The ‘Kham-sum-ongdu’, the coat of arms of the Namgyal dynasty

This information was provided by Tenzin C. Tashi

The ‘Kham-sum-ongdu’, the coat of arms of the Namgyal dynasty melds oriental symbolism with British heraldry. The symbol of religious and political government, the ‘Kham-sum-ongdu’ literally means the conqueror of the three worlds or ‘lokas’, these being:

1. ‘Kama loka’ – the world of sensual pleasure
2. ‘Rupadhatu loka’ – the realm of the material world ...
3. ‘Arupadhatu loka’ – the spiritual world or world of formless spirits

The two griffins symbolise the mythological horse of Indra as well as Tachog Balaha, one of the manifestations of Avalokiteshvara or Chenrezig.

The twelve rings within the shield represent the ‘twelve interdependent contributories of origination of all phenomenon.’

The eight lotus petals symbolize the Eight Fold Path which is to bring peace and harmony to Sikkim.

The helmet, symbolising the defensive force of our land is crested by a conch shell which depicts the propagation of Dharma in Sikkim.

The Kham-sum-ongdu has now been adopted by the Government of Sikkim as its official emblem.

Comments

JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT

This was a national song of Sikkim sung in the Nepali language during the monarchy system. During the merger with India, the song got banned and later re-released. Two words on the 8th para, which earlier said 'Rajah rah Rani,' were replaced with "Janmah bhumi." This song was dedicated to the King and Queen of Sikkim. The song lyrics were penned by Sanu Lama, and the music was composed by Dushyant Lama. The song was first sung on the birth anniversary of Chogyal Palden Thondup Namgyal on April 4, 1970, at Gangtok by Aruna Lama, Dawa Lama, and Manikamal Chettri. JANHA BAGCHA TEESTA RANGIT, JAHAN KANCHENDZONGA SEER YEHI HO HAMRO DHANA KO DESH, TAPAWAN HO PYARO SIKKIM INTERLUDE PHULCHAN YEHA AANGANAI MAA, CHAAP , GURAS, SUNAKHARI SWARGASARI SUNDAR DESH KO HAMRO PYARO PYARO JANMAHBHUMI JANHA BAGCHA…… BATASHLE BOKCHAA YAHA, TATHAGAT KO AAMAR WAANI ...

TAMANG MY COMMUNITY

{ I am Rinzing Lama from Gangtok, Sikkm. Having more than 2 ½ years Teaching and Research experience with Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management, New Delhi and more than 2 years tourism industry experience. First UGC, NET/JRF holder in Tourism from Banaras Hindu University. For more details visit my site www.reenzinc.webs.com . } The Tamang is the community which I belong to. Most of the people don’t know about the Tamangs in our country, but they very much exist in North-Eastern part of India. As I belong to the Tamang community, it made me want to find out about my community. Some kind of curiosity was there to get the proper information related to my community. I am very much keen to find out who Tamangs are. From where they migrated, what are their origins and many more? I tried to find it out and I got some answers to my questions. Now, I am very keen to share with you all. Maybe I am wrong in many ways but what I got after my search I am sharing wi...

Royal flags of Kingdom of Sikkim (1877-1975)

Sikkim (India) Image by Mario Fabretto Description of the flag Historical flags 1877 - c. 1914 c. 1914 - 1962 1962 - 1967 Description of the flag From Barraclough (1971): "Sikkim, formerly a protectorate of India, was incorporated as the twenty-second state of the union in May 1975, and the office of the hereditary ruler, the Chogyal , was abolished. Sikkim has, or had, a flag of white with a red border all round, and a yellow Chakra (fimbriated in red) in the centre." "...the Chakra [is] a Buddhist symbol representing the Law of Dharma , or eternal change." The Chakra on the flag of Sikkim is different then the one on India's flag. It has eight spokes rather than the many spokes on India's, and has an ornate "nub" on the wheel at the head of each spoke. Don Hagemann, 28 November 1995 [editor's note: The source of this quote is not Barraclough (1971), but probably a later edition of the ...

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