Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen

ས་སྐྱ་པཎྜ་ཏ་ཀུན་དགའ་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
sa skya sa skya paNDi ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan

Short Biography

Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen

(1182 - 1251) One of the Five Superiors of the Sakya Tradition. He is also known by the shorter names of Sakya Pandita and Sapan or Sapen (sa paN). Was the son of Panden Odpo, and Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen's nephew. He spoke Sanskrit fluently as a small child. Sakya Pandita received teachings from many Indian and Tibetan masters, including Jetsun Drakpa Gyeltsen himself, and became a highly accomplished master, hence he received the title of Pandita. He was a very profilic writer and composed many important treatises, including texts on Buddhist Logic, Vinaya and Vajrayana.

Sakya Pandita

[1182-1251]. Was one of the five forefathers of Sakya and the grand son of Kunga Nyingpo. He became a student of Drakpa Gyaltsen, who was his uncle, and began studying logic, languages, astrology, medicine, and many topics of buddha dharma. He mastered all the subjects he studied and became one of the most well-known thirteenth-century Tibetan masters and scholars. At the age of twenty-three, he received the full monastic ordination from Panchen Shakya Shri Bhadra. At the age of twenty-five, he became the throne-holder of the Sakya and taught Dharma for many years. He later became teacher of the Mongolian emperor and exercised political power on behalf of the Mongols.

Literary Works

• The Writings of Sakya Pandita
  

Main Teachers

• Drakpa Gyaltsen
  

Main Students

• Fill in the blanks
  

Main Lineages

• Sakya
  

Alternate Names & Spellings

• Sakya Pandita
• Sapan / Sapen
• sa skya paNDita kun dg'a rgyal mtshan
• sa skya pan di ta kun dga' rgyal mtshan

Other Reference Sources

• Sakya Pandita: 1182-1251. One of the Five Sakya Forefathers. grand son of Kunga Nyingpo. Thirteenth century Tibetan master and scholar who exercised political power on behalf of the Mongols; also known as Sa pan [RY]

Internal Links

• Biography of Sakya Pandita by Chogye Tri Rinpoche
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External Links

• Listing of Works at TBRC