Oldal 106 [106]
KRISZTINA TELEKI
smoke purification offerings in general aim to pacify and delight celestial beings
and the spirit owners or custodians of natural sites such as mountains, rivers, lakes,
forests, rocks, and plants. They are called /us sawdag in Mongolian (Tib. klu sa bdag,
gzhi bdag, Skr. naga). These rituals and offerings, which include different real and
imagined scented incense and other precious goods, encourage these beings to ensure
the well-being and good fortune of the inhabitants of the given region.
Being the local spirit or lord of the Khangai Mountain Range, Khangai Khan has
various epithets.!? A few pictorial representations and ritual texts describe him: the
colour of his body is like shimmery sunbeams on a snowy mountain. He holds a
vajra in his right hand and a bowl of jewels in his left hand, in his lap. His retinue
includes his female consort (a queen) as well as various local gods and spirits who
live in the nearby valleys, lakes, and springs.'*
Eminent monks of past centuries wrote ritual texts in different genres to Khangai
Khan such as Lamiin Gegeen, the Khalkha Dsaya Pandita, the Fourth Yalguusan
Khutagt (Blo bzang bsam ‘grub, 1820-1882), Dsawa Lam Damdin (Blo bzang rta
dbyangs, 1867-1937), and even the Eighth Panchen Lama (Blo bzang dpal Idan bstan
pa’i nyi ma phyogs las rnam rgyal, 1782-1853) and others. About 50 Tibetan and
four Mongolian texts are available in the collections of Ulaanbaatar (some of them
are duplums), '* and individuals also possess relevant ritual texts. Lamiin Gegeen’s
text seems to have various copies in print, and written in hand being perhaps the most
popular text devoted to the Khangai Mountain Range in Mongolia.’
12 Tibetan texts include the following epithets: a divine devotee (Tib. /ha’i dge bsnyen), a male deity
(Tib. pho tha hang kas), Khangai King or Khangai Majesty (Khangai khairkhan, Tib. Hang ka’i rgyal
po), a guardian of the Northern direction (Tib. byang phyogs skyong ba), Mighty Deity, Khangai (Tib.
Hang kas lha chen), and Great War God (Tib. dgra tha chen po).
Fleming, Zara — Lkhagwademchig, J. Shastri: Mongolian Buddhist Art: Masterpieces from the Mu¬
seums of Mongolia. Vol. I, Part 1&2: Thangkas, Embroideries, and Appliqués. Serindia Publications,
Chicago 2011, 924-925, in Chapter 7: Protectors, Image 419. Isabelle Charleux has analysed the
pictorial representations of Khangai Khan, see Charleux, Isabelle: On Several Thang Kas depicting
Mongol Mountain Deities. In: Felicitation Volume for Prof: Choyiji. Ed. Osamu Inoue — Bareja¬
Starzyhska, Agata — Quanrong. Varsovie: Polskie Towarzystwo Orientalistyczne (Polish Society for
Oriental Studies) (Miscellanea Orientalia Series) (in print).
According to O. Sükhbaatar, Lamiin Gegeen described Khangai Khan, his aspects and retinue in
detail, but the text he refered to has not been found yet: Tib. dGe mtshan bcu Idan lha tshan hang gas
rgyal po la bsang mchod ‘bul tshul bzhugs so. Smoke Offering devoted to the Khangai King bear¬
ing the Ten Auspicious Signs. Cf. Stikhbaatar, O.: Khangai khanii sangiin sudar. In: Lamiin gegeen
Luwsandandsanjantsan (1639-1704). Erdem shinjilgeenii bichig. Ed. Khiirelbaatar, L. Ulaanbaatar
1999, 79-85. Siikhbaatar, O., Mongoliin takhilgat uul usnii sudar orshwoi. Ulaanbaatar 2001.
'S” Teleki, Krisztina: Sacred Texts devoted to Khangai Khan, the Lord of the Khangai Mountain Range
Preserved in the Collections of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia (article in print).
Mentioning some examples, the individual text is available in the Ulaanbaatar City Public Library
(Khang ka’i rgyal po’i gsol kha shin tu bsdus pa bzhugs, manuscript, ff. Ir-3v, Russian paper, 7x21.5
cm, 31871, http://koha.pl.ub.gov.mn/). It is also part of the text Bsang chog bkra shis char 'begs/
hang ka’i gsol kha g.yang gugs bkra shis bzhugs (National Library of Mongolia, M0059788-001,
10r-13r) and the private archives of Ch. Gansükh, National Library of Mongolia, who claims that
this blockprint was probably printed in Arwain Khüree (Öwörkhangai province, Arwaikheer) with the
title Bsang chog bkra shis char 'bebs/ bsang chog khyab bdag ma/ yang gsang gi bsang/ Hang ka’i
gsol kha g.yang 'gug bkra shis bzhugs, blockprint, ff. Ir-11r (part related to Khangai Khan, 8v—10r),
and also probably S:M0054146-049 in the National Library of Mongolia.
104