Dhankar Gompa (also Dankhar, Drangkhar or Dhangkar Gompa; ''Brang-mkhar'' or ''Grang-mkhar'') is a village and also a

Gompa A Gompa or Gönpa ( "remote place", Sanskrit ''araṇya''), also known as ling (), is a Buddhism, Buddhist ecclesiastical fortification of learning, lineage and sādhanā that may be understood as a conflation of a fortification, a vihara and a ...

, a

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

temple in the district of Lahaul and Spiti in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It is situated at an elevation of 3,894 metres (12,774 feet) in the Spiti Valley above

Dhankar Village Dhankar Village (also Dankhar, Drangkhar; ''Brang-mkhar'' or ''Grang-mkhar'') is a large high village which used to be the capital of the Spiti Valley in Himachal Pradesh, India. It is at an altitude of 3,894 metres (12,774 feet) above sea level, ...

, between the towns of

Kaza A kaza (, , , plural: , , ; ota, قضا, script=Arab, (; meaning 'borough') * bg, околия (; meaning 'district'); also Кааза * el, υποδιοίκησις () or (, which means 'borough' or 'municipality'); also () * lad, kaza , ...

and Tabo. The complex is built on a 1000-foot (300-metre) high spur overlooking the confluence of the

Spiti Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...

and Pin Rivers - one of the world's most spectacular settings for a gompa. ''Dhang'' or ''dang'' means cliff, and ''kar'' or ''khar'' means fort. Hence Dhangkar means ''fort on a cliff''. Dhankar, like

Key Monastery Kye Gompa (also spelled Kyi, Ki, Key, or Kee - pronounced like the English word ''key'') is a Tibetan Buddhist monastery of the Gelugpa sect located on top of a hill at an altitude of above sea level, close to the Spiti River, in the Spiti ...

and

Tangyud Monastery The Tangyud Monastery (also written bTang-rGyud, Tangyuth) or Sa-skya-gong-mig Gompa at the village of Komic, two km southeast of Hikkim in the Spiti Valley of Himachal Pradesh, India, is built like a fortified castle on the edge of a deep can ...

in Spiti, and

Thiksey Thiksey is a village and the headquarter of its eponymous block in the Leh district of Ladakh, India. It is located in the Leh tehsil. The Thikse Monastery is located here. Demographics According to the 2011 census of India The 2011 Ce ...

Likir Likir is a village and headquarter of eponymous Subdivision in the Leh district of Ladakh, India.Rangdum Rangdum is a village located in the Suru Valley in the union territory of Ladakh in Northern India. On one side are the colourful hills while on the other side are rocky mountains and glaciers, notably Drang-drung. Rangdum is located midway ...

monasteries in

Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu and ...

, was built as a fort monastery on the Central Tibetan pattern. It was reported to have had 90 monks in 1855.

Overview

Below the Gompa lies the small village of Shichilling which contains the new Dhankar Monastery, home to about 150 monks belonging to the

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...

school of

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. Beyond the surrounding harsh, lunar landscape, notable sights at Dhankar Gompa include a statue of

Vairocana Vairocana (also Mahāvairocana, sa, वैरोचन) is a cosmic buddha from Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism. Vairocana is often interpreted, in texts like the ''Avatamsaka Sutra'', as the dharmakāya of the historical Gautama Buddha. In East ...

consisting of four figures seated back-to-back, in addition to various crumbling

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, ...

s. There is a small museum in the gompa. In 2006,

World Monuments Fund World Monuments Fund (WMF) is a private, international, non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of historic architecture and cultural heritage sites around the world through fieldwork, advocacy, grantmaking, education, and trainin ...

selected Dhankar gompa as one of the 100 most endangered sites in the world. A nonprofit group, Dhangkar Initiative, is attempting to organize its conservation. Dhankar is approachable by a motorable road, good for small vehicles only, that branches off for Dhankar from the main

-Samdu road at a point around 24 km from Kaza. The branch road is 8 km in length up to Dhankar.

History

Dhankar was the traditional capital of the Spiti Valley Kingdom during the 17th century and has some features dating back to the 12th century. It was the seat of the early rulers of Spiti, the Nonos, who had the right to cultivate the government lands nearby and were required to keep the fort in repair. They also dispensed justice to the people and were noted for their harsh penalties until the British replaced them.Kapidia (1999), pp. 76-79. The monastery is also referred to as Lhaöpé Gönpa (): A new Teaching Temple was inaugurated by the

Fourteenth Dalai Lama The 14th Dalai Lama (spiritual name Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, known as Tenzin Gyatso (Tibetan: བསྟན་འཛིན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་, Wylie: ''bsTan-'dzin rgya-mtsho''); né Lhamo Thondup), known as ...

on 12 July 2009.

Footnotes

References

*Francke, A. H. (1914, 1926). ''Antiquities of Indian Tibet''. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi. *Handa, O. C. (1987). ''Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh''. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. . *Kapadia, Harish. (1999)
''Spiti: Adventures in the Trans-Himalaya''
2nd Edition. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. .

Gallery

File:View down Spiti River Valley from roof of Dhankar Gompa.jpg, View down

Spiti Valley Spiti (pronounced as Piti in Bhoti language) is a high-altitude region of the Himalayas, located in the north-eastern part of the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. The name "Spiti" means "The middle land", i.e. the land between Tibe ...

from roof of Dhankar Gompa File:Small shrine honouring HH the 14th Dalai Lama. Dhankar Gompa.jpg, Small shrine honouring the 14th

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

. Dhankar Gompa. File:Dhankhar Monastery Guest House Sign. 2010.jpg, Dhankhar Monastery Guest House Sign. 2010 File:Meditation cave, Dhankhar Gompa. Lahaul and Spiti, India. 2004.jpg, Meditation cave, Dhankhar Gompa. Lahaul and Spiti, India. 2004 File:Sculptures, Dhankar Gompa.jpg, Sculptures, Dhankar Gompa File:Dhankar village & Gompa.jpg, Dhankar village & Gompa File:Confluence Of Spiti And Pin river and pin valley from Old Dhankar Monastery.jpg, Confluence Of Spiti And Pin river and pin valley from Old Dhankar Monastery File:Dhankar gompa, Spiti.jpg, Dhankar gompa, Spiti File:Dhankar Gompa.jpg, Dhankar Gompa {{DEFAULTSORT:Dhankar Gompa Gelug monasteries and temples Buddhist monasteries in Himachal Pradesh Tibetan Buddhist monasteries and temples in India Buddhism in Lahaul and Spiti district Buildings and structures in Lahaul and Spiti district