Location: 70 km (44 mi) West of Leh, Leh district Map
Constructed: early 11th century by Rinchen Zangpo
Leh tourist
office (01982)252 297
Open: daily
Book ahead before you take a
trip to a monastery
Alchi Monastery or Alchi Gompa is a Buddhist monastery, more
precisely, a famous temple complex (chos 'khor; chhoy khor) in
the village of Alchi in the Leh district, in Ladakh, India. The
monastery is considered to be four temples of different periods
surrounding the village of Alchi, Alchi Gompa is the oldest and
largest building. The monastery is subordinate to the abbot of
Likir-Gompa.
Alchi is part of a group of villages (all in
lower Ladakh) that make up the "Alchi Group of Monuments"; that
is, Alchi is adjacent to Mangdu and Sundang Chung (now it is the
Zanskar district). The monuments of these villages are unique in
style and craftsmanship, but the Alchi Gompa complex is better
explored.
It is traditionally believed that the monastery
was built by the great lama (guru) Rinchen Sanpo (958-1055). The
monastic records also mention the Tibetan aristocrat Kaldan
Sherab, who lived in the middle of the 11th century; some
researchers consider him the founder. Dukhang or Assembly Hall
and Main Temple (gtsug lag khang, tsuklaghang-vihara), with an
attached three-storey Sumtseg temple (gSum-brtsegs), built in
the old Kashmiri style; The third temple is the temple of
Manjushri (“Tib., Wiley jam dpal lha khang”; Jampal lhakhang).
Chorten is an important part of the complex.
The artistic
and spiritual features of Buddhism and Hinduism intertwined
under the Kashmiri kings, as a result of which the murals of the
monastery are especially interesting. The frescoes of the
monastery are the oldest in Ladakh. The complex includes a huge
Buddha statue, wood carvings and decor comparable to the Baroque
style. Shakti Maira has compiled an excellent description of the
monastery.
The exact history of Alchi and the two neighboring villages has not
yet been compiled, although many inscriptions on the monastery walls
date back to the first years of its existence.
Traditionally, the
foundation of the monastery is associated with the great Rinchen Sanpo
(958-1055), who also founded Lamayuru, Wanla, Mangyu and Sumda. In the
tenth century, the Tibetan king, Yeshe Od of Guge, strongly sided with
Buddhism and sent 21 scholars to spread the dharma in the region. Of
these, only two survived, one of them was the Tibetan Rinchen Sanpo, who
successfully spread the dharma in Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh and Sikkim.
He also visited Nepal, Bhutan and Tibet. Sanpo received the title
"Lotsava", that is, "Great Translator"; he is believed to have founded
108 monasteries in the Trans-Himalayas. These monasteries became the
stronghold of the Vajrayana in the form of Tibetan Buddhism. It is
indicated that Sanpo invited Kashmiri masters to paint the monastery
frescoes, most of which have now been destroyed, but the frescoes of
Alchi have been excellently preserved.
For a long time the
monastery lived on the basis of self-government and was not formally
included in any of the schools, but later it was taken under the
patronage of the Kadampa school. When the influence of the monastery
declined, it was subordinated to the Gelug school, many monasteries in
the region fell under the influence of the Gelug, although Lamayuru
became Drikung. In the 15th century, rituals in Alchi ceased to be
carried out, and it was controlled from the Likir Gompa.
Alchi stands on the young bank of the Indus at an altitude of 3250 m and 65 km from Leh (to the west). Leh can be reached by plane from Delhi. The road to Leh begins in Manali, from May-June to October you can move freely along it, but in winter it is covered with snow. At this altitude, it often rains in summer. There are three more villages near Alchi. The monastery complex stands apart from the village.
The three main shrines in the complex, Dukhang (Assembly Hall),
Sumtseg and Manjushri Temple, date from the early 12th to early 13th
century AD. e.. Stupas also play an important role. In addition, there
are two more temples, the Temple of the Translator, i.e. "Lotsawa
Lhakhang" and the new temple "Lakhang Soma".
Hinduism and
Buddhism were equally revered in old Kashmir, so Alchi, built by the
Kashmiris, bears the imprint of this style. The complex contains the
oldest frescoes in Ladakh, a huge statue of the Buddha, and "the decor
and wood carvings are almost baroque." Shakti Maira describes the
beauties of the monastery as "stylistically an eclectic mixture of
Tibetan and Kashmiri faces and robes."
