpa watched it hovering around. Soon it went and sat on the flowers in the princess’s hair. Garpa immediately ran towards the girl. He bent before her and said, “My greetings to the future queen of Tibet.”
So, all the tests were passed. And Wong Shen Konjo was married with great pomp to Strontsan Gampo.
A folktale sourced from Folk-Tales of Ladakh by Veena Mehta.
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sagi
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