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{{Short description|Tibetan Buddhist monastery near Kyelang, Himachal Pradesh, India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2017}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2017}}

'''Gondhla''' (also called '''Gaṅdolā, Gandhola,''' '''Gondla''', '''Kundlah''') is a village in the [[Lahaul and Spiti district]], [[Himachal Pradesh]], India. It is located about {{convert|18|km}} before [[Keylong]] on the road from [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh]], and lies at 3,160 m (10,370 ft) above sea level. The village is famous for the Guru Ghantal monastery and the Gondhla fort. In former times, this village was the seat of the Thakurs of Gondhla, who ruled the valley of the [[Chenab River|Chandra river]] in Lahaul at the behest of the Rajas of [[Kullu district|Kullu]].

==Historical sites==

=== Guru Ghantal Monastery ===
The [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhist]] monastery at Gondhla, locally known as the Guru Ghantal monastery, is said to have been founded by [[Padmasambhava]] in the 8th century.<ref>Francke (1926), Vol. II, pp. 211, 215, 223.</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Handa |first=Om Chand |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Buddhist_Monasteries_of_Himachal/rbeRDnz8h7oC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gondhla+monastery&pg=PA123&printsec=frontcover |title=Buddhist Monasteries of Himachal |date=2004 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-170-2 |language=en}}</ref> It is now connected with the [[Drukpa Lineage]] of the [[Kagyu]] school of Tibetan Buddhism, but its history long precedes the formation of that sect. According to local tradition and also the [[Terma (religion)|terma]], the ''[[Padma (attribute)|Padma]] bka'i thang'', discovered in 1326 in the [[Yarlung Valley]] by Urgyan Lingpa, the site was associated with Padmasambhava.<ref>Handa (1987), pp. 57, 69, 75-77.</ref> Gondhla, like all the Drukpa monasteries in [[Ladakh]] and Lahaul and Spiti, owes allegiance to the [[12th Gyalwang Drukpa]], abbot of [[Hemis Monastery]] in Ladakh, who, in turn, owes allegiance to the head of the order in [[Bhutan]].<ref>Rose, H. A., et al. (1911), p. 249.</ref>[[File:Gandhola Monastery, Lahaul.jpg|thumb|265x265px|Gandhola Monastery, [[Lahaul]]]]This site was possibly a Buddhist establishment even earlier than the time of Padmasambhava, as some ancient artefacts are associated with it. A chased copper goblet dated to the first century BCE was found near the monastery in 1857 by a British officer called Major Hay. This goblet is considered to be evidence of Buddhist monk cells being located in a cave monastery at that time. The frieze on the vase denotes a chariot procession and is considered one of the oldest examples of metalwork to be decorated in this way in India. Known as the [[Kulu Vase]], it is now kept in the [[British Museum]].<ref>[https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/asia/t/the_kulu_vase.aspx British Museum Highlights]</ref> A damaged marble head of [[Avalokiteśvara]] also found here, is kept in the Guru Ghantal Monastery itself, and is claimed to date back to the time of [[Nagarjuna]] in the second century.<ref>Handa (1987), pp. 50-52.</ref> This seems to be the only monastery in the region other than [[Sani Monastery]] in [[Zanskar]] which has a history which is claimed to go back to the era of the [[Kushan Empire]]. There is also a black stone image of the goddess Vajreśvarī Devī ({{bo|w=rdo rje lha mo}}), and a wooden statue of the Buddha said to have been installed by the monk [[Rinchen Zangpo]] (958-1055), a famous [[lotsawa]] (translator of Sanskrit Buddhist texts).<ref name=":1" /> The monastery has distinctive wooden (as opposed to clay) idols of Padmasambhava, Brijeshwari Devi and several other lamas.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lahaul and Spiti Tourism:Monasteries |url=http://hplahaulspiti.nic.in/Monasteries.htm |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110407161944/http://hplahaulspiti.nic.in/Monasteries.htm |archivedate=7 April 2011 |accessdate=29 November 2010 |publisher=District Lahaul & Spiti |df=dmy-all}}</ref>

