ReconstRucting sakya:

WRitten souRces, PhotogRaPhic

aRchives and FieldWoRk

Federica Venturi

one of the possible routes to undertake when attempting to understand a

monastery and its sacred objects in their original context is to investigate the
guidebook of the place in question. the description of a monastic structure
provided in a dkar chag allows an assessment of how the sacred place was
perceived, and, in addition, a guidebook is particularly valuable in view of the
reconstruction of the original environment of a monastery in the case in which
it is either not extant anymore or only partially preserved. this is the case of
the monastery of sakya, certainly one of the most famous sacred complexes
of Tibet due to its influential historical role, but also one among the most
ravaged and least preserved. as it is well known, the northern and oldest por-
tion of the monastery, leaning on the hill of dpon po ri, was destroyed during
the cultural Revolution, and the only structure surviving, even though not
completely intact in its interior, is the lha khang chen mo, whose dominant
shape remains to this day a visible symbol of the power and hegemony of the
sa skya pa.
at the last seminar of the iats, i concluded my paper with the wish
that i would be able to accompany an edition of the dkar chag of sakya with
the photographs of the same monastery taken by tucci’s photographer in
1939, in order to illustrate the sometimes dry and unimaginative text of the
guidebook with images.1 My wish originated not merely from the idea of

1
the dkar chag of sakya is the main source of a dissertation in progress by the
author of this paper. it is preserved in manuscript form in the tucci collection of
the istituto italiano per l’africa e l’ oriente (is.i.a.o.) in Rome, italy. its full title is
Gdan sa chen po dpal ldan Sa skya gtsug lag khang dang rten gsum gyi dkar chag
(hereafter abbreviated as Sa skya dkar chag). a brief catalogue chart on this text can
be found in Filibeck 2003: 358. Both the dkar chag and the photographs which form
the basis of this paper have been kindly put at my disposal by is.i.a.o. in particular

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Fig. 1: the great see of sa skya with the lha khang chen mo in
the foreground; sa skya, 1939, photograph on 35 mm black and
white film, IsIAO archive, Rome, Dep. 6148/29; 6148/30; 6148/31;
6148/32, F. Boffa Ballaran (photo continues on following page).
rendering less tedious, through the use of images, the genre of dkar chag,
but arose especially from the notion that the combined utilization of the text
and of old photographs, taken before the damage wrought during the cultural
Revolution, may produce at least a visual, if not physical, reconstruction of a
monastery whose present shape and conditions are only distantly related to its
original ones. thus, this paper will present the results of my attempt to match
the text with the images, by showing some of the photos taken during the
Tucci expedition of 1939, providing an identification of the places represented
therein, and appending to them the descriptions furnished in the dkar chag
of sakya. then, switching focus from a macro view of the monastery itself,
as reconstructed through the photographs, to a micro view of the sacred art
objects within the monastery, as described in the dkar chag, this paper will
examine how the guidebook of sakya and, i would posit, guidebooks in gen-
eral, deal with the physical context of the religious and artistic works found
in the sacred places they describe. Specifically these descriptions support the
contention that, generally speaking, an unmoved, fixed physical context for a
work of art was not contemplated: on the contrary, most artistic and religious
pieces were moveable and transferable, and their use, scope and function

i would like to thank oscar nalesini, of the photographic archives, for his unfailing
assistance.