The assembly hall is located in the center of the monastery, where rituals and ceremonies are performed. It is large and ancient, ancient wooden doors have been preserved. Many details have remained unchanged since the XII-XIII centuries. The hall of columns leads to the courtyard, in the aisle there are frescoes with 1000 buddhas. Bhavacakra (Wheel of Life) and Mahakala are depicted on the outer gate. The walls of the Hall are dedicated to the Buddha (Tathagata), depict 6 mandalas surrounding Vairochana, Dukhang is dedicated to him. Among the mandalas are Buddhas, bodhisattvas, goddesses, wrathful deities and Dharma Protectors, as well as minor deities.
Alchi-Sumtses is one of the most interesting structures of the
complex, but it is not clear why it is needed. Sumtses/Sumtseg (gsum
brtsegs) - meaning "three-storeyed", consists of three small halls built
of clay and natural stone in the traditional Tibetan style. Although,
magnificent columns, facades, walls, interior frescoes are made by
Kashmiri masters. The doors to the shrine on the first floor are 5.4 x
5.8 meters with niches 2.1-2.7 meters wide and 4 meters high (they are
larger in the front wall than in the side walls). In the niches there
are images of three Bodhisattvas (they are standing, 4 meters high) and
around there are minor deities (four in each niche) and two flying
goddesses in each niche. Sumtses was built at the beginning of the 13th
century and has been perfectly preserved since then, except for the
doors on the top floor, which have rotted away. The second floor has a
balcony with a lamp. Maitreya, 4.63 meters high, is depicted on the back
wall, Avalokiteshvara to his right, Manjushri to his left. Drapery
(dhoti) worn on statues of deities is interesting; Maitreya's dhoti
depicts the life of the Buddha, Avalokiteshvara's dhoti depicts holy
places and palaces, and Manjushri's dhoti depicts 84 Mahasiddhas.
Deities were depicted mainly in one-headed and four-handed form, they
correspond to Dhyani-Buddhas. Maitreya represents Vairochana.
Avalokitesvara is represented by Amitabha and Manjushri Akshobhya. The
inscriptions indicate that these images hold relics of the speech and
mind of the three bodies of the Buddha, Maitreya personifies the body of
reality, Avalokiteshvara the body of bliss and Manjushri the body of
emanation. To simplify, it is Compassion, Hope and Wisdom.
In
addition, the life of Buddha Shakyamuni is embroidered on the dhoti,
but, this is the only known case, in reverse order. The medallions on
the fabric are embroidered in red, each 15 cm long, on a blue
background. The 48 scenes represent 41 episodes, 5 sermons, and two
scenes of panrinirvana, all in reverse order from the ascension to
Tushita to the first sermon in Sarnath.
According to the records,
it can be determined that the upper floor was built under Drigungpa
Jigten Gonpo (1143-1217), the poet Semtses dates back to the beginning
of the 13th century.
From the analysis of the murals and their comparison with other
buildings, it can be concluded that the temple was built around 1225.
The Manjushri temple, or "Jampe Lhakhang", is built around four images
of Manjushri (they are back to back) in the middle of a platform in a
courtyard of 5.7 meters. Four pillars support the image, at the top they
are criss-crossed with the beams of the ceiling. The painting is similar
to Semces, but worse in quality. The temple stands close to the Indus
and is not very well preserved, except for the columns, wood carvings
and doors. The Temple of Lotsava was added on the left much later. The
image of Manjushri has been altered several times, including a recent
painting. The image is somewhat non-standard, since Manjushri is not
painted in the usual orange, but in various colors. It is surrounded by
gods, animals, and an intricate ornament of the tails of the monster
Makar, which creates a very frightening image.
Each of the four
images is one-headed and four-armed, one hand clutches a sword, the
other a book on top of a lotus, a bow and an arrow. The walls are
decorated with Buddha images. Manjushri is depicted on the main wall, he
sits on a lion throne; one of the camps is decorated with the image of
Amitabha on the right and Akshobhya on the left. These images surround
Manjushri depicted in a niche in the center of the wall. Manjushri is
decorated with jewels (pearls and other stones) and a crown of flowers.
At the base of Manjushri's throne, holy symbols are depicted: "Seven
Jewels" and "Eight Auspicious Symbols" (around the lion) are enclosed in
square frames, which is characteristic. The top of the throne is
decorated with stylized images of Makar.
Stupas
The oldest -
the Great and Small Chorten (stupa) date back to the beginning of the
13th century, but later than Sumtses. Chortens have decorative gates or
"Kakani Chorten" ("Tib., wyli Ka ka ni mchod rten"), which is unique in
monastic architecture. Many chortens were built between the 13th and
14th century. In Alchi there are three more chortens with ancient
images.