3rd Taktra Rinpoche

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Ngawang Sungrab Thutob
སྟག་བྲག་ནག་དབང་གསུང་རབ
3rd Taktra Rinpoche [nl]
In office 1874–1952
Preceded by	Lobsang Khyenrab Wangchug [nl]
Succeeded by	Tenzin Geleg [zh]
Regent of Tibet
In office 1941–1950
Dalai Lama	Tenzin Gyatso
Preceded by	5th Reting Rinpoche
Succeeded by	title abolished
Personal details
Born	1874 (1874) Kyarpa, Tibet, China
Died	1952 (aged 77–78) Lhasa, Tibet, China

Ngawang Sungrab Thutob (Standard Tibetan: སྟག་བྲག་ནག་དབང་གསུང་རབ།; Chinese: 达扎·阿旺松绕) (1874–1952) was the third Taktra Rinpoche, (Wylie transliteration: sTag-brag, also Takdrak, Tagdrag, etc.) and regent of Tibet. As regent, he was responsible for raising and educating the 14th Dalai Lama, Tenzin Gyatso.^[1] In 1941, he succeeded the fifth Reting Rinpoche, Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen. The Reting Rinpoche later rebelled, was captured, and died imprisoned in the Potala Palace under mysterious circumstances.^[2]

State-controlled media in China claims that Thutob was responsible for the death of the 5th Reting Rinpoche, the teacher of 14th Dalai Lama and previous regent. They praise Jamphel Yeshe Gyaltsen as a patriot and devout Buddhist while calling Ngawang Sungrab Thutob as a "pro-Britain, pro-slavery separatist." Reting Rinpoche, regardless of his political leanings, will be remembered for discovering and enthroning the current, 14th Dalai Lama.