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{{Short description|Mythical kingdom in Tibetan Buddhist and Hindu tradition}}
{{About|the mythical kingdom in Tibetan Buddhism and Hinduism||Shambhala (disambiguation)}}
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}
{{Hinduism}}
{{Vaishnavism}}
{{Buddhism}}
{{Tibetan Buddhism}}

'''Shambhala''' ({{langx|sa|शम्भल}}, {{IAST3|Śambhala}}),<ref name="MW">Śambhala m. (also written Sambhala): Name of a town (situated between the Rathaprā and [[Ganges]], and identified by some with [[Sambhal]] in [[Moradabad]]; the town or district of Śambhala is fabled to be the place where [[Kalki]], the last incarnation of [[Vishnu]], is to appear in the family of a [[Brahmin|Brahman]] named Vishnu Yash) [[Mahabharata|MBh.]] [[Harivaṃśa|Hariv. Pur.]] ([[Monier Monier-Williams|Monier-Williams]], ''Sanskrit-English Dictionary'', 1899).</ref> also spelled ''Shambala'' or ''Shamballa'' ({{bo|t=བདེ་འབྱུང|w=Bde'byung}}; {{zh|c=[[wikt:香巴拉|香巴拉]]|p=Xiāngbālā}}), is a [[spirituality|spiritual]] kingdom in [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] tradition. Shambhala is mentioned in the [[Kalachakra|''Kalachakra Tantra'']].<ref>{{cite book |last=Hiltebeitel |first=Alf |title=Rethinking India's Oral and Classical Epics |url= https://www.abundanceadvice.com/david-chandler-the-shambala-secret-review/ |year=1999 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=978-0-226-34050-0 |pages=217–218}}</ref><ref>The Tantra by Victor M. Fic, Abhinav Publications, 2003, p.49.</ref> <!-- and in the ancient [[Zhangzhung]] texts of western Tibet.{{cn}}--> The [[Bon]] scriptures speak of a closely related land called Tagzig Olmo Lung Ring.<ref>The Bon Religion of Tibet by Per Kavǣrne, Shambhala, 1996</ref>

The Sanskrit name is taken from the name of a city near the [[Ganges]], sometimes identified with [[Sambhal]] in the Indian state of [[Uttar Pradesh]], as mentioned in the [[Hinduism|Hindu]] [[Purana]]s.<ref name=MW/> The mythological relevance of the place originates with a prophecy in ''[[Vishnu Purana]]'' (4.24) according to which Shambhala will be the birthplace of [[Kalki]], the next incarnation of [[Vishnu]], who will usher in a new age ([[Satya Yuga]]);<ref name=MW/><ref name=Hindu>{{cite book |last=LePage |first=Victoria |title=Shambhala: The Fascinating Truth Behind the Myth of Shangri-La |year=1996 |publisher= Quest Books |isbn=978-0835607506 |pages=125–126 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oUIum8H_9qgC}}</ref> and the prophesied ruling Kingdom of [[Maitreya]], the future [[Buddha]].<ref name=arch/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://ia800908.us.archive.org/2/items/SHAMBHALA/SHAMBHALA_text.pdf|title=Shambala: Oasis of Light|first1=Andrew|last1=Tomas|year=1977|location=Manchester|publisher=The Philips Park Press}}</ref>

== Kalachakra tantra==
{{Main|Kalachakra}}
[[File:Rigdan Tagpa.jpg|thumb|[[Manjushrikirti|Manjuśrīkīrti]], King of Shambhala]]


Shambhala is ruled by the future Buddha [[Maitreya]].<ref name=arch>{{cite book |title=Arch. orient |date=2003 |publisher=Nakl. Ceskoslovenské akademie věd. |pages=254, 261 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pb4TAQAAMAAJ&q=maitreya+shambhala |access-date=11 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Sh>{{cite book |last1=Roerich |first1=Nicholas |title=Shambhala |date=2003 |publisher=Vedams eBooks (P) Ltd |isbn=978-81-7936-012-5 |page=65 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xRDUA5ZpNJsC&q=maitreya+shambhala&pg=PA65 |access-date=11 May 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The Shambhala narrative is found in the ''Kalachakra tantra'', a text of the group of the [[Anuttarayoga Tantra]]s. Kalachakra Buddhism was presumably introduced to [[Tibet]] in the 11th century, the epoch of the [[Tibetan calendar|Tibetan Kalachakra calendar]]. The oldest known teachers of Kalachakra are [[Dolpopa Sherab Gyaltsen]] (d. 1361) and [[Buton Rinchen Drub]] (d. 1364).{{cn|date=November 2024}}

