Marpa Chökyi Lodrö (མར་པ་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས་, 1012–1097), was born in Lhotrak Chukhyer in the southern district of Tibet, to an affluent family. From birth, Marpa displayed strong energies; powerful in presence but possesses wild and untamed character compared to other children.

Owing to Marpa aggressiveness and fearful appearance, and the resultant unpopularity in his village, he was sent off to be trained in the Dharma. At age twelve, he studied under the renowned Buddhist master Drokmi Lotsāwa (卓彌譯師) (བྲོག་མི་ལོ་ཙཱ་བ་ཤཱཀྱ་ཡེ་ཤེས་), the Translator. Under Drokmi guidance, Marpa learned Tibetan writing, reading, poetry, drama, and mastered not only the Tibetan language but in the Sanskrit language.