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changed depending on the role they were assigned in each location they were
placed.
Before we begin, it is necessary to specify that the match cannot be a
perfect one: the guidebook of sakya used as main source here is an early 17th-
century text, penned between 1589 and 1617 in celebration of the conclusion of
a spate of works of restoration and renovation in the monastic complex. the
photographs instead, as previously mentioned, date back to 1939, and are thus
300 years later than the text.2 as such, the two cannot correspond exactly. it
is only natural that a certain amount of change occurred in this period, and we
cannot be sure whether such change occurred in the form of improvement or
of deterioration. incidentally, the latter hypothesis seems the most likely, in
view of the fact that tucci’s descriptions of sakya in 1939 emphasize a state
of neglect, impoverishment and dilapidation.3
Be that as it may, the photographs of this expedition are among the
oldest images of sakya that we possess, and probably represent the clos-
est illustration of the appearance of the monastery as described in the text,
especially if compared with more recent photographs, which mostly serve
to exemplify the amount of destruction inflicted on the complex. Because
the old pictures have arrived to us without any captions or explanations, the

2
the photographer of the 1939 expedition was Felice Boffa Ballaran, a captain of the
italian alpine corps. see nalesini, forthcoming.
3
See Tucci, 1940: “Tutto parla di decadenza e impoverimentoˮ (p. 354) and “Ma oggi
questi templi sono quasi abbandonati, ripostigli più che luoghi di culto. sono forse
troppi perché possano tutti essere regolarmente uffiziati. La vita religiosa del luogo si
svolge tutta quanta nel grande tempio a valle.ˮ (p. 359).

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Fig. 2: the north or upper complex of sa skya as seen from the

lha khang chen mo; sa skya, 1939, photograph on 35 mm black and
white film, IsIAO archive, Rome, Dep. 6117/18; 6117/19; 6117/20; 6117/21;
6117/22, F. Boffa Ballaran (photo continues on following page).
identification of the temples that follows has been done with the help of the
descriptions in the dkar chag, the reconstruction of the placement of the
structures done in the field in Sakya in 2004, and a set of hand-drawn maps
of sakya published by schoening in 1990.
The first image shown here (Fig. 1) represents a computer-made col-
lage of four photographs taken from west to east4 and showing the entire
monastic complex, the ‘great see’ or gdan sa chen po of the dkar chag. the
most prominent element is of course the lha khang chen mo, but this picture
has been chosen because it allows us to observe the placement of the north or
upper complex behind it.
in its description of the great see, the dkar chag of Sakya classifies
the buildings of the monastery into two main groups: one called the Rgyu bzhi
rin chen lha khang che, composed of the four major structures, and one com-
posed of fourteen minor ones clustered around the first four.5 the four major
structures comprise two temples, namely the sgo rum gzim spyil dkar po and
the lha khang chen mo and two residences, the Bzhi thog pho brang and the
Bla brang rin chen sgang. the guidebook describes their position within the
complex fairly accurately, as follows: “In the centre of the upper portion of
the glorious sa skya see is the sgo rum zim spyil dkar po; in the lowest spot
south of the sgo rum, the Bzhi thog pho brang; in the upper see, east of the
4
The four photographs are catalogued with the numbers 6148/29; 6148/30; 6148/31;
6148/32.
5
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 6a4–5: “Thog mar zhal ngo bzhugs pa'i bla brang rags pa
rtsam gyi dbang du byas na che bzhi dang chung bcu bzhi ste bcwo brgyad las”.

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great see, the Bla brang rin chen sgang; and on the south side of the grum
chu river the lha khang chen mo”.6 to better follow this description, we will
proceed to the second image (Fig. 2), which, like the first one, consists of the
union of five photographs taken from west to east.7 these pictures were taken
from the roof of the lha khang chen mo, and as a consequence this building
is not visible. the north complex is revealed with rare clarity, and the major
temples indicated above can be easily distinguished: the Bzhi thog pho brang,
certainly the largest among those on the upper see; the Bla brang rin chen
sgang, easily identifiable because it was the easternmost, and the Sgo rum,
less visible because it is semi-hidden by the massive size of the Bzhi thog
pho brang, but located in the northwest corner of it.
the dkar chag deals at length with all these four major structures.
here, however, we will not deal with the lha khang chen mo, the most well
known of the four, but we will examine the others, starting with the sgo rum,
at the same time the oldest temple in sakya and the sancta sanctorum of the
entire complex. the only photograph i have found in which the shape and
size of the Sgo rum can be guessed is catalogued with the number 6145/32
(Fig. 6): it shows the Dbu rtse rnying ma in the centre, with its golden Chinese
style roof and its imposing dimensions; the 'Bum thang chen po on its left,
also with a golden chinese style roof; the temple called thub bstan don yod
on the top left corner of the photo, and the sgo rum, of which only the top
portion is visible, behind the dbu rtse rnying ma, on the left corner. Founded

