Gondhla
| Gandhola Monastery | |
|---|---|
 Gandhola Gompa, 2004. | |
| Religion | |
| Affiliation | Tibetan Buddhism |
| Sect | Drukpa Lineage |
| Deity | Padmasambhava |
| Location | |
| Location | Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India |
| Country | India |
| Geographic coordinates | 32°4′48″N 76°00′15″E / 32.08000°N 76.00417°E |
| Architecture | |
| Date established | 8th century; probably earlier |
| Part of a series on |
| Tibetan Buddhism |
|---|
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Gondhla (also called Gaṅdolā, Gandhola, Gondla, Kundlah) is a village located in the Lahaul and Spiti district, Himachal Pradesh, India. It is located about 18 kilometres (11 mi) before Keylong in on the road from Manali, Himachal Pradesh, and lies at 3,160 m (10,370 ft) above sea level. It is located on a hill above Tupchiling Village at the sacred junction of the Chandra and Bhaga rivers, which together form the Chenab River.[1][2] The village is famous for the Guru Ghantal monastery and the Gondhla fort.
History
[edit]Monastery
[edit]The monastery is said to have been founded by Padmasambhava in the 8th century.[3] It is now connected with the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, but its history long precedes the formation of that sect. According to local tradition and also the terma, the Padma bka'i thang, discovered in 1326 in the Yarlung Valley by Urgyan Lingpa, the site was associated with Padmasambhava.[4] But the site was a Buddhist establishment even earlier than that:
A chased copper goblet dated to the first century BCE was found here in 1857 by a Major Hay and is considered to be evidence of Buddhist monks' cells being located in a cave monastery at that time. The frieze on the vase denotes a chariot procession and is considered one of the oldest examples of metalwork to be decorated in this way in India. Known as the Kulu Vase, it is now kept in the British Museum.[5] A damaged marble head of Avalokiteśvara also found here, is kept in the Guru Ghantal Monastery itself, and is claimed to date back to the time of Nagarjuna in the second century.[6] This seems to be the only monastery in the region other than Sani Monastery in Zanskar which has a history which is claimed to go back to the era of the Kushan Empire.
There is also a black stone image of the goddess Vajreśvarī Devī (Wylie: rdo rje lha mo), and a wooden statue of the Buddha said to have been installed by the monk Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055), a famous lotsawa (translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts).
The monastery was originally probably a larger complex of purely Indian style of which nothing now remains. The present structure is two-storied, 17.3 x 11.6 metres facing the northwest. The Assembly Hall or Wylie: 'du khang is on the ground floor. In 1959 the monastery underwent extensive repairs and a small pagoda roof of Kangra slates was added in a rather haphazard manner, which is surrounded by the mud roof which covers the monks' cells and kitchen on the second floor.[7]
The monastery has distinctive wooden (as opposed to clay) idols of Padmasambhava, Brijeshwari Devi and several other lamas.[8]
About 800 years have elapsed [by 1885 when the account was recorded] since Rānā Nīl Chand came from Kolong in the district of Bangāl to settle in Lāhul. At the same time Ṭhākur Ratan Pāl of the Pāl family, a resident of Gond in Bangāl, came to Lāhul and settled in Tīnan, and named Tīnan Gondala after his first place of residence; and of his family at the present time Ṭhākur Hīrā Chand is alive and the holder of the jāgīr of Gondala."[9]
Gondhla, like all the Drukpa monasteries in Ladakh and Lahaul and Spiti, owes allegiance to the 12th Gyalwang Drukpa, abbot of Hemis Monastery in Ladakh, who, in turn, owes allegiance to the head of the order in Bhutan.[10]
Gondhla fort
[edit]Gondhla is also famous for its seven-story fort, built in the Kathkuni style of Pahadi architecture, with alternating layers of stone and timber.[11] This fort was built around 1700 A.D. by Raja Man Singh of Kullu (who ruled over 1688-1719), after marrying the daughter of Gondhla's Thakur. The Thakurs of Gondhla were the regents of the Kullu Rajas in one part of Lahaul. The fort is now in disuse, but stores old weaponry, furniture, and many holy objects, such as thangkas, scriptures, and family deities of the Thakurs of Gondhla.[12][13][14][15][16]
Gallery
[edit]-
Gondhla Gompa altar -
GondhlaṬhākur's seven-storey tower fort -
Gondhla Gompa door. -
Padmasambhava statue - Gondhla Monastery. -
Kulu Vase, discovered in the Monastery, now displayed in the British Museum -
A small statue of Guru Rinpoche/Padmasambhava statue at Gondhla in 2010.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ Francke (1926), Vol. II, pp. 211, 215, 223.
- ^ "Lahaul and Spiti Tourism:Monasteries". District Lahaul & Spiti. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ Francke (1926), Vol. II, pp. 211, 215, 223.
- ^ Handa (1987), pp. 57, 69, 75-77.
- ^ British Museum Highlights
- ^ Handa (1987), pp. 50-52.
- ^ Handa (1987), pp. 75-77.
- ^ "Lahaul and Spiti Tourism:Monasteries". District Lahaul & Spiti. Archived from the original on 7 April 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2010.
- ^ Francke (1926), Vol. II, p. 203.
- ^ Rose, H. A., et al. (1911), p. 249.
- ^ Mansingka, Shubham MansingkaShubham. "Tower fort of Gondhla". The Times of India. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
- ^ Hāṇḍā, Omacanda (2001). Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples. Indus Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7387-115-3.
- ^ Brentnall, Mark (2004). The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh. Indus Publishing. ISBN 978-81-7387-163-4.
- ^ Ghosh, Tapash Kumar (2002). A Profile of the Himalayan Lahaula. Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India. ISBN 978-81-85579-52-8.
- ^ Sahni, Ram Nath (1994). Lahoul, the Mystery Land in the Himalayas. Indus Publishing Company. ISBN 978-81-7387-017-0.
- ^ Shabab, Dilaram (26 February 2019). Kullu: The Valley of Gods. Hay House, Inc. ISBN 978-93-86832-92-4.
References
[edit]- Handa, O. C. (1987). Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. ISBN 81-85182-03-5.
- Kapadia, Harish. (1999). Spiti: Adventures in the Trans-Himalaya. Second Edition. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. ISBN 81-7387-093-4.
- Janet Rizvi. (1996). Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. ISBN 0-19-564546-4.
- Cunningham, Alexander. (1854). LADĀK: Physical, Statistical, and Historical with Notices of the Surrounding Countries. London. Reprint: Sagar Publications (1977).
- Francke, A. H. (1977). A History of Ladakh. (Originally published as, A History of Western Tibet, (1907). 1977 Edition with critical introduction and annotations by S. S. Gergan & F. M. Hassnain. Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
- Francke, A. H. (1914, 1926). Antiquities of Indian Tibet. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.
- Rose, H. A., et al. (1911). Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province. Reprint 1990. Asian Educational Services. ISBN 978-81-206-0505-3.
- Sarina Singh, et al. India. (2007). 12th Edition. Lonely Planet. ISBN 978-1-74104-308-2.