[page 358] King Ge sar of Gling (Gling Ge sar rgyal po) is the hero of one of the major epic cycles of Central and East Asia, known throughout and beyond the Tibetan and Mongolian cultural regions.1 There may well have been a historical King Ge sar in East Tibet in the tenth or eleventh century but he probably was just one of a number of sources for the epic (sgrung) as we know it today (Samuel, 1992). The Ge sar epic constitutes the principal repertoire of professional epic bards (sgrung mkhan) who are found especially in the nomadic areas of Tibet. The epic is also performed by amateurs, particularly in East Tibet. Ge sar is regarded as an ancestor-hero by the people of Khams, and the epic is felt to express the martial and heroic spirit of the Khams pa people. Wealthy Khams pa families often own manuscripts of the epic, and several episodes were printed in woodblock editions in the nineteenth century under monastic patronage.

Although Ge sar is known throughout Tibet, the most elaborate tradition of the epic is found in the East Tibetan manuscript and printed versions. The full extent of the East Tibetan Ge sar cycle has only become clear over the last few years, as texts of the major episodes have been published in India, Bhutan and the People's Republic of China. Numerous individual episodes have been printed in the Tibetan refugee community, and a 31-volume collected edition has appeared in Bhutan. In the People's Republic of China, an extensive "Save the Gesar Epic" campaign has been[page 359] underway for some years, and so far about sixty versions of various episodes have been published in Tibetan, mostly from blockprint and manuscript sources, but some on the basis of oral performances by contemporary epic bards.

In English-speaking countries, the Tibetan Ge sar stories have become known mainly through summaries of the main episodes by Alexandra David-Neel and Lama Yongden, first published in French in 1931 and translated into English in 1933 (see David-Neel and Yongden). While reasonably faithful to the outline of the story, this version gives no real idea of the literary and musical qualities of the epic. In particular, it includes only one (unrepresentative) song (117-119; cf. 117, n. 1). In fact, the core of a performance of the epic is a series of songs sung by the various characters in the story. An average episode in manuscript contains 5000 to 10,000 lines of verse (50 to 100 songs) linked by a spoken narration, although some episodes are considerably longer (see Wang). These songs, which are performed without instrumental accompaniment, are the most characteristic part of the epic, and, after surveying the main episodes of the epic, I shall devote most of this article to describing them.

The East Tibetan epic as it is known today consists of a number of separate episodes. The principal ones, using the numbering of Wang Yinuan (q.v.), are as follows (see also Stein, 1959):

2

1. (1) Lha gling ("The Gods and Gling"). The people of the land of Gling, which is identified by Eastern Tibetans with the territory of Gling tshang near sDe dge, appeal to the gods for help against the demons who are troubling their land. The gods agree to send one of their number to be born on earth to rescue Gling from the four great demon kings (of the North Country, Hor, Mon and 'Jang). Padmasambhava visits the underwater land of the nāgas to obtain a nāga princess who will be Ge sar's mother.
2. (4) 'Khrungs gling ("The Birth"). Ge sar is born on earth as the son of the nāga princess and Seng blon, a chief of the tribes of Gling. His wicked uncle, Khro thung, attempts to kill him, but is unsuccessful.
3. (8) rTa rgyugs ("The Horse-Race"). Ge sar tricks his wicked[page 360] uncle Khro thung into arranging a horse-race, the winner to become ruler of Gling and husband to 'Brug mo, daughter of the chief of sKya lo. Ge sar wins the race, ascends the throne and marries 'Brug mo.
4. (10) bDud 'dul ("Defeating the Demon-King of the North"). Another wife of Ge sar's, Me bza' 'Bum skyid, is abducted by Klu btsan, the demon king of the North and the first of Ge sar's four great enemies. With the aid of Me bza' and of Klu btsan's sister, the female warrior A stag lha mo, Ge sar kills Klu btsan, and the people of the demon-realm become converts to Buddhism and allies of Gling. However, Me bza' drugs Ge sar so that he forgets his mission, and he remains with her in the demon-realm of the North.
5. (11) Hor gling g.yul 'gyed ("The War of Hor and Gling"). Meanwhile the three demon-kings of Hor, led by Gur dkar, overcome Gling and abduct 'Brug mo, who becomes the mother of Gur dkar's child. Ge sar is eventually aroused from his drugged state, returns to Gling and leads a successful campaign to defeat Hor, which becomes an ally of Gling.
6. (13, 14) 'Jang gling g.yul 'gyed ("The War of 'Jang and Gling"); Mon gling g.yul 'gyed ("The War of Mon and Gling"). These are the two further demon-king episodes, in which King Sa tham of the 'Jang (a people identified with the Naxi of present-day Yunnan) and King Shing khri of Mon are defeated, and their peoples become allies of Gling.
7. (18) Nag po rgya gling kyi le'u ("The China Episode"). Ge sar goes on a (peaceful) visit to China, where he wins the hand of a Chinese princess through his wisdom and magical ability.
8. (106) dMyal gling ("Hell and Gling"). Ge sar goes to the underworld to rescue his mother (or, in some versions, A stag lha mo; Wang lists this separately as no. 19). After Ge sar's return, he declares his mission at an end and departs to the realm of the gods.