6
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 6a5-6b1: “Dpal ldan Sa skya'i gdan bstod kyi dbus na
Sgo rum gzim spyil dkar po| de'i lho phyogs kyi mthil na Gzhi thog pho brang| Gdan
sa chen po'i shar gyi gdan stod na Bla brang rin chen sgang| Grum chu gtsang po'i
lho ngos na Lha khang chen mo ste bzhi”.
7
Catalogue numbers: 6117/18; 6117/19; 6117/20; 6117/21; 6117/22.

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by 'khon dkon mchog rgyal po in 1073, the sgo rum, while technically not a
mgon khang, soon became the main temple dedicated to the protector of the
order ye shes kyi mgon po. in fact, at the time of sa chen kun dga' snying po
(1092–1158), the famous flying mask of Ye shes kyi mgon po was brought here,
and placed first temporarily and then permanently in the Sgo rum. According
to the guide, while the idea of building a new mgon khang for this wondrous
mask came to the surface, it was never actuated, since it became apparent
that the name sgo rum meant, in the Zhang zhung language, ‘unsuitable for
movement’.8
the mask, an extremely powerful, even lethal, symbol of the protec-
tor, was made with the tanned skin of a non-Buddhist turkic king who had
dared to challenge ye shes kyi mgon po and thus was punished.9 according
to the dkar chag, it was kept in the sgo rum, next to a pillar, and faced the
direction of the north door of the Vajrāsana,10 because this was the place where
the skin had been tanned and shaped in the likeness of ye shes kyi mgon po. in
front of the mask was a ritual pit in which was kept the heart of ‘the violator
of the promise’ (dam nyams), the defeated turkic king.11
8
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 10b5–11a1: “Gzim khang 'di la Sgo rum zhes grags shing|
de yang Zhang zhung gyi skad kyi dbang du byas nas sgul du mi rung ba'i don yin
par gsungs”.
9
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 8b2–4 : “De nas yun mi ring ba zhig nas| Du ru ka'i
rgyal pos rdo rje gdan gyi gtsug lag khang na| thub pa'i gser sku bzhugs pa la 'di
gser gar lugs yin min blta zer nas zong rgyab pas| kho'i bsod nams rdul phyis pa
ltar gyur te bsgral ba'i zhing du gyur nas Ye shes kyi mgon po nas dngos su bsgral|
de nas paṇḍita rnams la dam nyams 'di'i lpags pa bshus la nga'i 'dra 'bag bgyis
shig gsung” (Then, after some time, because the king of the Duruka had said: “Let
us see where it is or it is not the casting in the golden statue of Buddha staying in
the temple of Vajrāsana”, and then treated [it] as merchandise, his merits became like
dust and turned into a field of destruction, and Ye shes kyi mgon po really destroyed
him. Then [Ye shes kyi mgon po] said to the paṇḍita: “Make a mask of me by taking
the skin of this violator of the promise”).
10
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 12b2–3: “Bse 'bag nag po 'phur shes zhes yong su grags
pa Sgo rum gzim spyil dkar po ka ba gcig gi sa| mchod pa'i sprin phud bsam gyi mi
khyab pa'i dbus na zhal rdo rje gdan gyi byang sgo'i phyogs su gzigs” (the one uni-
versally called “the black flying leather mask” [stays] in the midst of an inconceivable
cloud[-like] heap of offerings, [by] the place of one pillar of the Sgo rum gzim spyil
dkar po, facing the direction of the north door of the Vajrāsana).
11
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 13a3: “Mgon po'i sku gdong 'brub khung na dam nyams
Bla chen stag tsha'i snying yod” (in the ritual pit in front of the lord’s face is the

