TALE OF ‘DO JAGA LAM’

 1.     Liberating mother from the boulder

 Drubthob Naggi Rinchen (1384-1468)
was an important master in the Kalachakra lineage. Originally from Bengal, he was one of the last great Indian scholars to visit Tibet.

In fact, according to the Blue Annals, he was referred to as ‘the last pandita'.
Colloquially known in Bhutan as Drubthob Nagi Rinchen, his statue is found in the Dho Jhaga Lama Lhakang near Punakha. The Lhakhang is about two kilometres from Punakha Dzong towards Gasa.  

The story is narrated of how he liberated his mother who was born as a frog in the huge boulder. According to legend, Drubthob Nagi Rinchen aka Vanaratna, a Bengali Pandita, is one of the 84 Mahasiddhas, and was the last great Indian Pandita to visit Tibet.

It is believed that he came to Punakha after learning, through the power of his clairvoyance, that his mother was reborn as a frog inside the rock towards the North.
In search of the rock, Drubthob Nagi Rinchen finally reached Punakha after a tedious journey. Upon arrival in Punakha, he found out that the land on which the rock stood belonged to an old woman called Aum Ritsa Chum. Aum Ritsa Chum was a rich and powerful woman of the locality.

Since the rock belonged to someone, he could not do what he liked. He planned to buy the big rock to liberate his mother. Drubthob than approached the old woman and asked for the rock.  She demanded that he work for her for three long years to get the rock from her land. Drubthob was left with no other alternative than to accept the offer.
He worked for her doing all types of jobs like ploughing, digging, paddy cultivation weeding, looking after cattle, fetching water, bringing firewood and even carried cattle manure.

During the day, he engaged in the woman's work and in the evening he meditated in a cave across the Mochhu. There is a temple built over the meditation cave that house statue of Drubthob secluded across the Mochu. The cave was known as the place where Drubthob spent most of his time in meditation and prayer, hidden away from people and animals.

There was no bridge over the Mochu, and it was a long walk  along the river to cross over to Aum Ritsa Chum’s house. It is believed that Drubthob crossed the Mochu river without even touching his feet on the water. Finally, after completing three years of labor, Drubthob was given ownership of the rock.

On an auspicious day, in presence of local people, the Drubthob meditated by the rock. The Drubthob is said to have brought down lightning through his power to split the big rock into two.  A frog came out from the split, much to the amazement of Aum Ritsa Chum and the people. He immediately killed the frog by crushing it with his feet and liberated his mother’s spirit.

The remains of a frog was said to have been moulded into tsha tsha and offered them as dzung, a relic, in Rigsum chorten constructed near the rock. The Rigsum chorten is an offering to Buddha Avoloketeshvara, Jampelyang and Chaagna Dorji, as a prophecy to propagate teachings in future across the country.

It is also believed that the ash was used in the sculpting of Buddha statue enshrined in the Dzongchung at Punakha Dzong. The statue is said to have no nangtens, yet is a wish fulfilling statue.

The Drubthob is said to have inscribed his name in Bengali script upon the rock with his finger. The script is visible even today and is considered sacred and wish fulfilling rock.

In 1991 a temple has been constructed near the sacred rock by Yab Ugyen Dorji and Yum Thuji Zam and offered to Punakha Dratshang. Today, the temple is commonly called Dho Jhaga Lam Lhakhang, a rock of an Indian monk teacher.

At another location, few meters from the Lhakhang, below the road is a pilgrimage site believed to be place where Drupthob meditated. There is a rock cave through which one can enter and exit, as a proof of whether one can return gratitude to parents, whether we have less sin and more sacredly, whether we will be able to fulfil our spiritual aspirations.

2. Knowing the Mahasiddha

In the history of Buddhist masters, only few Bodhisattvas were said to have been able to liberate their mothers to the Buddha realm. The prominent stories are Lord Buddha, Mongallana, Lama Drukpa Kuenley and Drubthob Nagi Rinchen.

‘Who was Drubthob Nagi Rinchen and where did he actually came from?’ The question is often asked to understand who Do Jaga Lam was and how accomplished was he as a master.

Drubthob Nagi Rinchen (Vanaratna, 1384-1468) a Bengali Pandita and Mahasiddha was born a prince in Sadnagara, near present-day Chittagong district of Bangladesh.

At age 8, he received novice ordination from Buddhaghosha and Sujataratna. He took up his studies and perfected them very quickly.

At age of 20 he received full ordination from the same two masters, and went to Sri Lanka for six years, where he spent most of his time meditating in seclusion.
Upon his return to India, he was greatly praised by the famous scholar Naraditya.
At Amaravati, he met with Māhasiddha Shavaripa in a vision and received unique transmission of the Sadaṅga-yoga, the Six-limbed Yoga of the Kālacakra tradition.
The Drubthob eventually beheld a vision of Avalokiteśvara, who advised him to go to Tibet to begin propagation of Buddhist teachings.

He visited Tibet in 1426, 1433 and 1453 and spread the Kālacakra lineage and instructions of Paṇḍita Vibhūti-candra there, especially the Sadaṅga-yoga according to Anupamarakṣita, and many other teachings.
He also assisted in the translation of many texts and treatises. Such famous Tibetan masters as Gö Lotsawa Shönnu Pal (1392-1481) and Thrimkang Lotsawa Sönam Gyatso (1424-1482) were his close students.

The Drubthob, Mahasiddha Nagi Rinchen, Vanaratna, spent his final years in the Gopicandra Vihara in Patan in Kathmandu, and attained final dissolution at the ripe age of eighty four.