Lahul-Spiti in Himachal Pradesh is culturally and religiously a fascinating district to tap the ancient history of the once lost kingdom of Guge and Purang of the 10th century. In 900 A.D., Skyid-lde-nyi- ma-mgon, a direct descendant of the first King of Tibet, Gnya-khri- bstan-po,  ruled  over Western Tibet  and  divided  the  areas  of  Mar- yul  (Ladakh),  Guge  and  Purang,  and  Zangskar  between  his  three sons. The eldest son, Dpal-gyi-mgon (1000-1025 A.D.), became the first king of Ladakh. His second son Bkra-shis-mgon, inherited Guge and Purang, and his third son, lDe-gtsug-mgon, inherited Zangskar.

The king of Purang and Guge, Bkra-shis-mgon, had two sons, Kho- re and Srong-nge, and both of them showed a profound devotion to religion and subsequently entered the priesthood. The elder became renowned as Lha-blama Ye-shes-Od and emerged as a great patron of Buddhism and according to available sources, Lha-bla Ye-shes- Od  patronized  the  religious  activities  of  Rin-chen-bzang-po,  who founded the world famous Tabo monastery of Spiti valley. In those days Kinnaur, Spiti, Lahul, Zangskar and Ladakh together formed a single cultural sphere.

In the last week of August 2017, my wife and I, visited the region on a pilgrimage-cum-cultural tour to the Lahul-Spiti in my personal car. We drove all the way from Leh and covered a distance of 450km.

Upon  arrival  in  Keylong,  I  became  the  guest  of Ashok  Thakur,  a former IAS officer and the owner of Gemoor Khar, or palace. Ashok Thakur  is  the  son  of  Col.  Khushal  Chand  MVC  and  grandson  of Thakur  Mangal  Chand.  This  family  played  a  very  crucial  role  in saving Ladakh when raiders from Pakistan attacked Ladakh in 1948.

Major  Thakur  Khushal  Chand,  the  elder  son  of  Thakur  Mangal Chand, along with his cousin Major Thakur Prithi Chand and another close relative Subedar Thakur Bhim Chand, were specially selected by General K. S. Thimayya, and sent to Ladakh to defend the region.

The Thakurs had strong bonds with Ladakh as they married into its royal family and shared a common language and culture. Even today the Rani and Ex MP of Ladakh, Diskit Wangmo, is from this family and the Rinpoche of Rizong Gonpa in Ladakh, Tsultim Nima, is the eldest grandson of Mangal Chand, who, through guerrilla tactics kept the enemy at bay till reinforcements reached Ladakh. For their acts of bravery both of them were decorated with the Mahavir Chakra, the  second  highest  war-time  gallantry  award  in  the  country.

Bhim Chand was awarded Bar to his Vir Chakra. Hari Chand who commanded the Indian force, along with Col. Prithi Chand, pushed back the tribal invaders who were supported by Pakistani forces. In the lobby of the guesthouse we saw some of the old photographs of Ladakh  as  well  as  of  the  Moravian  missionaries  who  carried  on extensive socio-cultural as well as literary activities both in Lahul and  Ladakh. About  the  old  Gemoor  Khar,  it  is  said  that  the  same was badly damaged in an earthquake in the year, 1986, and the estate in  its  present  form  was  built  in  2003  to  carry  on  its  tradition  of hospitality  and  warmth  for  visiting  travelers.  In  the  evening  we discussed Ladakh and its culture, as Ashok Thakur was the cousin brother of the Queen of Ladakh.

Next  morning  we  visited  the  five-storey  old  palace  known  as Khangsar  Khar,  the  palace  where  the  Queen  mother  of  Ladakh, Diskit Wangmo, was born. The building is standing in its dignified form on a sloping land facing the valley of Keylong. Unfortunately, at present the five story palace is in shambles, but the chambers are in good shape, made with pillars of juniper tree and window panels and doors carved in the local style, a great example of traditional Himalayan  architecture,  with  certain  features  similar  to  the  nine- storey palace of Leh. The palace, I realized, could be turned into a historical monument for tourists visiting the area during the summer.