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the sgo rum was on two levels: the mask was in the upper one,
while the second, lower level, which consisted of a cave-like environment,
was known as the cave chamber (gzim mal phug pa) of rje btsun rin po che
grags pa rgyal mtshan. this cave’s main focus of veneration was the area
where Sa skya Paṇḍita was said to have been born, located on the south side
of a two-pillar area, and marked with special ornamentation.12 the guidebook
describes, proceeding in a clockwise way, all the supports and the wall paint-
ings of both the upper level and the lower cave. Without proceeding to list
them here, it will be sufficient to note that the upper level of the Sgo rum
housed a fairly rich library which occupied an eight-pillar room and which
contained, among other things, two copies of the Buddhist canon in sanskrit,
and an ‘uygur’ Bka' 'gyur in scroll form, which, according to tradition, had
been donated to 'Phags pa by karma Pakshi.13 The restorations of the late 16th–
early 17th century seem to have touched the sgo rum only marginally: all that
the guidebook mentions is the erection of a new golden ganjira on its roof.14

heart of Bla chen stag tsha, the violator of the promise).

12
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 13b2: “Ka ba gnyis kyi sa'i lho ngos na| rje btsun chen
po sku bltams pa”.
13
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 15b4–5: “Zhal nub bstan la Rgya gar gyi Bka' 'gyur
shog ril ma cha gcig gi khrig mig gnyis khengs pa| 'Phags pa rin po che'i drung du
slob dpon rin po che'i Dpag shis skyes lan gyi gtso bo la phul ba'i Yu gur gyi yi ge'i
Bka' 'gyur shog ril ma Rgya nag mar grags pas khri mig brgyad khengs pa” (look-
ing on the west face, two shelves are filled with a pair of Sanskrit Bka' 'gyur in scroll
form; eight shelves are filled with a Bka' 'gyur in Uygur script and in scroll form, which
was donated as the main portion of a return gift from the precious teacher dpag shis
[sic; i.e. Karma Pakshi] to 'Phags pa Rin po che and which is known as the Chinese
one). the uygur script of the text likely refers to the uygur-Mongolian script and
not to the uygur language.
14
the term ganjira identifies a large, gilded copper roof-top ornament. Its definition
can be found in Lo Bue, 1988: 114, n. 173, appended to the term gajura: “This Newari
term, as may be found in Wright, p. 146, is probably the source of the Tibetan word
ganji-ra and designates the gilded copper architectural ornaments in the shape of
vases often resting on stylized lotus flowers which surmount the roofs of Newar and
tibetan religious buildings. Waddell 1971: 271 gives the spelling kanjira. its sanskrit
equivalents are the stūpika in a Buddhist context, and the āmalaka in a hindu con-
text. the newar wooden and brick pagoda architecture does not require the massive
āmalaka which is necessary to compress the building blocks of the tower (śikhara)
of hindu stone temples into place. Being reduced to the ornamental and symbolic
function of gajura, the āmalaka thus lost its structural function”. on this term see

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Most of the changes concerning the sgo rum involved instead the removal
and transfer of some of its supports, such as two symbols of Vajrapāṇi and
Mañjuśrī connected with lama Nam kha'u pa and Sa skya Paṇḍita, which were
relocated to the bed chambers of the then abbot.15 as this paper will show,
these kinds of rearrangements of holy supports from a temple open to public
devotion to the personal chamber of one of the sa skya pa hierarchs are a
recurrent theme in the guidebook. the nonchalance with which such objects
are removed and displaced from their original environment raises questions as
to the issue at the centre of this panel, that of contextualization and original
placement of an object of art. indeed, the frequent occurrence of transfers of
sacred objects seems to indicate that the fixity of the original physical context
of these objects was not as crucial as we may imagine it today.
this issue in fact comes again to the surface in the sections devoted
to the two other major structures of sakya, the Bzhi thog pho brang and the
Bla brang rin chen sgang. While of the Bla brang rin chen sgang i have only
found a photograph from far away (Fig. 3), the Bzhi thog pho brang can also
be observed in two close-up photographs. The first picture (Fig. 4) was taken
again from the roof of the lha khang chen mo and shows clearly the south
façade of the building, with the four stories which give it its name.16 in front

