Юксом: Сіккімнің тарихы мен рухани орталығы

Town in West Sikkim, India

Yuksom is a historical town, just 40 km north of Gyalshing city in the Gyalshing district in the Northeast Indian state of Sikkim. It was the first capital of Kingdom of Sikkim established in 1642 AD by Phuntsog Namgyal who was the first Chogyal (temporal and religious king) of Sikkim. The coronation site of the first monarch of Sikkim is known as the "Throne of Norbugang". Yuksom is where there is the Norbugang Chorten near the Norbugang throne, the place Namgyal was crowned and several monasteries and a lake. The dynastic rule of the Chogyal lasted for 333 years. The Chogyal established the first monastery at Yuksom in Sikkim known as the Dubdi Monastery in 1701, which is part of Buddhist religious pilgrimage circuit involving the Norbugang Chorten, Pemayangtse Monastery, the Rabdentse ruins, the Sanga Choeling Monastery, the Khecheopalri Lake, and the Tashiding Monastery. For the Bhutia community of Sikkim, Yuksom has special religious and cultural significance. It has a number of famous Buddhist monasteries and historical monuments as well as ancient Gorkhas small Village. Being at the head of the Khangchendzonga National Park and as the base camp for trekking to Mt. Khangchendzonga, it has large influx of mountaineers from all parts of the world. The village people, as stake holders in biodiversity preservation of the Rathong Chu valley, where the village is situated, have played a significant role in trendsetting and promotion of ecotourism in the area. The inhabitants of this village have most successfully adopted promotion of ecotourism not only in the region but also for other similar areas in Sikkim. Yuksom is thus considered a model village for eco tourism.

Yuksom literally means the "meeting place of the three learned monks" as three monks who came from Tibet selected Phuntsog Namgyal as the first King of Sikkim and gave him the title Chogyal. 'Chogyal' means "Religious King" or "the king who rules with righteousness". Yuksom is also one of the sacred landscape "Demazong" (meaning a valley of rice) of four religious sites blessed by Guru Padmasambhava, which are considered to be the four plexuses of the human body, and Yuksom symbolically represents the 'third eye'.

Buddhism was introduced to the state from Tibet as early as the 9th century. In Tibet, the struggle for power between the "Yellow hats" and the "Red hats" led to the latter migrating to Sikkim and converting the mild mannered local Lepchas to Buddhism. In the 13th century, relations between Sikkim and Tibet were cemented by a "Brotherhood treaty" signed between the Lepcha chief Thekong Thek and Tibetan prince Khe Bhumsa at Kavi, in north Sikkim. In 1641, Lama Lutsum Chembo travelled from Tibet to Denjong (meaning hidden country) now known as Sikkim to propagate the Buddhist religion. He was then joined by two other lamas, Sempa Chembo and Rinzing Chembo. The trinity of Lamas came from the Kham district in Tibet. Their primary aim was to perpetuate Tibetan hold on Sikkim and to propagate Buddhism in Sikkim. They assembled from different directions at Norbugang, which later came to be known as Yuksom. The area in the Rathong chu Valley at Narbugong was considered as blessed by the 9th century Guru Padmasambhava (Guru Rinpoche). In 1642 the Lamas went in pursuit of the fourth person, as the current three lamas represented three directions of North, South and West and Padmasambhava's vision had predicted the requirement for a fourth person from the east. Near present day Gangtok, they found a man churning milk. He offered them some refreshments and gave them shelter. So impressed were they by his deeds that they realised that he was a chosen one. They also identified Phunstsog Namgyal's ancestral royal links with Tibet and decided that he was the right person to become the temporal and religious head of the region so brought him to Yuksom. They then crowned him at Norbugang near Yuksom as the temporal and religious king of Sikkim, with the title "Chogyal". The crowning took place at Norbugang on a pedestal set in stones, in a pine covered hill, and he was anointed by sprinkling water from a sacred urn. At that time he was 38 years of age. He was a fifth generation descendant of Guru Tashi, a 13th century prince from the Mi nyak House in Kham in Eastern Tibet. The stone throne on which the coronation took place still stands and is known as the Throne of Norbugang. The natural environmental setting of the town, ensconced amidst rich forests is further accentuated by its history, architecture and Buddhist legacy that evolved from the 17th century with Yuksom's establishment as the first capital of Sikkim.

The first act that Phuntsog initiated after becoming the King was the conversion of the local Lepcha tribes to Buddhism and set about expanding his kingdom up to the Chumbi Valley in Tibet, parts of modern day Darjeeling in the south, and parts of eastern Nepal. In this effort the three lamas also lent full support to him.

As sequel to the above efforts by the local community, a biodiversity festival was held at Yuksom, for one day, the first of its kind to be held in Sikkim (the second festival was held at Chungthong) by KCC, and the Forest Department of Government of Sikkim. The objective of the festival was to create awareness among the people of the villages to conserve cultural and natural heritage. This festival was attended by 200 villagers and also some foreign tourists. In the festival the focus was on pictorial exhibitions of the natural biodiversity setting and cultural heritage of the Rathong Chuu valley, the steps taken to preserve and conserve the biosphere, interest of ecotourism in the valley along the trek route Yuksom Dzongri through the Khangchendzonga National Park, diverse exhibits relating to medicine, paper making, horticulture, Khecheopalri Lake pollution and actions for its preservation, effects of deforestation and need to preserve forest wealth, measures for hill slope stability, energy efficient methods for cooking using local produce, garbage reduction, replacement and reuse, composting with biodegradable wastes, promoting traditional handicrafts and handlooms (carpets, sheep wool blankets, etc.). Puppet shows, music and local dance programmes also formed part of the festival. Not only the biodiversity festival, even the Buddhist monasteries here are a part of Sikkim culture and are an attraction to tourists as well. The Tibetan Buddhist monastery, Dubdi Monastery, is located in the area and so is the smaller Mallu Monastery. Established in 1701,the Dubdi Monastery is the oldest monastery in Sikkim and is located at the top of a hill about an hour's walk from Yuksom. It was also known as the Hermit's Cell after its reclusive founder Lhatsun Namkha Jigme.