In the narrative, King Manjuśrīkīrti is said to have been born in 159 BC and ruled over a kingdom of 300,510 followers of the [[Mlechha]] religion, some of whom worshiped the Sun. He is said to have expelled 20,000 people from his domain who clung to Surya Samadhi (solar worship) rather than convert to Kalachakra (Wheel of Time) Buddhism. <!--These expelled Rishis, seers, sages and saints, who had realized truth and eternal knowledge exclaimed, "We want to remain true to our Sun-Chariot. We do not wish to give up our belief system to change to another." -->
After realizing these were the wisest and best of his people and how much he was in need of them, he later asked them to return and some did. Those who did not return are said to have set up the city of Shambhala. Manjuśrīkīrti initiated the preaching of the ''Kalachakra'' teachings in order to try to convert those who returned and were still under his rule. In 59 BC he abdicated his throne to his son, Puṇḍārika, and died soon afterward, entering the [[Sambhogakaya]] of Buddhahood.<ref>Das, Sarat Chandra (1882). ''Contributions to the Religion and History of Tibet'', in ''Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal'', Vol. LI. Reprint: Manjushri Publishing House, Delhi. 1970, pp. 81–2.</ref><ref>Edwin Bernbaum "The Way to Shambhala: A Search for the Mythical Kingdom Beyond the Himalayas" 1980 & Albert Grünwedel "Der Weg nach Shambhala" 1915</ref>

[[File:Alti-Himalayan Shaman -1812-1813.jpg|thumb|Portrait of an Alti Himalian Shaman. Detail from "A Sorceress from Tungusy" 1812–1813   by: E. Karnejeff]]

The Kalachakra tantra prophesies that when the world declines into war and greed, and all is lost, the 25th Kalki king [[Maitreya]] will emerge from Shambhala,<ref name=arch/><ref name=Sh/> with a huge army to vanquish Dark Forces and usher in a worldwide [[Golden Age]]. This final battle is prophesied for the year [[25th century|2424 or 2425]] (in the 3304th year after the  death of [[Gautama Buddha#Mahaparinirvana (death)|the Buddha]]). Thereafter, Buddhism would survive another 1,800 years.<ref>Alexander Berzin, ''Taking the Kalachakra Initiation''  (1997), p. 33.
Lubosh Belka, "The Shambhala Myth in Buryatia and Mongolia", in: Tomasz Gacek, Jadwiga Pstrusińska (eds.), ''Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the European Society for Central Asian Studies'', Cambridge Scholars Publishing (2009), pp. 19–30 
([https://books.google.com/books?id=afQZBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 p. 20f]).</ref>

==Western reception==
Tibet and Tibetan Buddhism  were largely unknown in the West prior to the beginning of the 20th century.<ref>Lopez, Donald S. Jr. ''Prisoners of Shangri~La, Tibetan Buddhism and the West'', The University of Chicago Press, 1998</ref> The name itself, however, was reported as early as the 17th century, by way of  [[Estêvão Cacella]], the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] [[Catholic missions|missionary]] who had heard about Shambhala (transcribed as  ''Xembala''), and thought it was another name for [[Cathay]] or China.  Cacella in 1627  headed to [[Tashilhunpo]], the seat of the [[Panchen Lama]] and, discovering his mistake, returned to India.<ref>Bernbaum, Edwin. (1980). ''The Way to Shambhala'', pp. 18–19. Reprint: (1989). Jeremy P. Tarcher, Inc., Los Angeles. {{ISBN|0-87477-518-3}}.</ref>

===Neo-Theosophy===

Later [[Western esotericism|esoteric]] writers further emphasized and elaborated on the concept of a hidden land inhabited by a [[Masters of the Ancient Wisdom|hidden mystic brotherhood]] whose members labor for the good of humanity. [[Alice A. Bailey]] claims Shamballa (her spelling) is an extra-dimensional or spiritual reality on the [[astral plane]], a spiritual centre where the governing [[deity]] of [[Earth]], [[Four Kumaras|Sanat Kumara]], dwells as the highest [[Avatar]] of the Planetary [[Logos]] of Earth, and is said to be an expression of the Will of God.<ref>Bailey, Alice A, ''A Treatise on Cosmic Fire'' 1932 Lucis Trust. 1925, p 753</ref>{{bsn|date=January 2024}}

===Expeditions and location hypotheses===
[[Nicholas Roerich|Nicholas]] and [[Helena Roerich]] led a 1924–1928 expedition aimed at Shambhala. They also believed that [[Belukha Mountain]] in the [[Altai Mountains]] was an entrance to Shambhala, a common belief in that region.<ref>Archer, Kenneth. ''Roerich East & West''. Parkstone Press 1999, p.94</ref> They led a second expedition to look for Shambhala in Mongolia between 1934 and 1935.<ref>{{cite journal |author-last=Boyd |author-first=James |date=January 2012 |title=In Search of Shambhala? Nicholas Roerich's 1934–5 Inner Mongolian Expedition |journal=Inner Asia |location=[[Leiden]] and [[Boston]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=14 |issue=2 |pages=257–277 |doi=10.1163/22105018-90000004 |issn=2210-5018 |jstor=24572064}}</ref>

Inspired by [[Theosophy (disambiguation)|Theosophical]] lore and several visiting Mongol lamas, [[Gleb Bokii]], the chief Bolshevik [[cryptographer]] and one of the bosses of the [[Soviet secret police]], along with his writer friend Alexander Barchenko, embarked on a quest for Shambhala, in an attempt to merge Kalachakra-tantra and ideas of Communism in the 1920s. Among other things, in a secret laboratory affiliated with the secret police, Bokii and Barchenko experimented with Buddhist spiritual techniques to try to find a key for engineering perfect communist human beings.<ref name="Znamenski">Znamenski (2011)</ref> They contemplated a special expedition to Inner Asia to retrieve the wisdom of Shambhala – the project fell through as a result of intrigues within the Soviet intelligence service, as well as rival efforts of the [[Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Soviet Union)|Soviet Foreign Commissariat]] that sent its own expedition to Tibet in 1924.