also Richardson 1977: 157 and Macdonald & Dvags po rin po che 1981: 242, n. 13. I
am indebted with Professor lo Bue for the above references, as well as for noting
that while this term is regarded by Per Sørensen (1994: 259) as the Sanskrit for rgyal
mtshan, hence victory-banner, one of the eight auspicious emblems of Mahāyāna
Buddhism, that is unlikely, since the sanskrit for rgyal mtshan is dhvaja, not gan-
jira (electronic correspondence, september 3, 2007). to this i may add that in the
dkar chag of sakya the terms ganjira and rgyal mtshan are in no way considered
synonyms and are always treated as two separate roof-top ornaments. For example, in
the description of the restorations of the gzims khang rnying ma, the dkar chag notes
that it was “decorated with a rgyal mtshan and two golden ganjira” (f. 34 a3).
15
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 13b3–4: “Rje btsun chen po'i dbu thod la byon pa'i 'Jam
pa'i dbyangs dang| yi ge A dkar po| bla ma gNam kha'u pas dbu thod las byon pas
phyag rdor la sogs pa rtags 'byar ba bzhugs pa de| da ltar Zhal ngos gzim chung na
yod” (There were things such as the marks of Mañjuśrī which had appeared on the
skull of rje btsun chen po, a white letter “A”, and the marks of Vajrapāṇi, which had
originated from the skull of lama gnam kha'u pa. at present they are in the personal
chamber of the zhal dngos).
16
however, the name of this palace is variously spelled both bzhi and gzhi, thus
rendering the translation “four-storied palace” only one of two possibilities.

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Fig. 3: the eastern section of Fig. 2 with the Bla brang rin chen sgang
on the extreme right; sa skya, 1939, photograph on 35 mm black and
white film, IsIAO archive, Rome, Dep. 6117/22, F. Boffa Ballaran.
of the Bzhi thog pho brang, on the right side, is visible the 'cham khang
that was annexed to it, while on the top right corner of the photograph is the
Bkra shis rtse nub. the second picture (Fig. 5), instead, shows a close-up of
the easternmost portion of the Bzhi thog.
notwithstanding the fact that the Bzhi thog functioned as the resi-
dence of the abbot of Sakya and the main government building from the 14th
up to the mid-20th century, it receives, together with the Rin chen sgang, more
summary attention than the sgo rum, as the guidebook does not recount the
history of the foundation or the legends connected to the sites, but is mostly
concerned with noting the changes occurred in these two buildings during the
restorations. These restorations were made between the end of the 16th and the
beginning of the 17th century by three hierarchs of sakya: kun dga' rin chen,
and his sons and successors Bsod nams dbang po and grags pa blo gros, who
acted respectively as the 24th, 25th and 26th khri pa of sakya between 1533 and

