DROWA SANGMO

Drowa Sangmo was the beautiful manifestation of a celestial ďākinī, born to poor and aged parents in India. Upon her birth, the ďākinīs made predictions, including that her life would be obstructed by a demon and so at that time she would fly off to the celestial realms. One day a king who had lost his hunting dog came to their little hut in search of the dog. Seeing Drowa Sangmo, he was smitten and took her against her wishes to be his wife. Eventually, she gave birth to a son and daughter. The king’s other queen was the manifestation of a demon and developed a great hatred for Drowa. Recalling the prophecy, Drowa Sangmo sent her children to the king and flew away to the dākinī realms. Meanwhile, the demoness fed poison to the king to drive him insane and hatched a plot to kill the children. Feigning illness, she told her minister that only the warm hearts of the two children would cure her.

Drowa-Sangmo - Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts

The children were given to two butchers to be killed, but they were unable to carry out the task. They sent back the hearts of two dogs instead, but the demoness queen discovered the deceit and gave the children to two fishermen to carry out the deed. They too could not kill the children and set them free in the forest.

In the forest, the children suffered much. The boy is killed by a snake, but their mother manifests as a medicinal snake and he is brought back to life. Finally, they are recaptured by the demoness queen and given to two outcaste men to be killed. Out of pity one of the outcastes releases the girls, but the other throws the boy off a cliff. Their mother manifests as a hawk and catches him. He lands in the sea and his mother, now a fish, carries him to the water’s edge. Eventually, with help from more manifestations of his mother, the little prince is taken to the land of Padminī, where he is crowned king. Finally, his sister makes her way to Padminī, and brother and sister are reunited.

Meanwhile, the demoness queen hears that the young son has become king of Padmini and at once assembles a large army to attack it. However, the young son defeats her in battle and she is killed. Their father is cured of his madness, released from prison, and is reunited with his children.

This story appears to have a connection with the tribal peoples of Mön, a region of Tibet that spills over into the far northeastern part of Arunachal Pradesh in India. The region is mentioned in the text, and according to Snyder, the people of Mön can identify the ruins of Mandal Gang Palace, where the king lived.