Phuntsog Namgyal II

Phuntsog Namgyal II
Chogyal of Sikkim
Reign1733 – 1780
PredecessorGyurmed Namgyal
SuccessorTenzing Namgyal
Born1733
Died1780
IssueTenzing Namgyal
HouseNamgyal dynasty
FatherGyurmed Namgyal
Mothera nun from Sanga Choeling Monastery
ReligionBuddhism

Phuntsog Namgyal II (Sikkimese: ཕུན་ཚོག་རྣམ་རྒྱལ་; Wylie: phun tshog rnam rgyal) was the fifth Chogyal (king) of Sikkim. He succeeded Gyurmed Namgyal in 1733 and was succeeded himself by Tenzing Namgyal in 1780.[1]

Early in his reign, a powerful Bhutia minister named Tamding attempted to overthrow the Chogyal, declaring himself king in opposition in 1738. For three years, a civil war raged between supporters of the Chogyal and supporters of Tamding before the pretender was defeated, but unrest continued in the kingdom. Tibet dispatched Rabden Sharpa as a regent in 1747 to help restore order. He not only restored peace to Sikkim but introduced an annual census and taxation system to Sikkim. Rabden also introduced the Mangsher Convention, Sikkim's first constitution, defining the powers and responsibilities of Sikkimese government bodies. [2]

In 1770, the same year the Chogyal died, there was a brief attempt at an invasion by Bhutan, but it was soon repelled by the Sikkimese. [3]

  1. ^ Sikkim: Past and Present edited by H. G. Joshi
  2. ^ Kazi, Jigme N. (2020). Sons of Sikkim. Chennai: Notion Press. pp. 92–94.
  3. ^ Kazi, Jigme N. (2020). Sons of Sikkim. Chennai: Notion Press. p. 94.