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Punakha Dzong
The Punakha Dzong, also known as Pungthang Dewa chhenbi Phodrang (meaning "the palace of great happiness or bliss"), is the administrative centre of Punakha District in Punakha, Bhutan. Constructed by Ngawang Namgyal, 1st Zhabdrung Rinpoche, in 1637–38, it is the second oldest and second-largest dzong in Bhutan and one of its most majestic structures. The dzong houses the sacred relics of the southern Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, including the Rangjung Kharsapani and the sacred remains of Ngawang Namgyal and the tertön Pema Lingpa. Punakha Dzong was the administrative center and the seat of the Government of Bhutan until 1955 when the capital was moved to Thimphu. It is listed as a tentative site in Bhutan's Tentative List for UNESCO inclusion. Geography The Dzong is located between the Pho Chhu (Male) and Mo Chhu (Female) river in the Punakha–valley. The source of the Mo chu river is in the northern hills of Lighsi and Laya in Bhutan, and i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dzong Architecture
Dzong architecture is used for dzongs, a distinctive type of fortified monastery ( dz, རྫོང, , ) architecture found mainly in Bhutan and Tibet. The architecture is massive in style with towering exterior walls surrounding a complex of courtyards, temples, administrative offices, and monks' accommodation. Characteristics Distinctive features include: * High inward sloping walls of brick and stone painted white with few or no windows in the lower sections of the wall * Use of a surrounding red ochre stripe near the top of the walls, sometimes punctuated by large gold circles * Use of unique style flared roofs atop interior temples * Massive entry doors made of wood and iron * Interior courtyards and temples brightly colored in Buddhist-themed art motifs such as the ashtamangala or swastika Regional differences Bhutan Dzongs serve as the religious, military, administrative, and social centers of their district. They are often the site of an annual ''tsechu'' or religious ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sankosh River
Sankosh (also Mo Chu, and Svarnakosha) is a river that rises in northern Bhutan and empties into the Brahmaputra in the state of Assam in India. In Bhutan, it is known as the Puna Tsang Chu below the confluences of several tributaries near the town of Wangdue Phodrang. The two largest tributaries are the Mo Chhu and Pho Chhu, which flow together at Punakha. The Punakha dzong, which is situated immediately above the confluence of the two rivers, is one of the most beautiful dzongs in Bhutan and the winter residence of the Dratshang Lhentshog. The upper reaches of the Pho Chhu are susceptible to ice blockages, and the dzong has been damaged on several occasions by glacial lake outburst floods. After it enters in India, it flows on the border of Assam and West Bengal. At Wangdue Phodrang, elevation , the river is joined by the west flowing Tang Chuu and it enters a precipitous gorge. The highway running south from Wangdue Phodrang to Dagana follows the river for much of its cou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands within the British Isles. Northern Ireland shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland; otherwise, the United Kingdom is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea. The total area of the United Kingdom is , with an estimated 2020 population of more than 67 million people. The United Kingdom has evolved from a series of annexations, unions and separations of constituent countries over several hundred years. The Treaty of Union between the Kingdom of England (which included Wales, annexed in 1542) and the Kingdom of Scotland in 170 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Druk Gyalpo
The Druk Gyalpo (; 'Dragon King') is the head of state of the Bhutan, Kingdom of Bhutan. In the Dzongkha, Dzongkha language, Bhutan is known as ''Drukyul'' which translates as "The Land of the Thunder Dragon". Thus, while kings of Bhutan are known as ''Druk Gyalpo'' ("Dragon King"), the Bhutanese people call themselves the ''Drukpa'', meaning "people of Druk (Bhutan)". The current sovereign of Bhutan is Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, the fifth ''Druk Gyalpo''. He wears the Raven Crown, which is the official crown worn by the kings of Bhutan. He is correctly styled "''Mi'wang 'Ngada Rinpoche''" ("His Majesty") and addressed "''Ngada Rimboche''" ("Your Majesty"). King Jigme Khesar was the second-youngest reigning monarch in the world when he ascended the throne on 1 November 2008 after his father, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, abdicated the throne in his favour. Duties and powers The Constitution confirms the institution of monarchy. The Druk Gyalpo (King of Bhutan) is the head of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sir Ugyen Wangchuck
''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part of "Monsieur", with the equivalent "My Lord" in English. Traditionally, as governed by law and custom, Sir is used for men titled as knights, often as members of orders of chivalry, as well as later applied to baronets and other offices. As the female equivalent for knighthood is damehood, the female equivalent term is typically Dame. The wife of a knight or baronet tends to be addressed as Lady, although a few exceptions and interchanges of these uses exist. Additionally, since the late modern period, Sir has been used as a respectful way to address a man of superior social status or military rank. Equivalent terms of address for women are Madam (shortened to Ma'am), in addition to social honorifics such as Mrs, Ms or Miss. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Wangchuck