French Buddhist [[Alexandra David-Néel]] associated Shambhala with [[Balkh]] in present-day Afghanistan, also offering the Persian ''Sham-i-Bala'', "elevated candle" as an etymology of its name.<ref>David-Néel, A. ''[[Les Nouvelles littéraires]]'' ;1954, p.1</ref> 
In a similar vein, the [[Gurdjieff]]ian [[J. G. Bennett]] published speculation that Shambalha was ''Shams-i-Balkh'', a [[Bactria]]n sun temple.<ref>Bennett, J.G: "Gurdjieff: Making a New World". Bennett notes [[Idries Shah]] as the source of the suggestion.</ref>

=== Shangri-La ===
Shambhala may have been the inspiration for [[Shangri-La]], a fictional paradise on Earth, hidden in a Tibetan valley, which features in the 1933 novel ''[[Lost Horizon]]'' by British author [[James Hilton (novelist)|James Hilton]].<ref name="Wood11">{{cite news|last1=Wood|first1=Michael|title=BBC – History – Ancient History in depth: Shangri-La|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/cultures/shangri_la_01.shtml|access-date=28 February 2018|work=BBC|date=17 February 2011}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Agartha]]
* [[Himavanta]]
* [[Kingdom of God]]
* [[Kumari Kandam]]
* [[Lost city]]
* [[Sagala]]
* [[Shambala (disambiguation)]]
* [[Shangri-La]]
* [[Kalki 2898 AD]]

== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}

== General and cited references ==
{{Refbegin|30em}}
* [[Charles Allen (writer)|Allen, Charles]]. (1999). ''The Search for [[Shangri-La]]: A Journey into Tibetan History''. Little, Brown and Company. Reprint: Abacus, London. 2000. {{ISBN|0-349-11142-1}}.
* [[Edwin Bernbaum|Bernbaum, Edwin]]. (1980). ''The Way to Shambhala: A Search for the Mythical Kingdom Beyond the Himalayas''. Reprint: (1989) St. Martin's Press, New York. {{ISBN|0-87477-518-3}}.
* [[Alexander Berzin (scholar)|Berzin, Alexander]] (2003). Study Buddhism. ''[http://studybuddhism.com/en/advanced-studies/history-culture/shambhala/mistaken-foreign-myths-about-shambhala Mistaken Foreign Myths About Shambhala]''.
* D'Montford, Dr. S. (2004). ''Tibetan Buddhist Atrocities and Propaganda''. Sydney: Happy Medium Publishing.
* Martin, Dean (1999). "{{'}}Ol-mo-lung-ring, the Original Holy Place". Huber, Toni, ed. ''Sacred Spaces and Powerful Places in Tibetan Culture: A Collection of Essays''. pp.&nbsp;125–153. The Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, Dharamsala, H.P., India. {{ISBN|81-86470-22-0}}.
* Meurois, Daniel, and Anne Givaudan (1987). ''Le Voyage a Shambhalla. Un pèlerinage vers soi''. Ed. Le Passe-Monde.
* [[Meyer, Karl Ernest]] and [[Brysac, Shareen Blair]] (2006) ''Tournament of Shadows: The Great Game and the Race for Empire in Central Asia''. {{ISBN|0-465-04576-6}}.
* Rock song "Halls of Shambala" by [[B. W. Stevenson]], covered and popularized by the rock band [[Three Dog Night]] in  "[[Shambala (song)|Shambala]]".
* Symmes, Patrick. (2007).  "The Kingdom of the Lotus" in ''[[Outside (magazine)|Outside]]'', 30th Anniversary Special Edition, pp.&nbsp;148–187. Mariah Media, Inc., Red Oak, Iowa.
* [[Chogyam Trungpa|Trungpa, Chogyam]]. ''Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior''. [[Shambhala Publications]]. {{ISBN|0-87773-264-7}}
* Znamenski, Andrei (2011). ''Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia''. Quest Books, Wheaton, IL (2011) {{ISBN|978-0-8356-0891-6}}.
* Znamenski, Andrei. ''[https://www.amazon.com/dp/0835608913 Red Shambhala: Magic, Prophecy, and Geopolitics in the Heart of Asia]''. Wheaton, IL: Quest Books, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-8356-0891-6}}.
* Rock opera [https://web.archive.org/web/20151017110134/http://szambalia.pl/ ''Szambalia''] (''Shambhala''; 2014). Official premiere in Poland, Warsaw (24 June 2014).
{{Refend}}

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