Nelpa Pandita Dragpa Monlam Lodro (Tibetan: nel pa paNDi ta grags pa smon lam blo gros), or Ne'u Pandita was a 13th-century Tibetan Kadampa monk and historian from the Ne'u monastery (å¥Âä¹Â寺). He authored the Ne'u chos-'byung, the earliest known comprehensive account of the political and religious history of Tibet after its integration into the Chinese central realm. In his work, he expressed skepticism toward the Kagyu school and maintained a critical, factual approach to historical sources.
Written in 1283 (i.e. earlier than the famous Buddhist History by Buton (1288) and the Clear Mirror on Royal Genealogy (1328)), the work The Flower Garland (Me tog phreng ba; also known as Ne'u chos 'byung) is divided into three parts History of Old Tubo (geography, administrative units, and the royal dynasty), Spread of Buddhism in Tubo (construction of monasteries and critical examination of legendary accounts), Analysis of the Chronology of the Dharma (Buddhist chronology and periods of rise, decline, and revival).
Nelpa Pandita recorded precise royal biographies, using the rab-byung chronology, and integrated political and religious history. The work remained unpublished until 1974 when it was prepared by Caiban Zhekang æÂÂçÂÂå²康 (tshe-pal tai-kang) and later verified and published by (1940âÂÂ2021). In his (according to Treasury of Lives) "sober account", the author asserts <blockquote> that around 433 CE certain Buddhist texts, including the Karandavyuhasutra and a text recorded under multiple names, including Pankyong Chagyapa (spang skong phyag brgya pa), were brought to Tibet by the masters Buddharaksita and Tilise from Khotan. </blockquote>
Wang Yao and Chen Jian translated the work into Chinese.