The Treasury of Lives

Namkha Lekpai Gyeltsen (nam mkha' legs pa'i rgyal mtshan) was born in the Lhatse (lha rtse) residence at Sakya Monastery (sa skya dgon pa) in 1305. His parents were the Eleventh Sakya Tridzin, Zangpo Pel (bzang po dpal, 1262-1324) and his fourth wife, Namkha Gyelmo (nam mkha' rgyal mo).

While he was young he studied with the scholar Norzang Pel (nor bzang dpal).

In 1324, at the age of twenty-one, following the death of his father, he was elevated to the throne of Sakya, becoming the Twelfth Sakya Tridzin (sa skya khri 'dzin). (An alternate enumeration of the Sakya Tridzin count him as the Eleventh.) Khutughtu Khan, known to Tibetans by his birth name Kuśala, or Höslen in Mongolian, the Yuan Mingzong Emperor (明宗, r. 1329), elevated him to the rank of guanding guoshi 灌頂國師, roughly translated as "National Preceptor who bestows empowerment," and granted him a crystal seal.

He is counted as the first Throne Holder of the Zhitok Labrang (bzhi thog bla brang), one of four dynastic houses of Sakya Monastery that were taken over by the sons of Zangpo Pel. He passed away at Zhitok in 1343.

He had at least one wife, named Gendun Bum (dge 'dun 'bum), with whom he had a son Tawen Kunga Rinchen (tA dben kun dga' rin chen, 1339-1399), who served as the Sixteenth Sakya Tridzin, from 1364 to 1399.