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

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On our way back, from Alchi to Saspola, I visi eu the site of a ruined castle called Alchi-inkhar-gog, which once guarded the Alchi bridge. I found a number of sherds of pottery with dark red designs. The pottery was not wheel-made, but rudely shaped with the hand. As will be remembered, entire specimens of pottery with dark red designs were found in the ancient graves at Leh. On the boulders round about the ruined castle are found many inscriptions of officers who once resided here. As I have shown in my article " Archaeology in Western Tibet, " most of these epigraphs may be attributed to the times of King N jai-ma-ingon, in the 10th century, and his immediate successors. We took a photo of one of them.

On the 24th September, the principal caravan under Pindi Lal, marched to sNyurla, by the ordinary road. I myself went to sGyera on the left bank of the Indus, accompan-

ied by Puntsog, my assistant, and Labpa, the Khansaman. From sGyera, I went up the valley, to visit the famous monastery of Mang-rgyu. Just below it, we passed a very

rudely-executed rock sculpture which represents Manjusri.   The inscription below it
mentions King Phun-tllsogs-rnam-rgyal of the 18th century. It is the latest rock sculpture in West Tibet which I have seen.

The Mang-rgyu monastery consists of four temples standing in a row, with their doors towards the East like so many others of the same period.

1.  Byams-chen (or Lökésvara) .—This temple contains a huge stucco image ; but the present lamas are uncertain whether it represents Maitréya or Avalókitésvara. I should think that it represents the former. The door is furnished with ancient wood carvings of Indian type.

2.  'aDu-khang (or Thugs-rje-chen-po).--The door of this temple is ornamented with ancient wood carvings of artistic workmanship, which represent the five Dhydui-buddhas with Vairóchana (rNam-par-snang-mdzad) in the centre. We found an ancient and much effaced inscription in this hall near the door. I ordered it to be copied. Neither a personal nor a local name has been preserved in it, and it contains hardly a single coherent sentence. But the preserved fragments afford several instances of intervening y between m and i, and for this reason I feel inclined to attribute it to the 11th or 12th century. Local tradition connects the Mang-rgyu monastery with Lama Rin-chen-bzang-po. In another part of the same hall, we found a short fragmentary inscription giving the name of a forgotten prince, possibly a younger son of one of the kings of the first dynasty of Ladakh. It reads Jo-no-oliung-Khri-stod-'adi, " the youn-

ger prince Khri-stod."

(;) rNam-par-snang-mdzad.—This temple contains a number of stucco images, some of which reminded me of the thirty-two at Tabo. On the wall outside, there is a long inscription recording the renovation of the monastery under King Thse-dbang-rnam-rgyal II (?) If the present ugly pictures in this and most of the other temples are the result of that renewal, it was absolute barbarism. The principal hall has lost its ancient door.

(1) 'aJams-chung (or Manj usri.) .—This temple also contains a huge stucco statue, concerning the identity of which the present lainas do not seem to be agreed. They do not know whether it represents Manjusri or Maitrëya. The frescoes of the hall have