Zanabazar

Zanabazar, also known as Öndör Gegeen Zanabazar (Өндөр гэгээн Занабазар, 1635-1723), was the first Jebtsundamba Khutuktu, the spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism for the Khalkha in Outer Mongolia.

Background

Zanabazar was born as son of the Tüsheet Khan Gombodorj, at that time one of the three Khans in Khalkha, and his wife, Khandjams. Gombodorj was a grandson of Abadai Khan, a Khalkha ruler who had strongly supported the spread of the Buddhist faith, and founded the Erdene Zuu monastery. For Gombodorj, having his son recognized as a high lamaist reincarnation would also translate into greater political prestige, while for the Lamaist church recognizing a son of a royal family and direct descendant of Genghis Khan translated into greater influence and persuasive power among the Mongols.

Recognition

In 1640, Zanabazar, was recognized by the Panchen Lama and the Dalai Lama as being a "Living Buddha", and he received his seat at Örgöö, then located in Övörkhangai, 400 miles from the present site of Ulaanbaatar, as head of the Gelug tradition in Mongolia. Miraculous occurrences allegedly took place during his youth; and in 1647, aged 12, he founded the Shankh Monastery.

Contribution to arts

Zanabazar has been called the "Michelangelo of Asia" for bringing to the region a renaissance in matters related to spirituality, including theology, language, art, medicine and astronomy. He composed sacred music, mastered the sacred arts of bronze casting and painting, created a new design for monastic robes, and invented the Soyombo script in 1686, based on the Lantsa script of India — as well as the Quadratic Script, based on the Tibetan and Phagspa scripts.

The scholar Ragchaagiin Byambaa has suggested that both of these scripts invented by Zanabazar were combined to write in a tripartite "Dharma" language composed of Tibetan, Mongolian and Sanskrit, because, he says, the two scripts were specifically designed to better accommodate the phonetics of all three languages. At present, they are mainly used for sacred and ornamental Buddhist inscriptions, and among learned Buddhist scholars in Mongolia.