ABSTRACT
Rechungpa was born in Rala (Ra-la), which is about an hour’s drive up a valley leading south-east from Dzongka (rDzong-dkar), though in these biographies it is simply referred to as Khab Gungthang ‘the capital of Gungthang’ which corresponds to the northern half of present day Kyirong (sKyid-grong) County1 on the border with Nepal.2 Milarepa was also born near to Dzongka, in Tsalung (Tsa-lung), and so was referred to as ‘Gungthang Milarepa’. Dzongka was the seat of the Gungthang kings.3 In Rechungpa’s lifetime, the Gungthang King was Chen Lhamchok De (gCen lHa-mchog lDe), also known as King Dolè (‘Dol-le),4 who built Dzongka’s 8-metre tall defensive walls.5 Gungthang is an arid and barren area in contrast to the comparatively lush southern half of Kyirong county, which corresponds with the ancient district of Mangyul (Mang-yul), with Kyirong town as its capital.6
