Zhabdrung Rinpoche

Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung

Zhabdrung (also Shabdrung; Tibetan: ཞབས་དྲུང་, Wylie: zhabs-drung; "before the feet of ones submit") was a title used when referring to or addressing great lamas in Tibet, particularly those who held a hereditary lineage. In Bhutan the title almost always refers to Ngawang Namgyal (1594–1651), the founder of the Bhutanese state, or one of his successive reincarnations.