Simbiling Monastery, also known as Shambuling

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa or Gumba ("Five Breathtaking Gumbas Around Kathmandu", ''OMG Nepal'', https://omgnepal.com/five-breathtaking-gumbas-around-kathmandu/ "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (, "island"), is a sacred Buddhist ...

, Shepeling

Dzong Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery (, , ) architectural style, architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of ...

and Taklakot Gompa, was located next to the large fort of Tegla Kar (Lying Tiger Fort) on a ridge near

Taklakot Purang or Burang (,, zh, s=普兰镇), is a Towns of China, town which serves as the administrative center of Purang County, Ngari Prefecture of the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR), China. The town lies at an altitude of 3,900m (12,795 feet) in ...

, above the town of Purang, in the Ngari province, which is just over the border from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, in western Tibet in the valley of the

Karnali River Karnali may refer to: Places in Nepal * Karnali Bridge, a bridge over the Karnali River in Nepal * Karnali Highway, a vital transport link in Nepal * Karnali Province, a federal province in Nepal * Karnali River also known as Ghaghara and Sarayu, ...

, which is known in Tibet as the Mapchchu Khambab - the 'Peacock Mouth River' or 'River Formed from the Mouth of a Peacock'. It was set above a ridge of cave dwellings, high above the town, about 15 km to the east of the

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depict ...

Khorzhak Monastery which has survived, and been restored. In 1841,

General Zorawar Singh Zorawar Singh (1784–12 December 1841) was a military general of the Dogra Rajput ruler, Gulab Singh, who served as the Raja of Jammu under the Sikh Empire. He was born in the Chandel Rajput family in the princely state of Kahlur (Bilasp ...

, the commander-in-chief of the

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

forces, after conquering almost all of Ladakh and much of Western Tibet, including

Mount Kailash Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; ; ; , ) is a mountain in Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It lies in the Kailash Range (Gangdisê Mountains) of the Transhimalaya, in the western part ...

, and lakes

Mansarowar Lake Manasarovar also called Mapam Yumtso (; ) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. It is located at an elevation of , near the western trijunction be ...

and Rakas Tal, and all the territory from Ladakh to the Mayum Pass, east of Mansarowar, from where the road lead temptingly on to

Shigatse Shigatse, officially known as Xigazê () or Rikaze ( zh, s=日喀则, p=Rìkāzé), is a prefecture-level city of the Tibet Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China. Its area of jurisdiction, with an area of , corresponds to the histo ...

and

Lhasa Lhasa, officially the Chengguan District of Lhasa City, is the inner urban district of Lhasa (city), Lhasa City, Tibet Autonomous Region, Southwestern China. Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining ...

, backed by a garrison he had stationed at the strategically important Shepeling ''dzong''. He was, however, killed the next year fighting a large Tibetan force, bringing to an end

Gulab Singh Maharaja Gulab Singh Jamwal (1792–1857) was the first Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir and the founder of the Dogra dynasty. Originally a commander of the Sikh Empire, he sided with the British in the First Anglo-Sikh War and briefly became ...

's dream of an extensive Dogra empire including large sections of Tibet. Simbiling Monastery had over 100 rooms and was inhabited by several hundred

Gelugpa 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India) The Gelug (, also Geluk; 'virtuous')Kay, David N. (20 ...

monks. There was also a fort which was the residence of the regional administrator, and a smaller Sakya monastery in the complex. They were all completely flattened by Chinese

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

in 1967. In 2003, work was begun to rebuild Shambuling Monastery by Trugo Lama, Lobsang Samten, and there are now a few monks there. The present Chinese military garrison and cantonment is just across the Karnali river northeast from the ruined fort and monasteries. The town centre and some ancient ruins are also on this side of the river, which runs right through the town. The route to

heads to the northwest, while the new pilgrim route to India over the

Lipu-Lekh Pass The Lipulekh Pass () is a Himalayan pass on the border between Uttarakhand, India and the Tibet region of China, near their trijunction with Nepal. Nepal has had ongoing claims to the southern side of the pass, called Kalapani territory, ...

, heads southwest, while the route to Khorzhak Monastery and Nepal leaves town heading east. The temple complex and ''dzong'', or 'fort', were above a temple now belonging to the Gelug sect, called 'Tsegu Gompa' or the "Nine-Story Monastery" which was probably originally a

Bon Bon or Bön (), also known as Yungdrung Bon (, ), is the indigenous Tibetan religion which shares many similarities and influences with Tibetan Buddhism.Samuel 2012, pp. 220–221. It initially developed in the tenth and eleventh centuries but ...

establishment. Tsegu covers many terraces and may be reached by ladders.''Tibet Handbook'', p. 351. (1999). Edited by Sarah Thorowgood. Passport Books, Chicago. .

References

External links

Purang: a region joining Tibet, Nepal, and India
{{Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist temples in Tibet Gelug monasteries Sakya monasteries and temples Bon