Originally, the monastery was probably a larger complex of purely Indian style of which nothing now remains. In 1959 the monastery underwent extensive repairs and a small pagoda roof of [[Kangra district|Kangra]] slates was added in a rather haphazard manner. The monastery got severely damaged in the [[1975 Kinnaur earthquake]], and was subsequently rebuilt with stone masonry, cement mortar, and CGI sheets.<ref name=":1" />

=== Gondhla fort ===
[[File:Gondla Fort Lahaul D32 13430.jpg|thumb|258x258px|The Gondhla fort.]]
Gondhla is also famous for its seven-story tower fort, which serves as the residence for the [[Thakur (title)|Thakurs]] of Gondhla. In earlier times, the Thakurs of Gondhla were the viceroys of the Kullu [[Raja]]s in the Tinan valley of Lahaul, a region formerly also known as the 'Rangloi ilaqa'.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brentnall |first=Mark |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/The_Princely_and_Noble_Families_of_the_F/ayYbAvECXQwC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=raja+man+singh+of+kullu&pg=PA226&printsec=frontcover |title=The Princely and Noble Families of the Former Indian Empire: Himachal Pradesh |date=2004 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-163-4 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sahni |first=Ram Nath |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Lahoul_the_Mystery_Land_in_the_Himalayas/eYxuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=gondhla+regent&dq=gondhla+regent&printsec=frontcover |title=Lahoul, the Mystery Land in the Himalayas |date=1994 |publisher=Indus Publishing Company |isbn=978-81-7387-017-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Punjab_District_and_State_Gazetteers/8-c2AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gondhla+village&pg=PT2&printsec=frontcover |title=Punjab District and State Gazetteers: Part A]. |date=1918 |publisher=Compiled and published under the authority of the Punjab government |language=en}}</ref> Tinan is the [[Lahuli–Spiti languages|Lahuli]] name for the valley of the Chandra river, and includes all villages from Khoksar upto Tandi at the confluence of the [[Chandra river|Chandra and Bhaga rivers]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Admin |date=2023-06-18 |title=Tinan Valley : A paradise north to the Atal Tunnel : Sissu and Gondhla - Safar with Sasha |url=https://safarwithsasha.com/our_trips/tinan-valley-a-paradise-north-to-the-atal-tunnel-sissu-and-gondhla/ |access-date=2025-01-25 |language=en-US}}</ref> The tower is built in the [[Kath kuni architecture|Kathkuni]] style of [[Northern Indo-Aryan languages|Pahadi]] architecture, with alternating layers of stone and timber.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Mansingka |first=Shubham|title=Tower fort of Gondhla |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/travel/destinations/tower-fort-of-gondhla/articleshow/56310805.cms |access-date=2025-01-18 |work=The Times of India |issn=0971-8257}}</ref>

According to some sources, the Gondhla fort was built around 1700 A.D. by Raja Man Singh of Kullu (who ruled over 1688-1719), after he married the daughter of Gondhla's Thakur.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ghosh |first=Tapash Kumar |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/A_Profile_of_the_Himalayan_Lahaula/_otuAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=gondhla+fort&dq=gondhla+fort&printsec=frontcover |title=A Profile of the Himalayan Lahaula |date=2002 |publisher=Anthropological Survey of India, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Department of Culture, Government of India |isbn=978-81-85579-52-8 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> But according to [[Mohinder Singh Randhawa|M.S. Randhawa]], local tradition held that the fort was built much earlier by Thakur Rattan Pal, who was believed to have migrated from [[Bir, Himachal Pradesh|Bir]] in Kangra to Gondhla and became the feudal lord of this area. Randhawa also noted that the timber used in the Gondhla fort was [[Himalayan cedar|cedar]], which had been sourced from the forest of Dhungri in [[Manali, Himachal Pradesh|Manali]], and had been transported over the [[Rohtang Pass]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Randhawa |first=M.S. |title=Travels in the Western Himalaya |publisher=Thomson Press India |year=1974 |location=Delhi |pages=202}}</ref>

