Career
He held the title from 1331 to 1358, being the last Dishi before the takeover of the Phagmodrupa Dynasty in Central Tibet in the 1350s. Kunga Gyaltsen was one of the younger sons of Zangpo Pal and belonged to the Lhakhang branch. His mother was Machig Yon Dagmo.
During the reign of the great khan Yesün Temür he was appointed to the title chang guhi gung, the meaning of which is unclear.
In 1331 the incarnated hierarch of the Karmapa sect, Rangjung Dorje, arrived with a number of imperial officials to fetch Kunga Gyaltsen and bring him to the capital. Arriving to Dadu (Beijing) he was duly confirmed in his office by the new great khan and last Yuan emperor Toghon Temür on 19 July 1333.
At the beginning his authority as imperial preceptor was recognized in Tibet. This is seen by a set of religious rules that he issued in the great temple of Dadu in May 1336.
A document preserved in the Zhalu Monastery in 1348 shows that he still had a say in Tibetan affairs at that time.
However, he stayed in Dadu until his death in 1358 and was unable to interfere directly in the civil war that emerged from 1346. As Changchub Gyaltsen got the upper hand he managed to dominate Ü (East Central Tibet) by c. 1350. During all these events, Changchub Gyaltsen continued to formally adhere to the Yuan Dynasty and received the title Tai Situ from the great khan.
When Kunga Gyaltsen died in Dadu in the same year, no successor was appointed for some years.