Sonam Rapten

Sonam Rapten, also known as Sonam Choephel (1595-1657) was regent in Tibet from 1642 to 1658. Soon after his nomination as a regent, he was appointed head of the Dalai Lama's household (the Ganden Podrang) as well.

As treasurer of the Ganden Palace he was the prime architect of the rise to political power of the Gelugpa school under the 5th Dalai Lama.^[1]

According to the 14th Dalai Lama he was the chief attendant of the 4th Dalai Lama, who discovered the incarnation of the 5th Dalai Lama.

During the youth of the 5th Dalai Lama, Rapten requested the aid of Güshi Khan, a powerful Mongol military leader, in order to end persecution of the Gelug and to establish this order as the lead order of Tibet.

Bibliography

• Staff. "The Dalai Lamas: Yonten Gyatso". The Office of His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Retrieved 2010-02-04. Office web site of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet.
• Kapstein, Matthew (2007) The Tibetans, Blackwell Publishing, Oxford, pag. 135, 141-164 ISBN 0-631-22574-9
• Mullin, Glenn H. (2008) The Fourteen Dalai Lamas, ISBN 978-1-57416-092-5

References

1. Karmay, Samten C. (2005). "The Great Fifth" (PDF). The Newsletter. Research (Leiden, the Netherlands: International Institute for Asian Studies). Winter 2005 (39): 2. Retrieved 14 June 2015.