The Story of Sukyi Nyima

The Story of Sukyi Nyima

Characters in order of appearance

Drangsong, the saintly old hermit
The Old Couple
Sukyi Nyima
The Old King
The Young King Dawa Sengey
The King's Minister
The State Oracle
The Secretary
Rigngen Bhumo
The Patriotic Parrot
The Hunter
Yama, the evil servant
The Animals
The Executioners
The young prince, Nyima Sengey

Ritual to Purify and Consecrate the Stage

The opera begins with a ritual dance to purify the stage, performed by masked. hunters (Ngonpas), followed by the singing and dancing of a chorus of fairies (Ringas) who represent goddesses (Dakinis). The princes (Gyalu) enter the stage and bless it. The narrator then recites the story.

Prelude

There was once a kingdom near Bodh Gaya in India, whose monarch worshipped an evil god to whom the people sacrificed many animals. Drangsong, a saintly old hermit who lived nearby, deplored these cruel practices and prayed that the ruler and his people would become Buddhist.

Act One

Scene 1 - One day, an old couple from the upper part of the country, come to seek teachings from Drangsong and present him with a white loin cloth as a gift saying,

'Being a great saint with concern for all sentient beings, please bless us. He replies,

'I will keep this white cloth for the sake of all sentient beings'

That night, he experiences a wet dream and in the morning he washes the cloth in the stream. When he has returned to his cave, a female deer drinks from the water and becomes pregnant. As she is unwell, Drangsong looks after her and feeds her. After nine months and ten days, amid extraordinary rainbows and uncommonly bright sunshine, she gives birth to a baby girl, Sukyi Nyima.

Sukyi Nyima recites the mantra, OM MANI PADME HUNG and prays to the Three Jewels of Refuge. Drangsong sings,

'Graceful nymph, born from a goddess, your body emits countless rays of light. Therefore, I will call you Sukyi Nyima.

Sukyi Nyima grew up to be very beautiful and lived happily with Drangsong in his cave.

Scene 2 - In the palace a minister announces the entrance of the of the king,

'The king approaches. Do not move, you must not look. Eyes closed and mouths open!'

The old king names his elder son, Dawa Sengey, his successor and orders him to visit the temple of the state oracle and perform a special ceremony in preparation for the coronation.

Scene 3 - Amidst great celebration the young king Dawa Sengey comes on stage riding a horse. He then sets off on his long journey by boat.

The boatmen sing, 'How happy we are in the forest. Boats sing very sweet songs.

When they arrive at the temple, the oracle accompanied by his secretary enters into a trance. The king addresses the oracle,

'Listen to the song of Dawa Sengey. When my father ruled he consulted you. Now I wish to marry, tell me where 1 shall find a wife?' As the Oracle begins to make his prophecies, his secretary transcribes them mocking such absurd predictions as 'winter will be cold and summer will be hot,' and 'If you eat tsampa all year you will never lose your teeth.' The Oracle responds by beating him. At last he tells the king to look for his wife in the north-west.

Scene 4 - Searching (or his bride with his wise minister, King Dawa Sengey seek teachings from Drangsong and present him with a white loin cloth as a gift saying, encounters a pretty, low-caste girl, Rigngen Bhumo, disguised as a princess. She offers him chang (Tibetan beer) and seduces him into believing that she is the girl the oracle had predicted. He takes her to his palace where they celebrate their marriage.

The king lives happily with his queen until a patriotic parrot who knows her true origins tries to awaken the king to the truth. But the king dismisses him saying,

'Right now in my palace I have a beautiful wife. Who needs to know the pedigree of a beautiful bird? Leave my sight, you talk too much.'

Scene 5 - Rigngen Bhumo turns out to have an evil wish to kill animals. One day, a boar enters the garden and damages the flowers so she orders the hunter to kill it. The hunter chases the boar into the woods crying,

'Listen, pig! I have no compassion for you. I am going to kill you!'

He eventually loses the boar, but glimpsing a deer, pursues it instead until he loses that too. Finding himself hopelessly lost, tired and frightened of the queen's anger, he falls asleep by a stream.

While he sleeps, Sukyi Nyima comes to draw water. When the hunter awakes and catches her contemplating her reflection in the stream, she shyly hides her face. He says,

'Hear me charming lady dwelling in this sandal grove. I am lost and cannot find my way home. Have you no protective charms to show me the way?'

She kindly goes to her father to obtain some protective leaves for him, and the hunter goes on his way.

Scene 6 - The hunter returns to the palace and, anticipating a reward, tells King Dawa Sengey of the girl he has discovered,

'Your majesty, though you have two thousand five hundred and one queens already, there is yet one lady in the world more beautiful than them all.'

Hearing this, the King bids the hunter to lead him to the forest. As they approach the stream they see Sukyi Nyima gathering fruit. When the king sees her he is overcome with love and exclaims,

'I am king over millions in the kingdom of Simkey Lodey. Will you marry me?'

She replies,

'Please excuse me. If you have something to say, pray approach my father. He dwells nearby in the forest.'

