The Race to Shambhala

Buddha the Conqueror (Nicholas Roerich, 1925)

What is Shambhala? A prophecy? A spiritual state? A war cry?

Ancient Buddhist texts of Mongolia predict a time when the whole world will be consumed by suffering - war, injustice and cruelty. Only in mysterious Shambhala will the Buddhist tradition be preserved. A barbarian overlord will attempt to subjugate the world, and the female Buddha, Arya Tara, will reincarnate as his queen. When he imagines to have achieved supreme dominion, the queen will reveal the existence of Shambhala to him. Unable to resist his desire to conquer, he will attack, and face the meritorious reincarnated Shambhala warriors in a final battle.

"Shambhala Rising" by Konchog Norbu (my summary)

Mother of Genghis Khan (1933)

We raised the yellow flag
For the greatness of the Buddha doctrine;
We, the pupils of the Khutuktu,
Went into the battle of Shambhala!
(Mongolian song from 1919)

Gesar Khan (1941)

Let us die in this war,
To be reborn
As horsemen of the Ruler of Shambhala.
(Mongolian song heard by Nicholas Roerich in 1924)

The Command of Rigden Djapo (1933)

Near Karakorum and on the shores of Ubsa Nor I see the huge multi-colored camps. ... Above them I see the old banners of Jenghiz Khan, of the kings of Tibet, Siam, Afghanistan, and of Indian princes; the sacred signs of all the Lamaite Pontiffs; the coats of arms of the Khans of the Olets; and the simple signs of the north-Mongolian tribes. .... There is the roar and crackling of fire and the ferocious sound of battle. Who is leading these warriors who there beneath the reddened sky are shedding their own and others’ blood? ... I see ... a new great migration of peoples, the last march of the Mongols … (Ferdinand Ossendowski in 1924)

Song of Shambhala (1943)


There is a lot of weirdness about Shambhala...
Foreign Myths about Shambhala by Alexander Berzin
The Heir of Genghis Khan, a.k.a Storm over Asia, a Soviet silent movie with themes from Mongolian myths and Western ideas about Mongolia
The art of Nicholas Roerich
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