The palace at present is used only by the laborers who work on the large track of farmland belonging the family, who have now moved from Keylong to Manali.

Our  next  destination  was  to  Phagspa,  locally  known  as Triloknath, near Udaipur, approximately 45 km from Keylong. The name Phagspa corresponds to the Ladakhi name Karja Phagspa, the abode  of  Lord Avalokitesvara,  the  Buddha  of  Compassion.  In  the temple, one can see an approximately three-feet high marble statue of Avalokeitisvara, adorned with Bodhisattva Amitabha on its head.

Among the five Dhayani Buddhas, Amitabha is usually addressed as the Buddha of the West. According to popular Buddhist belief, in  Himachal  and  Ladakh  there  are  three  marble  statues  of Avalokeitisvara,  the  first  being  the  Phagspa. The  other  two  are  in Ladakh, namely the Avalokeitisvara of Timosgam Palace in lower Ladakh  and  Stakna  Gonpa  near  Leh.  The  Phagspa  temple  near Udaipur  is  a  well-maintained  one  by  the  Buddhist  population  of Udaipur and nearby villages. Some Buddhist monks, and the local temple  management  serve  food  to  the  devotees.  Interestingly,  via Udaipur, a road leads to Kistawar in Jammu. But to visit Phagspa, or Trilokinath, one has to take right on the road and must cross a bridge on the Chenab River.

After the visit we drove back to Keylong and reached a junction called Tandi, where one crosses the bridge on the Bhaga, the river flowing through Keylong. From the left, the River Chandra flows in, merging at the junction called Tandi or Sumdo, and then turns into a single entity known as the Chenab River flowing west towards Udaipur.

From  Tandi,  the  road  leads  towards  Rohtang  pass  and  after driving for 30 km we get to a place called Khoksar. Here at Khoksar, a diversion leads to Kaza, the headquarter of Spiti valley, and then follows the flow of the Chandra River [the Chandra river originates from Chandra Tal, a holy lake near the Kunzum–La (pass)]. The road leads through a steep mountain valley and goes higher and higher, and after driving for about 30 kms the road enters ravine and gorge popularly called the Dhoni-nallah, the gorge which one must cross before the water level rises by evening. Unfortunately, by the time we get there it was almost dark and the water flow was already much higher than the road, hence the rough road covered with boulder was untraceable. A load carrier truck coming from other side and who was able to cross the gorge advised us to return back to Keylong or wait till the water flow reside. By listening to the suggestions of the drivers we decided to spend the night beside the nallah. It was our good luck that an Israeli couple who sought a lift in my car became traveling companions. Only in the morning did we find ourselves sleeping on a very high pass! But the water level had by then dropped to a low level and a Tata Safari car managed to cross the gorge.

It is pertinent to mention here that the road coming from Khoksar to Kaza seems to be the lifeline of the people residing in the Spiti valley.  Manali  is  less  than  two  hundred  km,  hence  the  road  is  a desirable one for commuters to get to Manali, Keylong, or even to Leh.  Unfortunately,  the  road  is  often  in  shambles,  though  it  is maintained  by  the  Border  Roads  Organization.  Upon  arriving  at Losar,  the  first  major  village  in  Spiti  on  Khoksar-Spiti  road,  I verbally lodged a complaint with one of the In-Charge officers at the  Losar  station  of  BRO.  He  admitted  that  there  is  a  problem  at the Dhoni Nallah area on the road and he was aware of the situation, but  he  said  that  same  area  is  maintained  by  the  93rd  company  of BRO whose headquarter is in Keylong. Certainly, the authority of the BRO needs to take note of the condition of the road. Between Khoksar and Losar, for 200 kms there is no habitation.