They go to the cave in which Drangsong is meditating. He asks the king where he is from and why he has come. Dawa Sengey declares,

'I haven't come just for tea and chang (a popular expression meaning I didn't come here just for a chat, but for a serious purpose). I, the King of Simkey Lodey have come to marry your daughter.'

Drangsong replies,

'My daughter is still very young, it is not yet time for her to marry. Besides, she is my only helper, what shall I do without her?' The king threatens suicide if Sukyi Nyima will not marry him; the hunter and Drangsong have to restrain him,

'Control yourself, otherwise you will go to hell and not be reborn as a human being for 5,000 years.'

Then Drangsong addresses his daughter,

'The kingdom of Simkey Lodey is not a Buddhist state. By marrying the king you can spread the Dharma there. I will give you a protective mantra and a rosary, but never give it to anyone else, not even your husband.

Scene 7 - The King and his new queen return to his palace where they celebrate their wedding. Sukyi Nyima takes the place of Rigngen Bhumo on the throne. The king expresses his happiness in a song,

'I have not been to heaven, but it seems as though it is right here. My new queen is in truth a goddess.'

The minister too sings a song of praise, while Rigngen Bhumo watches the scene aflame with jealousy. The king and queen live happily together and in time, the queen gives birth to a son. Because she feels homesick the king gives his new queen a maid named Yama to entertain her. Yama is skilled in singing and dancing, but she is a witch in disguise.

Scene 8 - Yama visits the jealous and evil queen Rigngen Bhumo who complains, 'I, who was once the apple of the king's eye, now may not even approach his door. Can't anything be done?'

They conspire to remove Sukyi Nyima. Yama tries in vain to put a curse on her. She learns by astrological means that Sukyi Nyima is protected by her rosary, so she contrives to take it from her saying, 'The queens are all jealous of you and will harm you if they can. If you have any protective object, let me have it and I will help you.' Sukyi Nyima hands her the rosary her father had given her on condition that she brings it back. Yama and Rigngen Bhumo copy the rosary and return the duplicate to Sukyi Nyima. When Yama again tries her spell, Sukyi Nyima falls unconscious. Next, Yama kills the King's favourite white elephant and lays its heart near Sukyi Nyima. When the king finds it, he is so enraged that he wants to kill her, but the patriotic parrot prevents him.

Act Two

Scene 1 - While the king is asleep with his son in his arms, Yama takes the child, kills it and places the dead body beside Sukyi Nyima's bed as if she had killed him.

Scene 2 - The king discovers the death of his son and thinking Sukyi Nyima responsible is about to kill her when the parrot again intervenes saying,

'Do not kill her, consider your karma. I swear to you she is innocent. If you don't believe me cut my neck and if I am lying red blood will flow.' The king kills the parrot whose blood flows white proving Sukyi Nyima's innocence.

Scene 3- Despite this the King still feels Sukyi Nyima is guilty and orders her execution,

'This man-eater is no longer a queen. She is a worthless demon. Take her to the mountain and feed her to the wild animals.'

The animals arrive with Sukyi Nyima's deer mother among them. They eat the executioners and set Sukyi Nyima free. She sings to her mother,

I will become a Lama Mani (religious teacher) and to prepare myself, I'm going to go and meditate in a cave for three years. Come with me, mother, as my attendant.

Scene 4 - Sukyi Nyima goes to a cave to meditate for three years. One day she has a vision of the Buddha, who told her to go among the people and teach his doctrine. Shortly afterwards, the unsuspecting Yama comes to her and confesses her sins saying,

'Once I was a servant hired by King Dawa Sengey to entertain the queen Sukyi Nyima. To serve Queen Rigngen Bhumo I killed the king's white elephant and his infant son. I stole Sukyi Nyima's protective rosary and replaced it with a copy. Through my misdeeds she was accused and sentenced to death. Here is the genuine rosary, please accept it as a token of my repentance. 'Filled with compassion, Sukyi Nyima forgives and blesses her.

It then happens that one of the king's ministers comes to bear the renowned Lama Mani teach and, noticing that one of her front teeth is made of conch, he recognises her as Sukyi Nyima. He hurries to tell the king.

Scene 5 - The king and the minister visit the Lama Mani. Recognising her as his queen he sings,

'I am sorry for my mistakes. How could I know you were the incarnation of a goddess? Forgive us all and come back with me to the palace.' Sukyi Nyima dons her royal apparel once more and recturns with them to the palace. The real villains are called forth. Rigngen Bhumo is taken to prison and Yama has the calves of her legs cut off.

Sukyi Nyima and the King live happily together again. They have another son called Nyima Sengey (Sun Lion) who eventually grows up to become King and spread Buddhism throughout the land. People come from all the different regions of Tibet to celebrate and rejoice.

[ Homepage ] [ Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts ]

This site is maintained and updated by The Office of Tibet, the official agency of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in London. This Web page may be linked to any other Web sites. Contents may not be altered.
Last updated: 30-Sept-96