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Fig. 4: the four-storeyed Bzhi thog pho brang; sa skya, 1939, photograph on
35 mm black and white film, IsIAO archive, Rome, Dep. 6145/30, F. Boffa Ballaran.
1617. The dkar chag of sakya was written immediately following the restora-
tions, as a new and updated guidebook to the monastery after the changes and
the improvements implemented by these three hierarchs.
the descriptions of these two palaces and of the sacred receptacles
they housed reflect the fact that few of the holiest items remained unmoved
or unchanged at the time of the restorations. indeed, while the renovations of
the buildings seem to have consisted mostly of the erection of golden ganjira
and rgyal mtshan on the roofs, it is particularly the contents of the temples
which were most affected by the restorations: many objects were moved from
their original receptacles to other temples, and in particular to the personal
chambers of the very hierarchs who sponsored the renovations, in order to
serve as supports of their meditation.
important examples of this practice are the images of ye shes kyi mgon
po. the dkar chag reports that of the four celebrated images of ye shes kyi
mgon po, only one, the mask, remained in its original location, the Sgo rum,
even after the restorations. the three other supports, the wooden mgon po,
the stone mgon po and the painted mgon po, which also originated in india

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Fig. 5: the easternmost part of the Bzhi thog pho brang;

Sa skya, 1939, photograph on 35 mm black and white film,
IsIAO archive, Rome, Dep. 6145/38, F. Boffa Ballaran.
and were connected to prestigious histories of transmission of esoteric teach-
ings exclusive to the sa skya pa, were all moved from their respective original
locations to the personal bed chambers of the hierarchs.17 thus, because of the
frequent occurrence in the dkar chag of instances of rearrangements of holy
supports, the guidebook reflects more the flexibility of the temples, in which
few things are necessarily fixed, than the importance of these objects retain-
ing their original position. By being moved to another area, public or private,
these objects became the focus of new attention and, often, of a different
use, especially in the case in which they were transferred to the bedroom of a
hierarch. as a consequence, the concept of original context and environment
of an object of art seems to get diluted: the dkar chag implies that, with few
17
see the relevant passages in sa skya dkar chag: f. 11b5–12a2: “Shing mgon ni| [...] da
lta 'Jam pa'i dbyangs dge sding pa ngag dbang Bsod nams dbang po grags pa rgyal
mtshan dpal bzang po ba'i gzim chung na bzhugs”; f. 12a2–4: “Rdo mgon ni| [...] da
lta dpal Sa skya'i Khri thog pa chen po sngags 'chang Grags pa blo gros rgyal mtshan
dpal bzang po ba'i gzim chung na bzhugs”; f. 12a5–12b1: “Bris mgon ni| [...] da lta
Dbu rtse gsar ma'i steng gi Blo 'gros bla brang rnams kyi byang na bzhugs”.

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Fig. 6: dbu rtse rnying ma; sa skya, 1939, photograph on 35 mm. black
and white film, isiao archive, Rome, dep. 6145/32, F. Boffa Ballaran.
exceptions, there is no original context that cannot be changed depending on
the contingent situation and needs.18
Two other temples, illustrated by photographs 6145/30 and 6145/32,
are discussed in the dkar chag: the Dbu rtse rnying ma (shown in Fig. 6) and
the Gzim khang rnying ma (shown in Fig. 4). According to the guidebook,
the dbu rtse rnying ma, founded by sa chen kun dga' snying po, had a total
of forty-eight columns, as the size of the building in the photograph seems to
confirm. The restorations of the 17th century added several new elements to it;
without listing them all, it may be mentioned here that the dkar chag informs
us that kun dga' rin chen, the abbot who initiated the wave of restorations in
sakya, commissioned a portrait-like statue of kun dga' snying po which was

18
The notable exception is that of the flying mask, certainly the most prestigious,
ancient and charged symbol of ye shes kyi mgon po. until its diappearance at the
time of the cultural Revolution, the mask was never moved from its location in the
sgo rum.