Over 1929-32, the Russian artist [[Nicholas Roerich]] spent summers in Lahaul, and among other subjects, made paintings on the Gondhla fort.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-04-01 |title=Thakur of Gondla |url=https://travelthehimalayas.com/kiki/thakur-of-gondla-gundlach |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=Travel The Himalayas -Kashmir 360 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-01-05 |title=Paintings |url=https://roerichinlahul.info/paintings/ |access-date=2025-01-25 |website=Roerich In Lahul |language=en}}</ref>

The fort is now in disuse, but stores old weaponry, furniture, and many holy objects, such as [[thangka]]s, [[Kangyur|scriptures]], and family deities of the Thakurs of Gondhla.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Hāṇḍā |first=Omacanda |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Temple_Architecture_of_the_Western_Himal/_KmaKomlI-UC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=raja+man+singh+of+kullu&pg=PA187&printsec=frontcover |title=Temple Architecture of the Western Himalaya: Wooden Temples |date=2001 |publisher=Indus Publishing |isbn=978-81-7387-115-3 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Shabab |first=Dilaram |url=https://www.google.co.in/books/edition/Kullu/z8uPDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=gondhla+thakur&pg=PT28&printsec=frontcover |title=Kullu: The Valley of Gods |date=2019-02-26 |publisher=Hay House, Inc |isbn=978-93-86832-92-4 |language=en}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery perrow="4">
File:Gandhola Gompa altar.jpg|Gondhla Gompa [[altar]]
File:Gandhola Thakur's fort.jpg|Gondhla Ṭhākur's seven-storey tower fort
File:Ghandola Gompa door.jpg|Gondhla Gompa door.
File:Gandhola Monastery - Padmasambhava statue.jpg|[[Padmasambhava]] statue - Gondhla Monastery.
File:Kulu Vase - BM.JPG|[[Kulu Vase]], discovered in the Monastery, now displayed in the British Museum
File:Guru Rinpoche statue - Gondhola.jpg|A small statue of Guru Rinpoche/Padmasambhava statue at Gondhla in 2010.
File:Gondhla Fort, Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh 3.jpg|Closeup of Gondhla Fort showing the balconies
File:Gondhla Fort, Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh 4.jpg|Gondhla Fort
</gallery>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

==References==
* Handa, O. C. (1987). ''Buddhist Monasteries in Himachal Pradesh''. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. {{ISBN|81-85182-03-5}}.
*Kapadia, Harish. (1999). ''Spiti: Adventures in the Trans-Himalaya''. Second Edition. Indus Publishing Company, New Delhi. {{ISBN|81-7387-093-4}}.
* Janet Rizvi. (1996). ''Ladakh: Crossroads of High Asia''. Second Edition. Oxford University Press, Delhi. {{ISBN|0-19-564546-4}}.
* Cunningham, Alexander. (1854). ''LADĀK: Physical, Statistical, and Historical with Notices of the Surrounding Countries''. London. Reprint: Sagar Publications (1977).
*Francke, A. H. (1977). ''A History of Ladakh''. (Originally published as, ''A History of Western Tibet'', (1907). 1977 Edition with critical introduction and annotations by S. S. Gergan & F. M. Hassnain. Sterling Publishers, New Delhi.
*Francke, A. H. (1914, 1926). ''Antiquities of Indian Tibet''. Two Volumes. Calcutta. 1972 reprint: S. Chand, New Delhi.
*Rose, H. A., et al. (1911). ''Glossary of the Tribes and Castes of the Punjab and North West Frontier Province''. Reprint 1990. Asian Educational Services. {{ISBN|978-81-206-0505-3}}.
* Sarina Singh, et al. ''India''. (2007). 12th Edition. Lonely Planet. {{ISBN|978-1-74104-308-2}}.

{{Buddhist monasteries in Himachal Pradesh}}

{{coord|32|30|34|N|77|01|10|E|display=title|region:IN_type:city}}

[[Category:Buddhist monasteries in Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Drukpa Kagyu monasteries and temples]]
[[Category:Buddhism in Lahaul and Spiti district]]
[[Category:Buildings and structures in Lahaul and Spiti district]]
[[Category:Forts in Himachal Pradesh]]
[[Category:Forts in India]]
[[Category:Villages in Lahaul and Spiti district]]

Gondhla - Revision history

DollyWootten0 at 19:16, 10 December 2025