As Wang's numbering implies, there are many other episodes. Most of these follow a standard pattern. Conflict arises between Gling and some neighboring people, usually non-Buddhist. The allies of Gling are assembled and, after a series of battles and magical[page 361] tricks which occupies most of the episode, Ge sar and the heroes of Gling defeat the warriors and subdue the fortress or administrative center (rdzong) of the enemy ruler, whose subjects become converted to Buddhism and allied to Gling. Among the better-known of these episodes are the sTag gzig nor rdzong ("Iranian Cattle Fortress," Wang's no. 16), Sog stod rta rdzong ("Upper Mongolian Horse Fortress," no. 20) and Sog smad khrab rdzong ("Lower Mongolian Armor Fortress," no. 21), Kha che g.yu rdzong ("Turquoise Fortress of Kashmir," no. 26; Kaschewsky and Tsering, 1972), Gru gu'i go rdzong ("Weaponry Fortress of the Turks," no. 30), Sum pa mdzo rdzong ("Dzo [bull-female yak hybrid] Fortress of Sum pa," no. 35; Kaschewsky and Tsering 1987a) and Ri nub (or Mi nub) dar rdzong ("Silk Fortress of Burma," no. 103). In each case a particular "treasure" (of horses, arms, turquoises, pearls, etc.) is opened and brought back to Gling.

These episodes exist both in oral performance and as written texts. The tradition of oral performance undoubtedly predates the existence of written texts. Many of the professional bards are still illiterate and perform independently of the textual tradition. There is, in any case, no standard text of the epic. Although particular written versions of some episodes have gained wide currency, there are several entirely different written versions of the major episodes, and even the "same" version may vary considerably between different manuscripts. New episodes are still being performed and written down, mostly following the standard pattern outlined above. According to a widespread idea, these new episodes are not new creations, but memories of a previous life in which the singer or author was one of Ge sar's followers. The idiom is similar to that of the discovery of "treasure" literature (gter ma) (see Gyatso, in this volume) and as in that case there is a strong "shamanic" element present (cf. Samuel, 1993).

We now turn to the core of the epic: the songs sung by the various characters.

The style and language of the songs have been discussed extensively by Helffer (381-460). While her study is confined to the 56 songs in the Gling tshang version of the rTa rgyugs episode, the style of these songs does not differ significantly from that of other episodes available in written form. The same body of tunes is used[page 362] for all Ge sar songs, so only a limited degree of stylistic variation is possible in any case.

The epic songs are written in the seven-syllable line used by Tibetan translators to render Sanskrit verse (pāda). This line is frequently found in religious verse, including many of the songs of Mi la ras pa. As used in the epic, it falls into three or four segments (| ●● | ●● | ●●● | or |●●| ●● | ●● | ● |), as in these lines from the opening song of the Gling tshang "Horse-Race," a song for the goddess Ma ne ne (Gung sman rgyal mo).

The first segment is very frequently extended to three syllables (| ●●● | ●● | ●● | ● |):

Standard epithets and phrases are very common in the epic, as might be expected in a form still closely linked to extemporaneous verbal performance. Verbal repetitions, standard lists, and extended images and analogies are also features suggestive of the oral epic (see Herrmann). The songs have a standard plan, which is followed quite closely in most manuscripts (Helffer: 400):

1. (1) The tune is stated, using two or four lines of syllables without lexical meaning (glu a la tha la tha la red).
2. (2) The character invokes one or more protective deities.
3. (3) The locality is introduced: "If you don't know where this is, it is...."
4. (4) The character singing is introduced: "If you don't know who I am, I am..."; this may be extended for several lines.
5. (5) The main body of the song follows.
6. (6) The songs ends with a concluding formula: "If you understand this song, let it remain in your mind; if you don't understand, there's no explanation."[page 363]

What, though, are the songs about? Ge sar is undoubtedly a Buddhist hero. The central theme of the epic is the triumph of Buddhism over Bon, Hinduism, sorcery, demonic power and plain human selfishness and evil. However, while Ge sar's Buddhist identity is made clear in the lHa gling and reinforced by the constant appearances of and references to Padmasambhava and other Buddhist deities, the central Buddhist goal of enlightenment is only implicitly present in the epic. Much more salient is Buddhism as a source of magical or shamanic power (Samuel, 1991 and 1994). Essentially, the songs of the epic form a dialogue among different sources of power, Buddhist and non-Buddhist. It is no accident that epic songs begin with an invocation to one or another set of patron deities (normally preceded in performance by the mantra of Avalokiteśvara, oṃ maṇi padme huṃ hrīḥ). The central issue in the epic is the conflict between the protective and morally just power of Buddhism and the destructive and demonic power of egoism in its various forms.