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eventually placed in a new structure north of the dbu rtse,19 the thig khang.
this was built by his son grags pa blo 'gros, who is also said to have added a
golden roof to the dbu rtse.20
the gzim khang rnying ma, like the sgo rum, was on two levels. the
lower one was composed of two caves, a southern one and a northern one,
enclosed in the structure of the temple. the southern cave was known as the
“cave of accomplishment” of Sa chen, and contained the throne where he
was said to have achieved perfection. three legends connected to that throne
are reported in the dkar chag. In the first, it is shown how on the advice of
Ba ri lotsāwa (1040–1111) , the twelve-year old Kun dga' snying po performed
the propitiation of Mañjuśrī in this cave. In consequence of this, Mañjuśrī
appeared to him accompanied by Avalokiteśvara and Vajrapāṇi, and spoke
to him.21 The second story narrates that when Mal lotsāwa passed away in
gung thang, sa chen kun dga' snying po happened to eat some bad food that
19
see Sa skya dkar chag, f.27a1–5: “Dbu rtse byang gyi thigs khang na| [...] sngags
'chang ngag gi dbang pos bzhengs pa'i rje Sa skya pa chen po'i sku 'dra”.
20
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 29a1–2: “'Jam dbyangs Grags pa blo gros [...] da lta'i
gser thog thig khang dang bcas te bzhengs pa yin”.
21
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 31b2–5: “De yang rje Sa chen dgung lo bcu gnyis bzhes
pa'i tshe bla ma Ba ri lo tsā bas rje Sa chen la khyed pha jo sras kyi bu yin pas slob
gnyer byed dgos| de la shes rab dgos shing shes rab kyi lha 'Jam dbyangs yin pas
de'i sgrub pa bgyis shig zhes gsungs pa ltar sgrub khang 'di nyid du 'Jam dbyangs
A ra pa tsa na'i sgrub pa zla ba drug mdzad pa'i tshe rje btsun 'Jam pa'i dbyangs
sku gur gum gzhon nu'i mdangs dang ldan zhing shin tu 'dzum pa g.yas su Spyan
ras gzigs g.yon du Phyag na rdo rje ste gtso 'khor gsum po des zhal dngos su bstan
cing gtso bo'i gzhal nas rigs kyi bu tshe 'di la zhen na chos pa min| | 'khor ba la
zhen na nges 'byung min| bdag don la zhen na byang sems min| |'dzin pa byung na
lta ba min| ces blo sbyong zhen pa bzhi bral gyi rtsa tsha gi 'di gsungs pa” (then,
at the time when rje Sa chen was twelve years old, lama Ba ri lotsāba said to rje sa
chen: “Because you are the son of of a noble father, you should be a scholar. Con-
sequently you need wisdom, and because Mañjughoṣa is the lord of wisdom, make
his propitiation!” – thus he said. According to this, in this room of accomplishment,
at the time of making the sixth month propitiation of Mañjughoṣa Arapacana, the
three lords and [their] retinues showed up physically, being a much smiling image of
Mañjuśrī with the healthy appearance of a young marygold, Avalokiteśvara on the
right and Vajrapāṇi on the left. Then, from the Lord’s mouth: “Son a good family,
if you love this life, you are not a dharma practitioner; if you love this world, it is
not renunciation; if you are attached to self-interest, it is not bodhicitta. When there
is attachment, there is no view.” – Thus the mental practice, principle of separation
from the four attachments, was uttered).

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caused him to become very ill. at the end of his sickness, which lasted about
two months, he realized that he did not remember well all the dharmas he had
learned from his deceased teacher, and in particular he did not remember a
single word of the lam 'bras. he is said to have returned to his throne in this
cave and to have begun an intense period of meditation at the end of which
Zhang dgon pa ba (1053-1135) appeared to him in his dreams and taught him
the lam 'bras.22 Finally, the third anecdote transmits the tradition according
to which, while Sa chen Kun dga' snying po was sitting in this cave, Virūpa
appeared as if sitting in a cross-legged position between the two ravines of
Mon and Bal, with the dpon po ri mountain as a backdrop. on account of
this apparition, Sa chen associated with Virūpa and listened personally to his
complete teachings, thus acquiring the direct transmission of the lam 'bras
also from him.23
all three of these traditions, connected to the holy throne of sa chen
and to the chamber where it was located, emphasize the powerful influence
of this object and this place on his meditative performances. While sa chen’s

