National Institute of Informatics - Digital Silk Road Project
Digital Archive of Toyo Bunko Rare Books

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in the petty wars between Kula and Ladakh which preceded the Dőgrä war. And during the Dögrâ war itself it suffered even more severely. It is evident that Brom-ston must have some connection with Spiti and this monastery, from the fact that his name is found in certain localities in the vicinity. Thus, as we have seen, one of the temples of the Tabo monastery is called after him. Moreover, on our way from Kaze to Ki, we had to ford a brook called Brom-ston-ehu ; then, a little farther on, we passed by a rock called

Brom-stop-gyi-sna, " Brom-ston's nose " or "the shrubbery of Broms-ton" (Plate XX). From the historical work dPag-bsam-ljon-bzang we learn that Brom-ston erected foie

monasteries, one of them at Ke in Mangyul (Many-yul-gyi-Ke-ru). Mangyul is a name often used to signify the Western Tibetan Empire. Ke is a misprint for Ki. Whoever knows how carelessly Western Tibetan names are treated by Lhasa writers, does. not wonder at their spelling Ke instead of Ki.

But the Ki monastery has been restored since the turbulent times of the D6grâ war. (Plate XXI) . It is a typical example of ancient monasteries of a certain period. In this type we find the principal temple on the top of a little conical hill, and the cells of the monks round about and below it. The aspect of the whole establishment is unusually pleasing, especially as it is situated in a wilderness of bare and barren rocks. Monasteries of the same type are found in Khrig-rtse, Me-ru, Chem-re, Ling-shed, dKar-rgya of Zangs-dkar, and probably in several other places.

As all the old books and idols had been destroyed by Ghuldm Khän,1 the outfit of the Ki monastery is rather modern. The door is carved in present day Tibetan style,. and the library contains modern blockprints. In the central hall, I noticed two stucco idols ; one was called Yum-chen-mo, " great mother," probably a form of Tárd, the other sPyan-ras-gzigs (Avalúkitésvara). There are several more stucco statues in the library opposite the temple, the most remarkable being Thse-dpag-med (A.mitáyus),. Shdkya Chub-pa, bLo-bzang ye-shes, the Pan-chen, who resided at Trashilhumpo from 1663 to 1737 ; Padma-sambhava with two of his fairies, one being called Lha-shaman-da-re-ba (Mand,rava) the other inKha-'agro-ye-sties-gtso-rgyal.

On the 4th August, we made preparations for our journey through the desert across the Pharang Pass, and on the 5th, we moved our camp four miles in the direction of the pass, especially as I wished to be near to Mr. Howell, the Assistant Commissioner, who was encamped at Lhanartsa, Spiti, at an elevation of about 14,000 feet.

On the way, not far from Kyibar (map Kibber), I noticed an ancient ruin of a temple built of sun-dried bricks, its walls sloping inward, as is always the case in Rin-chen-bzang-po's temples. It is called Lha-bla-mai-dgon-pa, and thus by its name it directly points to the great priest-king of Guge, Lha-bla-ma-ye-shes-'od, whose name we had found in an inscription at Poo. Local tradition says that King Lha-bla-ma or, as another man understood it, the gods (lha) and the lamas (blama) built it in one night.

At Lhanartsa I spent two enjoyable and instructive days with the Assistant Commissioner. Here I had an attack of malarial fever, and Mr. Howell did everything in

I History of Western Tibet, p. 163.