What is Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel?
'''Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyel''', (1594–1651) known colloquially as The Bearded Lama, was a [[Tibetan people|Tibetan]] [[Buddhist]] [[lama]] and the unifier of [[Bhutan]] as a nation-state. In addition to unifying the various warring fiefdoms for the first time in the 1630s, he also sought a distinct Bhutanese cultural identity separate from the Tibetan culture from which it was derived.<ref>{{cite book | last = Dorji | first = Sangay (Dasho) | others=Kinga, Sonam (trans.) | title = The Biography of Shabdrung Ngawang Namgyal: Pal Drukpa Rinpoche | publisher = KMT Publications | year = 2008 | location = Thimphu, Bhutan | isbn = 978-99936-22-40-6}}</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:1594 births]] [[Category:1650s deaths]] [[Category:Tibetan Buddhist lamas]] [[Category:Bhutanese people]]