A Tour of The Corner Grocery Store Shey

Situated on a hillock in Shey, 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) to the south of Leh in Ladakh, northern India on the Leh-Manali road, the Shey Monastery or Gompa and the Shey Palace complex are the most monumental structures. Before, Shey used to be the summer capital of Ladakh. A huge Shakyamuni Buddha statue is contained in it. In Ladakh. it is famous as the second-largest Buddha statue. The original palace was built near the Shey village, now in ruins, and was built by Lhachen Palgyigon, the king of Ladakh (then called Maryul), in the 10th century. During his invasion of Ladakh in the 16th century, the Moghul noble Mirza Haidar Dughlat stayed here. On the instructions of Deldan Namgyal, the current Shey Palace and Monastery were also built in 1655 in memory of his late father, Sengge Namgyal, below the first palace. For its giant copper gilded gold statue of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha, the monastery is mostly noted.

Attraction

Covering three floors of the monastery, the main Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the monastery is a 12 meters (39 ft.) icon . The three levels, the giant Buddha as seen in the monastery are;

the upper floor is darkened by the soot of the butter lamps that burn eternally at the altar, the middle floor shows murals of the Buddha in different postures and the lowest level shows his huge feet and “soles pointing upwards” and a mural of Shambunath.

At a place known as Zanstin, the statue was first cast in parts, in Leh. The meaning of ‘Zans’ is “copper”, and the meaning of ‘til’ is “hammer”. Collected from Lingshet mines and other villages of the Zanskar area, the copper plates used in the statue were made from copper. By hammering them on a nearby rock, the plates from the copper ingots were made. It is said that, for gilding the copper plates of the statue in the main monastery, about 5 kilograms of gold was used.

History

The old capital of the upper Ladakh region was once the Shey. The Namgyals abandoned the palace and fled to Stok on the opposite side of the Indus River when the Dogras of Jammu invaded Ladakh in 1842. Belonged to this period of invasion, it is conjectured that the fort was found in ruins, not dated, above the present palace at Shey. Since it was a mandatory requirement of the Namgyal kings to father their heir apparent here, subsequently, when the political dictates necessitated the shifting of the capital to Leh, even then the importance of Shey continued.

Inside/Outside Views

A number of beautiful wall paintings are displayed on the upper floor of the monastery. The lower floor is decorated with murals of Buddha figures in various mudras and has a library with many neatly preserved manuscripts. There is another small shrine built by Sengge Namgyal, about 400 meters from the palace. Another large statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in a sitting posture is also housed in this shrine. It is recorded that, by a Nepalese sculptor named Sanga Zargar Wanduk, this statue and the other one in the main monastery were crafted. Representing the 16 Arhats, original disciples of the Buddha, the small shrine also depicts murals, together with some of the renowned teachers like Atisa and Tson-Ka-Pa, and Padmasambhava.

Two small Tantric shrines also exist near this shrine. Carvings are seen on rock spurs on the road to the palace, which is really close to this shrine. From where there are scenic views of the Indus valley, at the edge of the valley, there is a photo of the Lama of the monastery. The small palace is much smaller than the Leh palace, however, dilapidated. Below an abandoned fort, it is placed. Due to the Buddha being deified in the monastery, its importance is now increased. The monastery offers an amazing panoramic view of the surroundings of Stakna, Matho, Stok, Thikse, and also Leh, perched on top of the hill.

How to Reach

By Air: Landing flights regularly, the nearest airport to Alchi Monastery is located in Leh. You will have to take a taxi or hire a jeep to go to Alchi by road, once you reach Leh.

By Rail: Due to its high altitude, rail travel is not possible in Ladakh. is In Jammu & Kashmir the nearest railway station is located.

By Road: The most feasible option is to travel the distance between Alchi Monastery and Leh by road. Between November and April, the road remains closed, so during that time, you should avoid going there.