In spite of the suggestion by some drivers with whom we talked about  the  road  condition  and  their  advice  to  us  not  to  venture  on the road with our small WagonR car, we still dared to proceed ahead and after climbing and descending passes we crossed a bridge on the Chandra River and landed at a place called Chattru, where we found some Dhabas to eat breakfast. Getting to Chattru gave some kind of relief to us, as the people familiar with the road told us that now onward the road is in better condition. From Chattru, the road goes along the left hand side of the valley and, comparatively, we found the road as well as the valley more open till we reach the base camp of Kunzom-la, the highest pass on the way to Kaza. From here, an adjoining road goes toward Chandra Tal, a holy lake. Since our destination was Kaza, we began the ascent of the Kunzom–la, 4551 meter-high pass.

Upon getting to the top of Kunzom-la, we found the summit large and  open  and  the  view  of  the  surrounding  mountain  passes  were spectacular and breathtaking. Here, we visited a temple of the local guardian deity and few chorten and prayer flags flying high. After spending some minutes we started descending and soon we reached the first village of the valley called Losar. At Losar we had a proper lunch in a restaurant and took rest. The village itself was wide and the farmers, we observed, were engaged in harvesting crops. From here, the road to Kaza passes through various villages such as Hansa, Kyota and Pangmo. At the village of Pangmo, we saw a newly built nunnery  with  a  temple.  Next  were  the  villages  called  Hal  and Morang. Here again we a saw a large nunnery with a temple. Since the villages in the area are located on higher land, the area is known as Tod, or the upper valley.

Next comes the village of Sumling, Khurig and Rangrig before crossing  a  bridge  across  the  Spiti  River  in  order  to  get  Kaza,  the main town of the Spiti valley. From Sumling, Khurig and Rangrig one can have a spectacular view of Ki, the largest monastery in Spiti valley.

Driving along the road, on the left bank of the Spiti River and below  the  imposing  Ki  monastery,  one  can  see  large  tracts  of agricultural land. Here it is pertinent to mention that farmers here grow  various  crops  including  vegetables,  particularly  of  peas  in abundance and transported to cities like Delhi, where farmers can fetch good prices for them. We thus entered the enchanting town of Kaza.  The  town,  though  small  in  size,  was  bustling  with  people engaged in various trades hailing from different parts of Lahul-Spiti and the plains, as well as tourists from different parts of the world.

It provided a real sense of relief after travelling for 300 km along difficult and mountainous roads.

Next we visited Ki monastery, the largest monastery in the valley, situated on an imposing mountain. The monastery is of the Gelukpa order of Tibetan Buddhism. According to the information about the monastery displayed in the courtyard of the temple, the founder of the  temple  was  Brom-ston-pa,  an  ardent  follower  of  Atisha Dipankara.  His  full  name  was  Brom-ston-rGyal-bai  byung-gnas (1008-1006). The Sanskrit equivalent of the name is Jayakara.

Here it is pertinent to mention that according to other reliable sources  the  founder  of  Ki  monastery  was  actually  Lama  Lotsawa Rinchen bZangpo, (958-1055). In the history of Tibetan Buddhism Rinchen bZangpo appears as the first scholar of Tibetan Buddhism who had mastery over the five major and five minor learnings and who was also a scholar with a specialized knowledge of the tantras.

Rinchen bZangpo is credited with the building of one hundred and eight temples in Ladakh and Ngari (including the famous Tabo and Alchi Gonpa complex in Ladakh). The distance to Ki Gonpa from Kaza is 14 km and the main patrons of the Gonpa are the residents of the villages falling on the right bank of Spiti River called Tod.

