Shey Monastery or Gompa and the Shey Palace complex are structures located on a hillock in Shey, to the south of Leh in Ladakh, northern India on the Leh-Manali road. Shey was the summer capital of Ladakh in the past. It contains a huge Shakyamuni Buddha statue. It is the second largest Buddha statue in Ladakh.
The original palace, now in ruins, was built near the Shey village by Lhachen Palgyigon, the king of Ladakh (then called Maryul), in the 10th century. The Moghul noble Mirza Haidar Dughlat stayed here during his invasion of Ladakh in the 16th century.
The current Shey Palace and Monastery were also built in 1655 on the instructions of Deldan Namgyal, in the memory of his late father, Sengge Namgyal, below the first palace. The monastery is noted for its giant copper with gilded gold statue of a seated Shakyamuni Buddha. The statue is so named since Buddha was the sage (muni) of the Sakya people who resided in the Himalayan foothills and their capital was Kapilvastu. It is said to be the second largest such statue in Ladakh.
History
Shey was the old capital of the upper Ladakh region. When the Dogras of Jammu invaded Ladakh in 1842, the Namgyals abandoned the palace and fled to Stok (they made it their permanent residence) on the opposite side of the Indus River. It is conjectured that the fort found in ruins, not dated, above the present palace at Shey, belonged to this period of invasion. Subsequently, when the political dictates necessitated shifting of the capital to Leh, even then the importance of Shey continued since it was a mandatory requirement of the Namgyal kings to father their heir apparent here.
Geography and visitor information
Shey Monastery is located in the upper Indus Valley, just east of the modern capital of Ladakh, Leh. The Zanskar range of hills is on its southern side in the fertile Indus River valley. It has an average elevation of .
Shey is located on the road from Leh to Thikse Monastery. Many monasteries, stupas and rock carvings can be seen on this road. It can be approached by trekking from Thiksey and the path is known as: "for having Ladakh's biggest chorten fields with hundreds of whitewashed shrines of varying sizes scattered across the desert landscape."
The nearest airport is at Leh. Special permission is essential to visit the monastery, as only one lama resides here and the inner sanctum is usually closed. On a lane, opposite to the Shey palace there is a hotel for visitors, which is surrounded by flowered gardens.
Architecture
The main Shakyamuni Buddha statue in the monastery is a icon covering three floors of the monastery. The giant Buddha as seen in the monastery is on three levels; the lowest level shows his huge feet and "soles pointing upwards" and a mural of Shambunath, the middle floor shows murals of the Buddha in different postures and the upper floor is darkened by the soot of the butter lamps that burn eternally at the altar.
The statue was first cast in parts, in Leh, at a place known as Zanstin. 'Zans' means "copper" and 'til' means "hammer". The copper plates used in the statue were made from copper, collected from Lingshet mines and other villages of the Zanskar area. The plates from the copper ingots were made by hammering them on a nearby rock. It was first built in parts and then transported to the palace for installation. It is said that about 5 kilograms of gold was used for gilding the copper plates of the statue in the main monastery.
On the upper floor of monastery, a number of beautiful wall paintings are displayed. The lower floor has a library with many neatly preserved manuscripts and is decorated with murals of Buddha figures in various mudras (hand gestures).
About from the palace, there is another small shrine built by Sengge Namgyal. This shrine also houses another large statue of Shakyamuni Buddha in a sitting posture. Here also, the murals and images inside are similar to the palace shrine. It is recorded that this statue and the other one in the main monastery were crafted by a Nepalese sculptor named Sanga Zargar Wanduk. He was reportedly brought here by Sengge's mother, Gyal Khatun, not only to build this statue but also the main statue in the palace. Paldana Shering Gyaso, Gamani Jal Shring and Nakbiri were other craftsmen who assisted him. It is reported that in an isolated village called Chilling the descendants of these craftsmen live and are now known for their craftsmanship in conventional silverware.