The Wangchuck dynasty () have held the hereditary position of Druk Gyalpo ("Dragon King") of Bhutan since 1907. Prior to reunification, the Wangchuck family had governed the district of Trongsa as descendants of Dungkar Choji. They eventually overpowered other regional lords and earned the favour of the British Empire. After consolidating power, the 12th Penlop of Trongsa ''Gongsar'' Ugyen Wangchuck was elected Druk Gyalpo, thus founding the dynasty. The position of Druk Gyalpo – who heads the royal family of Bhutan – is more commonly known in English as the King of Bhutan, however "Druk Gyalpo" would be translated literally as "Dragon King" (or less commonly, "King of the Dragons," or "Thunder Dragon King") The Wangchuck dynasty ruled government power in Bhutan and established relations with the British Empire and India under its first two monarchs. The third, fourth, and fifth (current) monarchs have put the kingdom on its path toward democratization, decentralization, and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Durbar Of Ugyen Wangchuck, Receiving The Order Of The Knight Commander Of The Indian Empire, KCIE, At Punakha, Bhutan, 1905
Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance on its upper surface * Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an Indian non-governmental organisation for sex workers * Durbar (court), a historical Mughal court in India; also used for a ceremonial gathering under the British Raj * Delhi Durbar, assemblies in Delhi, India, to mark the succession of an Emperor or Empress of India under the British Raj * Durbar (horse), a French racehorse, winner of the 1914 Epsom Derby * Durbar (title), a title of honour in princely India * Durbar Square Durbar Square, which means Royal Squares in English, is the generic name used to describe plazas and areas opposite the old royal palaces in Nepal. The name comes from Persian دربار ( Darbar). It consists of temples, idols, open courts, water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
7th Dalai Lama
Kelzang Gyatso (; 1708–1757), also spelled Kalzang Gyatso, Kelsang Gyatso and Kezang Gyatso, was the 7th Dalai Lama of Tibet, recognized as the true incarnation of the 6th Dalai Lama, and enthroned after a pretender was deposed. The Seventh Dalai Lama was a great scholar, a prolific writer and poet. His collected works run seven volumes and contain numerous commentaries, liturgical works as well as many religious poems. Early life Kelzang Gyatso was born in Lithang of Eastern Tibet or Kham, in the present-day Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of present-day Sichuan province. At that time, the Dalai Lama's throne in Lhasa was occupied by Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso, who had been installed by Lha-bzang Khan as "the real 6th Dalai Lama" in place of Tsangyang Gyatso. Ngawang Yeshey Gyatso still held this position (though most Tibetans did not consider him to be a legitimate Dalai Lama) when a monk at Litang monastery, spontaneously channeling the Nechung Oracle, identified Kelzang ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tshechu
A tshechu ( dz, ཚེས་བཅུ།, literally "day ten") is any of the annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar calendar, lunar Tibetan calendar. The month depends on the place. Tshechus are religious festivals of the Drukpa Lineage of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Tshechus are large social gatherings, which perform the function of social bonding among people of remote and spread-out villages. Large markets also congregate at the fair locations, leading to brisk commerce.Dancing on the demon's back: the dramnyen dance and song of Bhutan by Elaine Dobson, John Blacking Symposium: Music Culture and Society, Callaway Centre, University of Western Aust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thangka
A ''thangka'', variously spelled as ''thangka'', ''tangka'', ''thanka'', or ''tanka'' (; Tibetan: ཐང་ཀ་; Nepal Bhasa: पौभा), is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, they have to be kept in dry places where moisture will not affect the quality of the silk. Most thangkas are relatively small, comparable in size to a Western half-length portrait, but some are extremely large, several metres in each dimension; these were designed to be displayed, typically for very brief periods on a monastery wall, as part of religious festivals. Most thangkas were intended for personal meditation or instruction of monastic students. The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chimi Lhakhang
Chimi Lhakhang, also known as Chime Lhakhang or Monastery or temple, is a Buddhist monastery in Punakha District, Bhutan. Located near Lobesa, it stands on a round hillock and was built in 1499 by the 14th Drukpa hierarch, Ngawang Choegyel, after the site was blessed by the "Divine Madman" the maverick saint Drukpa Kunley (1455–1529) who built a chorten on the site.Pommaret, p.192 In founding the site it is said that Lama Kunley subdued a demon of Dochu La with his “magic thunderbolt of wisdom” and trapped it in a rock at the location close to where the chorten now stands. He was known as the "Mad Saint" or “Divine Madman” for his unorthodox ways of teaching Buddhism by singing, humour and outrageous behaviour, which amounted to being bizarre, shocking and with sexual overtones. He is also the saint who advocated the use of phallus symbols as paintings on walls and as flying carved wooden phalluses on house tops at four corners of the eaves. The monastery is the reposit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paro Taktsang
Paro Taktsang ( dz, སྤ་གྲོ་སྟག་ཚང་, also known as the Taktsang Palphug Monastery and the Tiger's Nest), is a sacred Vajrayana Himalayan Buddhist site located in the cliffside of the upper Paro valley in Bhutan. It is one of thirteen Tiger's Nest caves in historical Tibet in which Padmasambhava practiced and taught Vajrayana.Khenchen Palden Sherab Rinpoche, ''The Eight Manifestations of Guru Rinpoche'', (May 1992), https://turtlehill.org A later monastery complex was built in 1692, around the ''Taktsang Senge Samdup'' cave, where Guru Padmasambhava meditated and practiced with students including Yeshe Tsogyal before departing the kingdom of Tibet in the early 9th century. Padmasambhava is credited with introducing Vajrayana Buddhism to Bhutan, which was then part of Tibet, and is the tutelary deity of the country. Today, Paro Taktsang is the best known of the thirteen ''taktsang'' or "tiger lair" caves in which he and his students meditated. The shri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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