Monastries In India

Jammu & Kashmir Sankar Monastery

Sankar Monastery is one of the BuddistGompas which are within easy walk from Leh, which is considered the subsidiary of SpitukGompa.

SankarGompa is famous for its architecture, and  Avalokitesvara’s figure with 1,000 heads and arms is an amazing sight in the Monastary.  While there are about 20 monks living here, the visitors time is restricted to morning 7 to 10 am and evening 5 to 7 pm.

Founded by

Sankar Monastery was founded by by the Red Hat Institution , however they were taken over by the Yellow Hat sect during 15th Century. Gelug Pa order Monks often inhabit this  Monasterywho  are considered successive incarnations ofSkyabsjeBakula Rinpoche.

Description

Sankar Monastery is one of modern type with impressive cluster of buildings constructed amidst trees across the town, in the Khardung La area in a 5,359 m  pass  that leads to the Shyok and Nubra Valleys from Leh.

The monastery has steps that  lead to 'Dukhang' which is the assembly hall. One has to go through a double door entry to reach Dukhang, while  on the right of the doors, three green drums are located which is the  place for Gyeskos. The left side of Dukhang  entrance door leads to Wheel of Life with Yama holding it.

The paintings of the Monastery  walls carry figures of  mandalas and also the details of  Tibetan calendar. The Monastery has  guest rooms and a  library, while the rooms where  Abbot uses  are those in the first floor. 
The monastery houses many other  images too, like that of Sakyamuni , the Historical Buddha, the Present image of  Buddha, also the future Buddha Maitreya , besides the  White Guardian and the Buddha of Medicine  Amchi.

As daily obligation, lamas  from this  Monastery  would make a  visit every day , morning and evening,  to the mid-sixteenth century fort at NamgyalTsemo, situated at the peak above Leh  to perform the rituals at the temples associated with the fort and also to  light the lamps lit with  butter.

Nearby Attractions

There are a number of monasteries around SankarMonastry, which are favourite locations for the tourists to visit mostly by trekking as part of Monastery circuit tour. These include

• Thiksey Monastery, which is of Gelug Pa order pertaining to Tibetan Buddhism, established in 15th Century,  which is considered one of the most beautiful monasteries in Ladakh circuit, where Shrines and paintings are of very adorable nature and it is one of 12 Storey Structure.
• Matho Monastery, situated on the banks of Indus River, the village Matho located at the tip of a deep gorge in the Zanskar Range and this is the only Monastry in the circuit which belongs to Sakya Pa sect.
• Hemis Monastery is one intitiated in the year 1630, belonging to the Drug Pa Order of Tibetan Buddhism, which is the biggest and large among  monasteries in the circuit.
• Likir Monastery is known for its picturesque location belonging to Gulug Pa sect of Tibetan Buddhism, which was established in 1605.
• Shey Monastery’s uniqueness comes from its  three-storey copper-coated Buddha Shakyamuni statue, commissioned in the year 1655 and King DeldanNamgial constructed it.
• Alchi Monastery is another  Buddhist monastery  and it is  known more for its structure as  monastic complex, situated in Alchi Village.
• Stakna Monastery is a  monastery of the Drugpa sect in Leh district which  was founded  ChosjeJamyangPalkar of Bhutan in the late 16th century .
• PhyangMonastery,which is located 15 or 16 kilometres west of Leh , established in 1515 is unique for its frescoes collections from the earliest  royal period, and its  900 year old museum of thangkas, war implements and paintings.
• The ChemdayMonastery  which was founded by Lama TagsangRaschen in the early 1640s, with a  Padmaasambhava statue and rare paintings as its treasure.
• The Takthok Monastery which was the abode of  MahasiddhaKungaPhuntsog and is established in Caves.

How to Reach

For reaching Leh by train , one can travel upto the nearest Jammu railway station,   which is about 734 km far.

A bus from Manali , which is in 453 km distance from Leh would be a good choice, however, the Manali - Leh road is not  open throughout the year, although one can take the bus  during  the months from mid-June to mid-October, when the road will be open.

There are air services available to  Leh  from Delhi and also from Srinagar , different airlines offering services.

JKSRTC provides bus service to Leh from Srinagar to Leh covering 700 km, sometimes taking  two days travel time, while  HRTC provides service to Leh from Manali , covering 474 km distance , which also takes about 20 hours  travel.

Photo Gallery