In  the  Gonpa,  the  main  attractions  are  the  memorial  stupas  of the previous incarnations of Rinchen bZangpos, gilded with silver and gold. The present incumbent His Eminence T.K. Lochen Tulku is the 19th successive incarnation of Rinchen bZangpo. During my visit to the Gonpa H.E. T.K. Lochen Tulku was in residence in the temple and I called on him and he graciously offered tea to me in his  chamber.  I  was  already  a  familiar  person  to  Lochen Tulku.  In the  year  2013,  the  prestigious  Indira  Gandhi  Centre  for  the Arts (IGNCA) in New Delhi organized an international conference and exhibition  on  the  topic  of  Atisa  Dipankara  Jnanasri.  In  that conference,  I  had  the  honor  of  presenting  a  paper  on Atisha  and interestingly, H.E. T.K. Lochen Tulku chaired the session in which I presented my paper. After having a short conversation, I left the Tulku’s  chamber  and  visited  certain  other  chambers  including  the main prayer hall, the temple of the Protector Deities of the monastery.

I also exchanged words with the young Lamas who were pursuing both modern and religious education in the temple. Next, we drove higher above Ki Gonpa, to a village known as Kibber. The village is locatedd at very high attitude and claims somewhat dubiously to be the highest village in the world. Besides, the main Gonpa of the village, from a distance, we saw a newly built temple in honor of mTsan-jabs-Ser-kon- Rinpoche, who fled to India from Tibet in the year 1959, resided in the village for a long time and finally passed away in the village in the year 1983. Tsan-jabs-Ser-kon- Rinpoche is a known name among the incarnate lamas of the Gelukpa orders as both a scholar and teacher. One of the previous incarnations, acted as  the  root  teacher  of  the  19th  Bakula  Rinpoche,  hence  the  name came to me as a familiar one.

Next we visited Brag-mkhar, or Dhankar Gonpa situated 8 km away  from  Sichling  along  the  main  Tabo-Kaza  road  on  a  high mountain.  It  was  a  very  picturesque  driving,  one  of  the  most spectacular settings for a Gonpa, in a cave mountain. Once the site of the cave temple was the capital of Spiti and prisoners were housed there.  The  Gonpa,  at  present,  possesses  some  priceless  thankas.

Interestingly, at the top of the cave temple a trail goes to the houses of various dwellers houses and to meet the household of the residents including the fodder, engages domestic animals such as donkey. Also since,  the  place  was  once  the  king’s  residence,  the  houses  of  the villagers  and  the  Gonpa  rest  amidst  the  ruins  of  the  old  fort. The villagers look prosperous and the village houses appear to be from a fairy tale from a distance. Here it is said that the residents grow certain medicinal plants for which there is a high demand from the Tibetan medical practitioners in Dharamshala and elsewhere. A new monastery is being constructed to provide residence to the monks and to house the school attached to the monastery.

According to the notice displayed at the entry point of the cave temple,  Lha-blama Yeshe-od  visited  the  site  and  even  carried  out renovation of the cave temple in the 11th century. In olden times it was believed that the whole village from the fort downwards was enclosed on all sides with access from only three doors, in view of the frequent attacks by bandits. Nowadays the residents of a number of villages of lower Spiti valley support the Gonpa. Daily prayers are  conducted  in  honour  of  the  protector  deity.  The  monastery follows  the  Gelukpa  order  and  a  good  number  of  monks  are  in residence there.

Next we went to the historical and well-known Tabo monastery.

The village of Tabo lies along the Spiti River in a relatively wide valley bordered by steep cliffs. Since the timing of our visit was at the  peak  of  the  season,  orchards  close  to  the  temple  were  found loaded with apples and other fruits. We thus entered the temple.

The  Tabo  Chos-khor  is  a  magical  temple  complex,  which accommodates some of the most fascinating Buddhist paintings and stucco  statues  in  the  entire  Himalayan  range.  In  fact  the  temple complex itself is a treasure house built by Lama Lotsava Rinchen bZangpo, the famous translator more than one thousand year ago.

