Chhoskhor Gompa or Alchi Gompa in Ladakh

Chhoskhor Gompa (alternative spelling Choskhor) is in Alchi, which lies at a distance of 66 km to Leh. Chhoskhor Gompa is also called Alchi Gompa, I guess that in the travel business it is easier for foreigner to remember. To make things more complicated there is a monasery in Tibet with the same name: Chhoskhor or Tibetan chos 'khor rgyal (Chinese uses four ways to transliterate Chhoskhor: 曲科杰寺 / 琼果杰寺 /  曲果杰寺 /  青稞吉寺) [1]. The Tibetan Chhoskhor monastery  belongs to the Gelugpa and had been founded by the second dalai lama in 1509 (alternative founding date 1550).

Back to Chhoskhor Gompa or Alchi Gompa in Ladakh! As for local tradition it was built by Rinchen Zangpo [2]. Rinchen Zangpo (rin chen bzang po) was born in 958 (in Khatse Wingir, Western Tibet, parts are Ladakh nowadays, unclear location, maybe South of Leh) and lived until 1055 (in Khatse Wingir) [3]. “However, inscriptions in the preserved monuments ascribe it to a Tibetan noble called Kal-dan Shes-rab later in the 11th century” [2].



Chhoskhor Gompa has three major shrines: the Dukhang (Assembly hall), the three storied Sumtsek (gSum brtsegs) and the Temple of Manjushri, all dating back to the early 12th and early 13th centuries. Chörten or Chorten is the Tibetan form of stupa; they make an important part of this monastery, too [2].   Goepper dates the Sumtsek between 1200 and 1220 [4]. Roger Goepper had been Professor of East Asian Art History at the Art History Institute of the University of Cologne; and (a little name dropping should be allowed) I had been introduced to hin in 1975, when I failed to recognize the importance of the Bamberg Symphony (Bamberger Symphoniker). He passed away in 2011.

For detailed information on architecture and history please refer to the Wikipedia article [2].

                 A mandala made of coroured sand

         Detail of a chörten under which one can pass

                                        A chörten



Links and References:
[1] https://www.tbrc.org/#!rid=G4634
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alchi_Monastery
[3] https://rheumatologe.blogspot.com/2020/07/mangyu-gompa-near-alchi-in-ladakh.html
[4] https://www.buddhismuskunde.uni-hamburg.de/pdf/4-publikationen/buddhismus-in-geschichte-und-gegenwart/bd7-k12sommerschuh.pdf

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