Zhabdrung (also Shabdrung; ; "before the feet of ones submit") was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), the founder of the Bhutanese state, or one of his successive reincarnations. Ngawang Namgyal The lineage traces through the founder of the country, Ngawang Namgyal, a high Drukpa Lineage lama from Tibet who was the first to unify the warring valley kingdoms under a single rule. He is revered as the third most important figure behind Padmasambhava and Shakyamuni Buddha by the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Ngawang Namgyal established the dual system of government under the "Great Tsa Yig" legal code. Under this system, political power was vested in an administrative leader, the Druk Desi, assisted by a collection of local governors or ministers called penlops. A religious leader, the Je Khenpo, held power over monastic affairs. Successive incarnations of the Zhabdrung were to have ultimate authority over both spheres. However, after the death of Ngawang Namgyal in 1651, power effectively passed to the penlops instead of to a successor Zhabdrung. In order to forestall a dynastic struggle and a return to warlordism, they conspired to keep the death of the Zhabdrung secret for 54 years. During this time they issued orders in his name, explaining that he was on an extended silent retreat. The passing of the 1st Zhabdrung is modernly celebrated as a Bhutanese national holiday, falling on the 3rd. month, 10th day of the Bhutanese calendar. Successor Zhabdrungs Eventually, the ruling authorities in Bhutan were faced with the problem of succession. To neutralize the power of future Zhabdrung incarnations, the Druk Desi, Je Khenpo and penlops conspired to recognize not a single person but rather as three separate persons — a body incarnation (Ku tulku), a mind incarnation (Thu tulku or Thugtrul), and a speech incarnation (Sung tulku or Sungtrul). In spite of their efforts to consolidate the power established by the original Zhabdrung, the country sank into warring factionalism for the next 200 years. The body incarnation lineage died out in the mid-18th century, while the mind and speech incarnations of the Zhabdrung continued into the 20th century. The mind incarnation was the one generally recognized as the Zhabdrung. Besides the mind incarnation, there was also a line of claimants