not content with the effaced state in which the Khoshut royal power had sunk. He set about to change this, probably after an attempt by Sangye Gyatso to poison the king and his chief minister. Matters came to their head during the Monlam Prayer Festival in Lhasa in 1705, which followed the Losar (New Year). During a grand meeting with the clergy, Sangye Gyatso proposed to seize and execute Lha-bzang Khan. This was opposed by the cleric Jamyang Zhépa from Drepung Monastery, the personal guru of Lha-bzang. Rather, Lha-bzang Khan was strongly recommended to leave for Amdo, the usual abode of the Khoshut elite. He pretended to comply and started his journey to the north. However, when Lha-bzang Khan reached the banks of the Nagchu River northeast of Ü-Tsang, he halted and began to gather the Khoshut tribesmen. In the summer of 1705 he marched on Lhasa and divided his troops in three columns, one under his wife Tsering Tashi. When Sangye Gyatso heard about this he gathered the troops of Ü-Tsang, Ngari and Kham close to Lhasa. He offered battle but was badly defeated with the loss of 400 men. The Lobsang Yeshe, 5th Panchen Lama tried to mediate. Realizing that his situation was hopeless, Sangye Gyatso surrendered on condition that he was spared and was sent to Gonggar Dzong west of Lhasa. However, the vengeful Queen Tsering Tashi arrested Sangye Gyatso and brought him to the Tölung Valley, where he was killed, probably on 6 September 1705. Popular culture The Deer and the Cauldron (鹿鼎記): a wuxia novel by Louis Cha. In the story, Desi Sangye Gyatso became the sworn brothers with the novel's main protagonist Wei Xiaobao and the Mongol Prince Galdan Boshugtu Khan (葛爾丹). See also Ayurveda Tibetan people Traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Mongolian medicine Traditional Tibetan medicine Tree of physiology Chagpori (Iron Mountain), Opposite the Potala in Lhasa, Tibet Autonomous Region References Sources Richardson, Hugh E. (1998) High Peaks, Pure Earth; Collected Writings on Tibetan History and Culture. Serindia Publications, London. External links Himalayan Art: Charts: Blue Beryl (Medical Paintings, All) Traditional Tibetan medicine practitioners Regents in Tibet 1653 births 1705 deaths 17th-century Tibetan people 18th-century Tibetan people