 The Tayul Monastery stands tall in the midst of the mighty mountains at an elevation of 3,900 metres above the sea level in the Bhaga Valley of the Lahaul and Spiti district. The monastery is situated just above the village of Satingri and is about 6 km from the administrative centre of Keylong.
History of Tayul Monastery Founded in the beginning of the 17th century by the Druga Lama, Serzang Rinchen of the Kham region of Tibet, Tayul Gompa written in Tibetan literally translates to Ta-Yul, which means the ‘chosen place’. It is said that Rinchen while making the meritorious circumambulation of the holy peak Drilburi, spotted a small glade in the juniper forest above the villages of Kyor and Tashikyang on the opposite sides of the valley. He then went on to tell his fellow pilgrims that the Drilburi peak “is a suitable and auspicious place for a gompa”. The Tayul Monastery is home to the Drugpa, who are also known as the Red Hat sect of the Buddhist monks. Structures of Tayul Monastery A century after the Tayul Monastery came to existence, in the 18th century; the monastery was renovated by a Ladakhi Tulku, Tashi Tanphel who belonged to the Tagna monastery. He extended the monastery and decorated it with elaborate murals. The monastery houses about 100 million mani wheels, which are actually wheels with Buddhist inscriptions on it. It is said the wheels turn by itself on special Buddhist occasions and according to the lamas of Tayul, the last time the wheels turned on its own was back in 1986. The monastery’s library has an enormous collection of 101 Buddhist scriptures of the Kangyur, which are Lord Buddha’s own teachings. The library also houses ‘thangkas’ which depicts about the life of Buddha. But the most attractive element of the monastery is the 12 ft statue of Guru Padmadambhava along with his 2 materialisations, Sighmukha and Vijravarashi. The ideal location of the gompa giving a panoramic vista of the surrounding area along-with its simplistic architecture and the bright-colour scheme of the doors and windows of the monastery attracts tourists from all around. Visiting Information on Tayul Monastery The nearest airport from Keylong is the Kullu-Manali Airport and via roadways the Tayul Monastery is at a mere distance of 6 km from Keylong. The closest railway station is the Joginder Nagar railway station in Himachal Pradesh. |
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