The songs play a key role in articulating this conflict. Here the musical aspects of epic performance should be recalled. The songs are performed to short tunes which cover two or three (occasionally four or more) lines of verse, and these tunes repeat over and over again until the song is finished, without regard to the syntactic structure of the song as a whole. The variety of song melodies used depends on the performer. Many skilled performers employ different melodies for each major character or character type. Ge sar and other central characters may have several melodies, depending on the occasion and type of song.

The songs themselves fall into a variety of types, but typically involve an attempt to predict or control subsequent events in the story. They are, in other words, an exercise of magical power, normally on behalf of the speaker and of the spiritual forces at his or her command.

In some cases, a song is a direct exercise of magical power. The Gling tshang rTa rgyugs has several songs of this kind, including two in which Ge sar magically transforms 'Brug mo into an ugly old woman, and back again (songs 15 and 17; Helffer: 92, 98-101) and another in which he overcomes three mountain-gods (song 40; Helffer: 280-281). More often, the exercise of power is indirect,[page 364] as in the frequent songs of prophecy and advice (lung bstan). An example is the song of the goddess Ma ne ne from which I quoted above. In this song, Ma ne ne, Ge sar's heavenly guardian, tells him that it is time for him to seize the throne of Gling, to capture his magic horse and to marry 'Brug mo, and explains how he must do this. Such songs are especially common at the beginning of an episode, but may occur at any time.

A prophecy may also be retold: in the Kha che g.yu rdzong, Ge sar receives a prophecy from Padmasambhava (song 6) and then narrates it to the leaders of Gling (song 7, cf. Kaschewsky and Tsering, 1972: 294-298, 365-166; Samuel, 1991). Prophecies are not necessarily true, and Ge sar, in particular, frequently adopts magical disguises in order to convey false prophecies and advice to his enemies. Thus, in song 2 of the Gling tshang rTa rgyugs, Ge sar, disguised as Hayagrīva, persuades Khro thung to arrange the horse-race by telling him that he or his son will win it and so gain 'Brug mo and the throne of Gling (Helffer: 12-15).

Similar to the song of prediction is the song of divination. Divination of various kinds is a frequent theme in the epic, including the arrow-divination technique (mda' mo) which is specially associated with Ge sar (for examples in the lHa gling and 'Khrungs gling see Stein, 1956: 34, 46). In the rTa rgyugs, the diviner consults the divining-threads (ju thig) at Ge sar's request and foretells his victory (song 47):

Related are the songs of good omen (rten 'brel), of words of truth (bden tshig), and of blessings (bkra shis), intended to set a particular series of events in motion through karmic connectedness. Frequently an "auspicious" character is asked to sing a song of this kind. In the Gling tshang lHa gling, when tea is made, sPyi dpon, the chief of the tribes of Gling, asks the cooks to offer some of the tea to the gods and to sing a song of good omen (song 16; Stein,[page 365] 1956: 24, 180). In the Kha che g.yu rdzong (song 8), Ge sar asks the same sPyi dpon to sing a song of the defeat of the Kashmiri army, since sPyi dpon is a ṛṣi whose words will be fulfilled (bden tshig grub pa'i drang srong).

Most episodes end with one or more songs of blessings (bkra shis) or good omen.

Another kind of expression of power over future events may be found in the battle scenes which take up a large part of most of the later episodes. Warriors typically sing songs in which they boast about their strength and valor in battle and the might of their fellow warriors, general or king. Usually two combatants exchange songs, after which a fight takes place in which one is defeated — and the other's song has therefore proved true. Here, from the Kha che g.yu rdzong, is the Kashmiri hero gYu lag thog lce singing as he draws his bow against Ge sar's general, 'Dan ma:

Not all songs fall into these categories. A few are concerned with the straightforward delivery of a message or a request. In general,[page 366] however, a high proportion of the songs can be interpreted in terms of the exercise of shamanic power.

The Gesar epic undoubtedly shares many features, including elements of the plot, with the epic traditions of other societies. What is striking, however, is the way in which this material has been transformed into a peculiarly Tibetan narrative dealing with specifically Tibetan concerns. If the Buddhism of the epic is not, by and large, that of the literary and philosophical tradition of the great monasteries, it is not fundamentally incompatible with it.3 Ge sar's supporters see him not simply as a pro-Buddhist hero but as an earthly representative of Padmasambhava and other tantric deities.

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1957Istoricheskie Korni Geseriady. Moskow: Izdatel'stvo Akademii Nauk SSSR.

David-Neel, Alexandra and Lama Yongden

1987The Superhuman Life of Gesar of Ling. Boston and London: Shambhala.[page 367]

Francke, A. H.

1905-41A Lower Ladakhi Version of the Kesar Saga. Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.

Helffer, Mireille

1977 Les chants de l'épopée tibétaine de Ge-sar d'après le livre de la Course de Cheval. Paris and Geneva: Librairie Droz.

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Samuel, Geoffrey

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Tobgyel, Kunzang and Mani Dorji

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Wang Yinuan

1985Incomplete Statistics of Sections and Lines in the Tibetan King Gesar.Gesar Yanjiu [Gesar Research] 1: 184-211. [In Chinese.]

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