To  build  the  temples  and  to  draw  the  paintings  Rinchen  bZangpo engaged  artisans  both  within  Tabo,  as  well  as  from  Ladakh  and Kashmir. It is also believed that in the paintings of Tabo, like Alchi in Ladakh, there exists the influence of Gandhara art, the art form which was the prevailing art in the region till the 7th Century A.D., prior  to  the  arrival  of  the Tibetan  form  of  art. The  statues  of  five Dhayani,  or  meditation,  Buddhas  and  the  stucco  made  of  other Bodhisattvas including the mandalas drawn on the walls flanked by the beautiful drawings of various birds and angels, truly appear as a work of the great exponent of Buddhist art of the past and the same are standing in its dignified form even after a lapse of one thousand years.

Unlike  the  other  monasteries  of  the  Spiti  valley,  built  on  high mountains or even on high mountain cliffs, the ancient temples of Tabo rest on a plain within a single walled compound. It is locally called  a  Chos-khor,  or  religious  enclave. There  are  9  chapels  and several big and small stupas. In recent years, several team of experts coming  from  different  universities  have  documented  the  wall paintings and the stucco art works of various Dhyani Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. The archeological Survey of India has also carried out massive renovations, and the site has recently been made a national monument.

Close to Sichling entry point to Dhankar Gonpa on Tabo-Kaza road there is a large iron bridge on the Spiti River. From here a road leads to the Pin Valley, where I was told that some Buchen reside in a  village.  In  Ladakh  the  Buchen  are  known  as  Manepa  or  the performers of Manepa opera, introduced by Thang stong rgyal po (1385-1458),  a  Tibetan  tantric  master.  According  to  Tibetan chronicles, he was the first Tibetan who worked hard to place iron bridges on the rivers in Tibet and Bhutan in spiritual ways. In order to raise funding, he introduced a sort of opera called Lama Manepa.

In the opera mainly three characters appear, first being the Buchen, tantric  master.  Second  the  shepherd,  who  plays  a  crucial  role  in summoning evil spirits and entrap them in a block of stone. Finally, the person on whose belly the stone is placed is known as Dawo, the enemy of religion. While the opera is in progress, the Buchen appears and narrate the stories of the Bodhisattvas, such as the story of Prince Norzang, Zugs-kyi-nyi-ma (the beautiful daughter) Nang- sa  Odbum, Ti-med  Kundan,  and  so  on.  The  Buchen  while  in  full trance  summons  protector  deities  for  accomplishment  of  his  deed and breaks a stone block by placing it on a Da-wo’s belly in order to dispel evil spirits from the earth. I saw the Pin Valley’s Buchen and their performances on several occasions in Leh. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we could not go to the Pin valley but was told that during the summer season, tourists visit this lush green area in  good  numbers  to  enjoy  the  beauty  of  landscape.  Buchen practitioners also existed in Ladakh and the last Ladakhi Buchen to give performance was from Shara village on the occasion of Ladakh Festival, Leh organized by Tourism Department, J&K Government in the year 1983.

Ethnically, the local population of Lahul and Spiti are a blend of  three  distinct  races,  i.e. Aryan,  Mongol  or  Tibetan,  and  Mon.

Interestingly  the  local  Buddhist  population  address  non-Buddhist people residing at Kaza as Mon, and certain Mon in Kaza work as butchers.  Contrary  to  that,  people  of  Kinnaur  have  fair  face  long nose, who some extend can be placed in the category of Aryans. Both in  Lahul  and  Spiti  the  majority  of  the  population  is  Buddhist  and there exist followers of all four major sects of Tibetan Buddhism: Nyingma, Kagyu, Saskya and Geluk. The three major monasteries of Spiti, Ki, Dhankar and Tabo, are Gelukpa.

The people are typically farmers who depend on water from the glaciers for farming, which melt in summer season and irrigate their fields. The main crops grown here are wheat and barley. Now the people have started growing cash crops as well, such as cauliflower and peas.

