Pelden Gyeltshen was born in village Dangkhar, the then capital of the Spiti valley (in present-day Himachal Pradesh, India).
Pelden Gyeltsen went to Lhasa for his monastic education, where he studied at Ngari Dratsang and the Gyume College.
Ganden Tripa is the appointed head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism.
Pelden Gyeltshen served his term as Ganden Tripa from 1655 till 1662.
After Pelden Gyeltshen's death, a silver chorten was installed as a reliquary for his remains at the Ganden monastery near Lhasa.