Yumbu Lakhang (; ) or Yumbu Lakhar (, also known as Yumbu Lakhang) is an ancient structure in the Yarlung Valley in the vicinity of

Tsetang Tsetang () or Zedang (), is the fourth largest city in Tibet and is located in the Yarlung Valley, southeast of Lhasa in Nedong District of the Shannan Prefecture in the Tibet region of China. It is the capital of Shannan Prefecture (which ...

Nêdong County Nêdong District (; ) is a district of Shannan in the Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Tradruk Temple, an important early Buddhist monastery dating to the reign of Songtsen Gampo, is located in the Yarlung Valley in Nêdong as is Yungbula ...

, the seat of Lhoka Prefecture, in

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

According to legend, it was the first building in Tibet and the palace of the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo. Yumbu Lakhang stands on a hill on the eastern bank of the Yarlung River in the Yarlung Valley of southeast

about southeast of

Lhasa Lhasa (; Lhasa dialect: ; bo, text=ལྷ་ས, translation=Place of Gods) is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet Autonomous Region in Southwest China. The inner urban area of Lhas ...

and south of

History

According to Tibetan traditions, Yumbu Lakhang was built for the first Tibetan king, Nyatri Tsenpo, who descended from the sky with his grandmother. It was probably built at the turn of the seventh and eighth centuries. During the reign of the 28th king, Thothori Nyantsen, in the fifth century CE, a golden

stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as '' śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumam ...

, a jewel (and/or a form to the manufacture of dough-Stupas) and a

sutra ''Sutra'' ( sa, सूत्र, translit=sūtra, translit-std=IAST, translation=string, thread)Monier Williams, ''Sanskrit English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, Entry fo''sutra'' page 1241 in Indian literary traditions refers to an a ...

that no one could read fell from the sky onto the roof of the Yumbu Lakhang; a voice from the sky announced, "In five generations one shall come that understands its meaning!" Later, Yumbu Lakhang became the summer palace of the 33rd Tibetan king,

Songtsen Gampo Songtsen Gampo (; 569–649? 650), also Songzan Ganbu (), was the 33rd Tibetan king and founder of the Tibetan Empire, and is traditionally credited with the introduction of Buddhism to Tibet, influenced by his Nepali consort Bhrikuti, of Nepal ...

(604-650 CE) and his Chinese princess, Wencheng. After Songtsen Gampo had transferred the seat of his temporal and spiritual authority to

, Yumbu Lakhang became a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

. A thousand years later, during the reign of the

5th Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (; ; 1617–1682) was the 5th Dalai Lama and the first Dalai Lama to wield effective temporal and spiritual power over all Tibet. He is often referred to simply as the Great Fifth, being a key religious and temporal leader ...

(1617-82), the palace was turned into a monastery for the

Gelug 240px, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Bodh_Gaya.html" ;"title="Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya">Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous")Kay, David N. (2 ...

school. The Yumbu Lakhang was heavily damaged and reduced to a single storey during the

Cultural revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...

but was reconstructed in 1983.Dorje (1999), p. 195. As of November 2017 the palace is undergoing $1.5m of restoration works to reinforce its crumbling wooden foundations and cracked walls. It is expected to reopen to the public in April 2018. File:Yumbulagang Palace from Above.jpg File:Yumbulagang (22635179009).jpg,

Stupa A stupa ( sa, स्तूप, lit=heap, ) is a mound-like or hemispherical structure containing relics (such as '' śarīra'' – typically the remains of Buddhist monks or nuns) that is used as a place of meditation. In Buddhism, circumam ...

File:Yumbu Lagang-48-Gerstenfelder-Burg-2014-gje.jpg File:Yumbulagang (23038558791).jpg, prayer flags on the path to Yumbulagang File:Tibet & Nepal (5180521724).jpg File:Pitchfork of Death at Yumbulagang.jpg, Pitchfork of Death at Yumbulagang

Interior

The castle is divided into front and rear precincts. The front is a three-storey building while the rear is dominated by a tall tower, like a castle. Enshrined at the palace are the statues of Thiesung Sangjie Buddha, King Niechi, the first King of Tibet,

and other Tubo kings.

Zorthang

Traditionally, the largest cultivated area in Tibet, called Zorthang, is located to the northwest, below Yumbu Lakhang. Even today, farmers sprinkle soil from Zorthang on their own fields to ensure a good harvest. There used to be a temple, Lharu Menlha, containing images of the Eight Medicine Buddhas near the area. Yumbu Lagang-04-Strasse-2014-gje.jpg, Yumbu Lagang-16-Aufstieg-2014-gje.jpg, Yumbu Lagang-24-Umgebung-2014-gje.jpg, Yumbu Lagang-54-Burg von oben-2014-gje.jpg, Yumbu Lagang-60-Abstieg-2014-gje.jpg,

Footnotes

References

* Buckley, Michael and Strauss, Robert. ''Tibet: a travel survival kit''. (1986) Lonely Planet Publications, Victoria, Australia. . * Das, Sarat Chandra. (1902). ''Lhasa and Central Tibet''. Reprint: (1988). Mehra Offset Press, Delhi. * Dorje, Gyume (1999). ''Footprint Tibet Handbook with Bhutan''. Footprint Handbooks, Bath, England. . * Dowman, Keith. (1988) ''The Power-Places of Central Tibet: The Pilgrim's Guide''. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London & New York. . * Mayhew, Bradley and Kohn, Michael. (2005) ''Tibet''. 6th Edition. . * ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho: ''bod kyi deb ther dpyid kyi rgyal mo’i glu dbyangs''. Kapitel 2 und 3. Übersetzung von Zahiruddin Ahmad ins Englische: ''A History of Tibet by the Fifth Dalai Lama of Tibet'' (Bloomington, Indiana University 1995), . * nor brang o rgyan: ''gangs can yul gyi sa la spyod pa’i mtho ris kyi rgyal byon gtso bor brjod pa’i deb ther rdzogs ldan gzhon nu’i dga' ston dpyid kyi rgyal mo’i glu dyangs-kyi ’grel pa yid kyi dga’ ston'' (Beijing, mi rigs dpe skrun khang / Mínzú chūbǎnshè 民族出版社 1993), .
History of Tibet – A Few Chapters (Part 1)
*

External links

Yum bu bla sgang
''(Tibetan and Himalayan Digital Library)'' {{Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Buddhist buildings in Tibet Forts in Tibet Dzongs in Tibet History of Tibet Buddhist monasteries in Tibet Tibetan Buddhist places Palaces in Tibet