After  getting  to  Kaza,  when  I  had  a  thought  about  the  return journey, my lips began to dry due to the fact that the road was very difficult to drive back. On the other hand, I knew that there existed another road to Kaza from Rampur onward to Khoksar. I was told that the road from Kaza to Rampur, via the Kinnaur Valley, remains open throughout the year, but in terrifying condition due to stones falling at two points (locally called stone shooting areas), one being at Maling between the villages of Chango and Nako on a high pass, and another crossing a bridge of the Sutlej River. After giving many thoughts  and  taking  the  guidance  of  the  drivers  and  people commuting on the road, we decided to take the road leading towards Rampur and from there onward to Luri, and finally crossing the high mountain pass road called Jalodi to Manali. Our decision turn out to be a good one, as the weather remained fair during our journey days and we found the road at the Maling stone shooting area open and safe as the army and laborers of BRO were working hard and guiding  the  commuters  to  cross  the  stone  shooting  area  safely.

Though the BRO people let my small car to cross the nallah after patiently waiting for half an hour on the road, people travelling in buses on either side had to switch to the new buses standing on the road. We were thus quite lucky and were able to travel on the well- maintained Hindustan-Tibet Highway, which leads to Rampur. This road in the past was a caravan route, traders coming from the plains of India and going towards the regions of Western Tibet and via Spiti to Ladakh used it widely. This is the road on which the well known Italian scholar and Tibetologist Giuseppe Tucci (1894-1984) walked in the year 1933 and left a remarkable historical document on his visit to the Western Tibet and Tabo monastery in the Spiti valley.

As I entered the old trading town of Rampur late evening, I could connect the name of Rampur to a popular Ladakhi folk song. In the folk  song  it  is  described  that  Rampur  or  the  Khunu-Rampura  or Rampur of Spiti valley as the birth place of Rinchen bZangpo, the founder of Tabo monastery.

It  is  a  historically  established  fact  that  Rinchen  bZangpo  was born  in  Guge  in  Western  Tibet  and  built  one  hundred  and  eight temples in various regions of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh. The same are visible in present time. Interestingly in a popular folk song of Ladakh, the song says that Rinchen bZangpo was born in Rampur and Rampura remained the focal point of his religious activities. On the  basis  of  this  popular  Ladakhi  folk  song,  more  research  and evaluation of Rinchen bZangpos activities can be ascertained.

In  the  interior  villages,  particularly  in  Lahul  and  Kinnaur,  the names of the person, places appears with two names i.e. Hindu and Buddhist to straddle this dual inheritance. For instance the Buddhist address  as  Phags-pa  the  ancient  temple  of Avalokeitisvara  near Udaipur in Lahul, while Hindus or the local community address to the  same  temple  by  the  name  Triloknath  temple.  Similarly,  the Buddhists call the Lahul region Karja, while the local refer to it as Lahul. Similarly, a majority of Buddhists population in the region posses both Hindu and Tibetan names. For instance the Lahul-born queen mother of Ladakh, locally known as Parvati Devi, while her Tibetan name is Diskit Wangmo. Similarly, Ashok Thakur, IAS and the owner of Gemoor palace’s, Tibetan name is Rigzin Dawa.

Spiti  being  enclosed  by  high  mountain  passes  is  a  secluded region,  but  culturally  and  socially  it  is  a  self-supporting  one.  For performing daily religious rites or services, residents invite monks from  the  surrounding  Gonpas. A  number  of  social  and  religious festivals are held here and among the best-known is the Lha-darcha festival. In the festival, besides the local population, the government departments  based  at  Kaza  and  elsewhere  participates.  On  the occasion horse races and archery competitions are organized. Locally archery is known as Dha-phang. Beside that the Buddha Purnima or  the  Buddha’s  birthday  and  Galdan  Namchot,  the  birthday  of Tsongkhapa,  are  observed  with  full  religious  devotion.  Finally, people celebrate the Losar or the New Year festivities at the same time as in Ladakh, on the 1st day of the 11th month, according to Tibetan  calendar.  On  the  occasion  people  consume  a  local  drink called Chang. The community protector god, or Lhas, are honored on the occasion. These rituals are known locally as Lhasol.