Alchi Monastery

Alchi Monastery
Alchi Monastery
	Alchi Monastery
Religion
Affiliation	Tibetan Buddhism
Location
Location	Alchi, Leh District, Ladakh, India
	Location in Ladakh Alchi Monastery (Ladakh)
Geographic coordinates	34°13′N 77°10′E / 34.217°N 77.167°E
Architecture
Style	Tibetan Architecture
Founder	Rinchen Zangpo (958-1055 CE)

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Alchi Monastery (Tibetan: ཨ་ལྕི་ཆོས་འཁོར།) or Alchi Gompa (Tibetan: ཨ་ལྕི་དགོམ་པ།, also Alci) is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, known more as a monastic complex (chos-'khor) of temples in Alchi village in the Leh District, under the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council of the Ladakh Union Territory. The complex comprises four separate settlements in the Alchi village in the lower Ladakh region with monuments dated to different periods. Of these four hamlets, Alchi monastery is said to be the oldest and most famous. It is administered by the Likir Monastery.^[1]^[2]^[3] It is 60 west of Leh on Leh-Kargil Highway.

Alchi is also part of the three villages (all in lower Ladakh region) which constitute the ‘Alchi group of monuments’; the other two villages adjoining Alchi are the Mangyu and Sumda Chun. The monuments in these three villages are stated to be of "unique style and workmanship’, but the Alchi monastic complex is the best known.^[1]^[2]

The monastery complex was built, according to local tradition, by the great translator Guru Rinchen Zangpo between 958 and 1055. However, inscriptions in the preserved monuments ascribe it to a Tibetan noble called Kal-dan Shes-rab later in the 11th century.^[2]^[4] Dukhang or Assembly Hall and the Main Temple (gTsug-lag-khang), which is a three-storied temple called the Sumtseg (gSum-brtsegs, literally 'three-storied'), are built in the Kashmiri style as seen in many monasteries; the third temple is called the Manjushri Temple ('Jam-dpal lHa-khang). Chortens are also an important part of the complex.^[1]^[2]

The artistic and spiritual details of both Buddhist and the Hindu kings of the time in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are reflected in the wall paintings in the monastery. These are some of the oldest surviving paintings in Ladakh. The complex also has huge statues of the Buddha and elaborate wood carvings and art-work comparable to the baroque style.^[2]^[5] Shakti Maira has vividly explained the beauty of this small monastery.^[6]

^ ^a ^b ^c Luczanits, Christian (2004). Buddhist sculpture in clay: early western Himalayan art, late 10th to early ... Serindia Publications, Inc. pp. 125–127. ISBN 1-932476-02-4. Retrieved 21 January 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Benoy K. Behl (23 October – 5 November 2004). "Trans-Himalayan Murals". The Front Line: The Hindu. Vol. 21, no. 22. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
^ "Alchi Monastery: Chos-'khor". Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
^ Rizvi (1996), p. 243.
^ Schettler, Margaret & Rolf. (1981), p. 104.
^ Cite error: The named reference high was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Luczanits-1] Luczanits, Christian (2004). Buddhist sculpture in clay: early western Himalayan art, late 10th to early ... Serindia Publications, Inc. pp. 125–127. ISBN 1-932476-02-4. Retrieved 21 January 2010. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)

[Behl-2] Benoy K. Behl (23 October – 5 November 2004). "Trans-Himalayan Murals". The Front Line: The Hindu. Vol. 21, no. 22. Archived from the original on 29 January 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2010.

[choskor-3] "Alchi Monastery: Chos-'khor". Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 20 January 2010.

[4] Rizvi (1996), p. 243.

[Schettler,_Margaret_1981_p._104-5] Schettler, Margaret & Rolf. (1981), p. 104.

[high-6] Cite error: The named reference high was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

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