Dorje Jigje Lhakhang


The murals in this small chapel are painted red and gold, and are almost solely devoted to wrathful deities in ecstatic yab-yum pose, such as Demchok (Chakrasamvara), Hevajra and the buffalo-headed Dorje Jigje (Yamantaka), to whom this chapel is dedicated. On the left as you look back at the door is Namtöse (Vaishravana), the God of Wealth, who is depicted riding a snow lion and surrounded by mandala-shaped bands of Tibetan warriors. Beside him is a strange dog-faced protector riding a panther.

Like the Chapel of the Prefect, the paintings here are of later origin, central Tibetan in style (rather than Kashmiri-influenced) and less refined; the golden years had passed by this point. All the statues that once stood here were destroyed, including the central Dorje Jigje.


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