The Fifth Dalai Lama’s God

Abstract Chapter 2 reconstructs the Fifth Dalai Lama’s own understanding of Pehar’s narrative, and discusses how the Tibetan ruler negotiated with divergent accounts to produce Nechung’s charter myth. This standardization will have important consequences, since it will determine the character of Nechung Monastery and the state cult of the Five King Spirits from the time of the Great Fifth onward. The chapter ends with an exploration of Pehar’s ambiguous ontological status, which was a matter the Fifth Dalai Lama debated, both with himself and important figures in his administration. Ultimately, the deity’s fluctuating ontology is a powerful trait that makes him accessible in different mythic and ritual contexts.