Trisong Detsen

Trisong Detsän or Trisong Detsen ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན (Tibetan Wylie: khri srong lde btsan ; PRC: Chisong Dêzain; THDL: Trisong Detsen; other transcriptions: Trisong Detsan, Thrisong Detsän; traditional Chinese: 赤松德贊; simplified Chinese: 赤松德赞; pinyin: Chìsōng Dézàn; Thi-srong-detsan), was the son of Me Agtsom and one of the emperors of Tibet and ruled from 755 until 797 or 804 CE. Trisong Detsen was the second of the Three Dharma Kings of Tibet, playing a pivotal role in the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet and the establishment of the Nyingma, or 'Ancient' school of Tibetan Buddhism.

Trisong had five wives, all of whom came from Tibetan noble families. According to the later hagiographic tradition of Padmasambhava, Yeshe Tsogyal, the Princess of Karchen was a wife of the emperor and also one of Padmasambhava's consorts. She is said to have recorded Padmasambhava's teachings and became known for her own Buddhist realizations. Another wife, Tse Pongza, the principal wife of Trisong Detsen, and the mother of the heir apparent, became known for being the counterpole of Padmasambhava and Yeshe Tsogyal, fighting for the Bön religion and against Buddhism. One of Trisong Detsen's children was Princess Pema Sal, who was entrusted by Padmasambhava with an important terma.

The empire Trisong Detsen inherited had declined somewhat from its greatest extent under the first Dharma King, Songtsen Gampo. Disintegration continued during Trisong Detsen's reign when, in 694, Tibet lost control of several cities in Turkestan and, in 703, Nepal broke into rebellion. Meanwhile, Arab forces vied for influence along the western border lands of the Tibetan empire.

Read more about Trisong Detsen:  Trisong Detsen and His Support For Buddhism, Debates, Political and Military Activities, Retirement, Death and Succession