Alchi Gompa;  Alchi Monastery

It is a Buddhist monastic complex of temples in Alchi village in Leh district of Ladakh.

Alchi, a Buddhist monastic complex (chos-’khor), is located on the left bank of the Indus River at an altitude of 3,100 m and at a distance of 65 km to the west of Leh in Ladakh. The monastery (gompa) has three major shrines and two chörtens: the Dukhang (Main Temple), the Sumtsek (Three-Storey Temple), the Jampel Lhakhang (Temple of Mañjuśrī), the Great Chörten, and the Small Chörten – all belonging to the period from the middle of the twelfth century to the first quarter of the thirteenth century. Other than these, the Alchi complex also has two other important temples, viz., the Lotsabha Lhakhang (the Translator’s Temple) and the Lhakhang Soma (New Temple). These two temples are later additions. In addition, the towerlike structures flanking the Dukhang belong to an early phase of the gompa. The Alchi complex houses some of the most fascinating images and paintings of Buddhist art in the Himalayas which are considered as of “unique style and workmanship.” The entire gompa is in a rather dilapidated condition except for the pillars and the wood carvings on the doors.

According to a local tradition, the monastic complex of Alchi was built by the great scholar-translator Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055 C.E.). Zangpo is said to have engaged Kashmiri artists to create wall paintings and sculptures in the legendary 108 monasteries; only a few of these have survived, with the Alchi Monastery complex in Ladakh having pride of place among all monasteries that he built. However, inscriptions in the preserved monuments ascribe it to Kaldan Sherab, a Tibetan nobleman who lived in the eleventh century. Despite many inscriptions and texts displayed on the walls, it has not been possible to document the precise history of the monuments in the Alchi complex. In the absence of historical background, the only thing that can be said with some amount of certainty is that Alchi was part of a small kingdom ruled by members of the Dro-clan, a clan of Central Tibetan origin. This kingdom defined itself as part of Tibet in general and West Tibet in particular. The founders of the Dukhang and the Sumtsek, which are built in Kashmiri style, were monks of the Dro-clan who received their monastic instructions at Nyarma, a site near the Thikse Gompa which is in complete ruins now.

The Dukhang is the largest structure and is at the heart of the monastic complex. Though many additions were made to the ancient structure during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, the original wooden door frame is retained. The hall can be approached through the colonnaded veranda from a front courtyard. Frescoes of one thousand buddhas are portrayed in the walkway. The Wheel of Life and Mahākala are depicted at the outer gate. The walls of the Dukhang are painted with six different maṇḍalas that surround the four-headed Vairocana, the main deity worshipped in the hall. Vairocana is flanked by four goddesses and a number of offering deities in clay.

The Jampel Lhakhang was a free-standing structure until the Lotsabha Lhakhang was attached to its left-hand side wall. The original shape of the temple is quite unusual in the sense that it was essentially built around the four central images of Mañjuśrī seated on a common platform. These four images of Mañjuśrī are seated back to back in an intricate common frame surrounded by animals, gods, and symbols and also topped by the embellished scrolls springing from the tails of the makaras. Each of the four images is single headed with four arms that are adorned with a sword, a book on top of a lotus, a bow, and an arrow (see Fig. 1 depicting about 1,000 miniatures of Mañjuśrī).

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The Sumtsek, a three-storeyed building, though small, was built with loam and natural stone (reflected in the bland exterior) in the Tibetan building tradition. However, the luxuriant woodwork columns, façades, walls, clay images, and paintings in the interior of the gompa were made by Kashmiri artists. The Sumtsek can be dated to ca. 1200–1220 C.E. on the basis of a lineage of identified teachers on the entrance wall of the third floor. It is dedicated to a triad of standing bodhisattvas (Maitreya (Fig. 2) flanked by the images of Avalokiteśvara (Fig. 3) to its right and Mañjuśrī (Fig. 4) to its left) and associated deities (four in each niche) with flying goddesses (two in each niche). These three bodhisattvas represent the Buddhist concepts of compassion, hope, and wisdom. Except for the main wooden door on the top floor, which is more or less derelict, the rest of the Sumtsek is well preserved in its original form. A remarkable feature of the sophisticated drapery (dhotis) worn by the deities is the exhibition of various themes printed in different textile patterns. Maitreya’s dhoti portrays the biography of the Buddha, Avalokiteśvara’s dhoti (Fig. 5) displays sacred places as well as royal palaces, and Manjuśrī’s dhoti has 84 mahāsiddhas printed on it. Each of the deities is associated with a different Buddha. For instance, Maitreya has a five-buddha crown representing Vairocana. Avalokiteśvara’s crown represents Amitābha (see Fig. 6: Red Amitābha in Samādhi Mudrā), and Manjuśrī’s crown represents Akṣobhya (Fig. 7).

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Prajñāpāramitā (Fig. 8) and Tārā (Fig. 9) are two other important deities depicted prominently at Alchi. The Great Chörten and the Small Chörten, dateable to the early thirteenth century, are the earliest recorded chörtens. When worship at Alchi Gompa stopped for some reason in the fifteenth century, it came under the Gelug-pa sect controlled from Likir – an arrangement that continues in the present times.

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 Avalokiteśvara

 Bodhisattva

 Buddha (Concept)

 Mañjuśrī