The epic of King Gesar of Ling may be as many as a thousand years old but it has only been known to the scholarly community since the middle of the eighteenth century, when a temple dedicated to him was uncovered by an explorer named P. S. Pallas. The first translations of extracts appeared in the early nineteenth century, when the German scholar Benjamin Bergmann translated two chapters from a Mongolian version. J. Schmidt also retold a Mongolian version of “Gesser” (the Mongolian rendition of the name) in a translation published in Beijing in 1839.

 

King Gesar is a legendary figure in Tibetan culture, and his story is recorded in the Epic of King Gesar. This epic is considered the longest epic in the world, containing over 600,000 lines of verse. It narrates the heroic deeds of King Gesar and his battles against evil forces. The formation of the epic can be traced back to between 200 BCE and 600 CE. After years of oral transmission, it reached its final form and peak popularity in the 12th century. The epic mainly revolves around King Gesar's birth, growth, battles, and ultimate victory, reflecting the values and cultural traditions of the Tibetan people.

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The epic is usually divided into several main parts:

1. Miraculous Birth and Early Life: This section tells the story of King Gesar's miraculous birth and the hardships he faced during his childhood.

2. Heroic Deeds: It describes how he became a king, won the throne, and married a beautiful wife.

3. Wars with Enemy Kingdoms: The core part of the epic focuses on King Gesar's wars with four enemy kingdoms, showcasing his bravery and leadership.

4. Unification and Peace: This part describes how he unified the tribes and brought peace and prosperity.

5. Death and Legacy: The final section recounts King Gesar's death and the impact he left behind. Many legends suggest that he will return in the future to save his people.

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The next work done on this remarkable story was undertaken by A. H. Francke, a Moravian missionary to the Ladakh wazarat, which then included Baltistan, the westernmost bastion of Tibetan civilization. Francke, who had come across the epic in the late nineteenth century, published an important translation of it in 1905 with accompanying abstracts and notes. In 1934, a Central Tibetan version was retold in translation by Alexandra David-Neel. But the most extensive treatment of the epic was undertaken by R. A. Stein in the 1950s, culminating in two major publications in 1956 and 1959... (Source : Harvard review online, Feb 2012)

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