Пелкор Чоде монастыры және Гьянтсе тарихы

Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Gyantse, Tibet, China

The Palcho Monastery or Pelkor Chode Monastery or Shekar Gyantse is the main monastery in the Nyangchu river valley in Gyantse, Gyantse County, Shigatse Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region. The monastery precinct is a complex of structures which, apart from the Tsuklakhang Monastery, also includes its Kumbum, believed to be the largest such structure in Tibet, that is most notable for its 108 chapels in its several floors and the old Dzong or fort.

The earliest history of the Penchor Chode Monastery is traced to the ninth century. Pelkhor tsen, son of Langdarma (anti Buddhist King of West Tibet) after whom the monastery is named as Pelkor Chode, lived here and attempted to perpetuate the Yarlung dynasty of his father who had been assassinated. The town of Gyantse was established between the 14th and 15th centuries as a feudatory, with the Sakya sect playing a crucial overlord role. During this period, the Buddhist monuments were also built with the Dzong (the old fort) followed by the Kumbum and the Pekor monastery. All three structures have been dated. Tsuklakhang monastery was built by prince Rabton Kunzang Phak between 1418 and 1425. However, Gyantse's historical importance declined by the end of the 15th century. The Tsuklakhang, the main temple of the monastery was built in 1418–1428 by Rabten Kunzang Phak, the second Prince of Gyantse, who was a devotee of Kedrub Je (1385–1438), one of Tsongkapa's leading disciples later recognized as the 1st Panchen Lama. It became an important centre of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism. The Kumbum or Tashigomang, commenced construction in 1427 and completed by 1437, also by prince Rabten Kunzang Phak. Several other buildings followed, with Buddhist sects such as Sakyapa, Zhalupa and Gelukpa building religious colleges or hermitages; 16 colleges were recorded by the end of 17th century, increasing to 18 by the start of the 19th century. However most of them were later closed. Now, only two colleges of the Gelukpa order remain, which are stated to be of little consequence. Another testament to Prince Rabten Kunzang Phak's period is the public display of two gigantic paintings; (Thangkas) of Shakyamuni Buddha flanked by his two principal disciples, of Maitreya, Manjushri and many more on the occasion of the Gyantse festival that is held in the fourth lunar month of the Tibetan calendar. This practice was started between 1418 and 1419 in the northeast corner of the monastery walls, known as Goku Tramsa. In 1904, the British expedition to Tibet led by Colonel Francis Younghusband reached Gyantse on 11 April. The town's garrison had already fled, and the expedition's members entered the town bloodlessly through the front gates, which were opened for them, and occupied Gyantse. After the town was occupied, several British officers visited the monastery and seized several statues and scrolls, some of which were subsequently brought back to the United Kingdom. The monastery was partially destroyed by Chinese forces in 1959 after the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It was ransacked again during the Cultural Revolution, but has since been largely restored. Prior to the uprising there were 1,520 monks at the monastery but now they number less than 80.

Architecturally, Pelkhor monastery is a fusion of Han, Tibetan and Nepali architecture.

Tsulaklakang is the main temple. It has an Assembly Hall called as 'Tshomchen' in Tibetan and well preserved. The structure has three floors and has well preserved murals and images of the fifteenth century. The ground floor has at the entry itself four images of Four Guardian Kings. At the entrance to the main Assembly hall, there is a protector shrine called Gonkhang. The impressive 48 pillared hall is decorated with numerous silk Tankhas, images of Sakya protectors, frescoes of frightening scenes of charnel grounds and several original paintings and sculptures, in 15th century Tibetan style. The Sakya protectors depicted are: Panjurantha (Gompa Gur), Six Armed Mahakala, Sri Devi and Ekajati. The inner sanctum in the Main Chapel has idols of Buddhas of the Three Times with a bronze statue of Shakyamuni Buddha as the main deity at the centre. This image is in height and is made from about of copper. The upper floor has five chapels. It houses clay images of Sakyapa lineage. The prominent images seen here are: the three dimensional model of mandala palace of the deity Cakrasaṃvara, yogic poses of eighty four Mahasiddhas of ancient India, Maitreya Chapel and a sacred small image of Tara. The Tsongkhapa Chapel on the same floor has images of Tsongkhapa, Dalai Lama VII, Shakyamuni, Buton Rinchen Drub, Sakya Pandita, Padmasambhava and the Sakyapa lamas of the Lamdre lineage. Neten Lakhang is another Chapel, which has Chinese style images of Sixteen Elders, aside from images of the Five Aspects of Manjushri and the Four Guardian Kings. On the top floor, is the Zhalyekhang chapel, which has 15 mandalas of diameter painted on the walls, associated with meditational deities. Images of Jowo Shakyamuni, Maitreya, Manjushri, Tsongkhapa with his disciples, Amitayus, Tara, Sitatapatra and Padmasambhava are depicted. The chapels on this floor also contain images of Amitabha Buddha, Dakinis and esoteric murals.

The most popular festival celebrated in the monastery is held on 15 April. It is known as the Saka Dawa festival to commemorate Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism; this day is said to mark his birthday and also the day of his death. On this occasion, five hundred Lamas chant sutras when local people attend. Horse racing and archery festivals are held in the middle of fourth lunar month.

Pelkhor Choede in Gyantse town is located about to the south of Lhasa and to east of Shigatse. The monastery is a short walk from the heart of the town. The Friendship Highway that connects Kathmandu, Nepal to Lhasa passes through Gyantse.