Rabdenste Palace Ruins

  by Benu Pradhan

About 3kms from Pelling and a few minutes walk further down from Pemayangtse Monastery are the Rabdentse ruins, the 2nd capital of Sikkim, founded by the 2nd Chogyal of Sikkim Tensung Namgyal in the year 1670. In this palace, Tensung Namgyal married three wives, first from Tibet, second from Bhutan and the daughter of the Limboo king, Yo Yo Hang of Limbuwana eastern Nepal.

The 3rd Chogyal Chador Namgyal and his half-sister, Paden Wangmoo (the daughter of a Bhutanese mother), claimed the throne against her brother, which led to the Bhutanese attack on Rabdentse and the fleeing away of Chador Namgyal for political shelter to Lhasa, and losing Kalimpong to Bhutan in the process finally to the brother of Chador Namgyal. 

 The assassinations by his sister Paden at Borong hot spring when the king was deep in treatment (1716). With the final wishes of the dying king, Sister Paden Wangmoo was caught and strangled to death and burnt at Samduptse (Namchi) before the king took his last breath.

   

Consecutively, Gyurmed Namgyal was the 4th Chogyal, Namgyal Phintsog was the 5th, and Tenzing Namgyal was the 6th who ruled at Rabdentse. A Bhutia councillor,  Changzod Tamding’s grand conspiracy against the course of succession by Namgyal Phintsogl. After Gyurme Namgyal, the Lepcha councillor made a decisive intervention. Chanzo Karwang restored the throne in favour of Namgyal Phintsog. Towards the reign of Tenzing Namgyal, the frequent Gorkha attack of Prithivi Narayan Shaha from the western border finally shifted the capital to Tumlong. 

Having left the uncared ruins for a long time, they became thickly covered with wild jungle. The site has been recently very fully excavated and restored by the Archeological Survey of India. After the restoration, one can now visit the king’s bedroom, assembly hall and kitchen, Public courtyard and other palace guards’ rooms, etc.

pic : coronation book/self