22
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 32a1–b1: “Yang bla ma Mal lo tsā ba sku yal nas Gung
thang na la rtse nas gsar du phebs dus gsol ba ngan pa zhig byung nas sku snyel
ba la [...] De nas sku Khams dwangs ba'i tshe sngar gsan pa'i chos rnams thams
cad mnyel zhing khyad par lam 'bras bu dang bcas ba'i gdams ngag rnams tshig
gcig kyang thugs la ma bzhugs pas [...] Gdan sa chen por phebs te sgrub phug 'dir
sku mtshams dam du bcad bla ma Dkon mchog la gsol ba drag tu btab pas chos
thun re thun gnyis re dgongs pa byung de nas Zhang dgon pa ba mnal lam du byon
nas lam 'bras gsungs de nas dngos su byon nas lam 'bras gsungs pa”(also, lama
Mal lotsāba departed and when Sa chen newly came from the top pass in Gung thang,
there appeared bad food and he fell sick. [...] Then, when he recovered, all the dharmas
which he had listened to before were weakened and, in particular, in his mind there was
not even a word of the lam 'bras and other instructions; therefore [...] He went to the
great see and established a strict retreat in this cave of accomplishment, and because
he made a strong supplication to the lama and the precious triratna, several mental
dharma sessions occurred. then Zhang dgon pa ba arrived in his dreams and told him
the lam 'bras doctrine; then he arrived in reality and told him the lam 'bras).
23
see Sa skya dkar chag, f. 32b1–2 “Yang dus re zhig gi tshe sgrub phug 'dir bzhugs
pa na rje btsun rnal 'byor gyi dbang phyug Bir wa pas gdan sa'i gdan gyi sa dkar
po 'di rgyab yol gyi tshul du byas| stod Mon grog nas smad 'Bal grog yan chad skyil
krung gcig gi khyab par mdzad de” (also, at one time, when he was staying in the
cave of accomplishment, rje btsun Virūpa, the master of yoga, made the white earth
of the seat of this see in the manner of a backdrop and spread in a cross-legged sitting
pose from Mon grog in the west to 'Bal grog in the east.)

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holiness and superior accomplishments are never doubted, the text makes
it clear that the use of this particular throne and chamber greatly strength-
ened his powers. in the guidebook, the cave and the throne themselves are
extraordinary and worthy of being celebrated through the written word, both
to perpetuate the memory of their holiness and to spread the reputation of
their exceptional powers.
Moreover, the guidebook always highlights objects that had been the
special focus of important religious figures, such as the throne of Sa chen
and the masks of ye shes kyi mgon po. in fact, these objects acquired special
prestige on account of their association with recognizable religious figures;
and their higher status, emphasized in the dkar chag, easily augmented their
visibility within the community. therefore, these objects often acquired a
significance which was not limited to the religious sphere: while clearly for
the religious community their superior status rendered them worthy of more
devotion, for the lay community surrounding the monastery they became
symbols of uniqueness and standing, which, by reflection, were applied as a
sign of distinction to the community itself.
in conclusion, by narrating the anecdotes behind the holy objects
contained in the monastery, the guidebook evokes their historical or quasi-
historical role and ensures their perpetuation in the local memory and tradition.
thus, the temples and their holy contents are celebrated not only as religious
icons but also as symbols of local history and, in a larger frame, of local power.
By preserving the memory of the relation between the temples and their sto-
ries, the dkar chag added another element to the communal function of the
temples, which were not only socially consumed in virtue of their religious
significance, with rites, offerings, functions and celebrations; but assumed
a past, a history, that belonged to and was shared by the entire community
around the monastery, both religious and lay. in short, the descriptions of
the temples in the dkar chag present to us not merely religious spaces, but
symbols of local history and power to be preserved in the collective memory
of the community around the monastery.
thus, it may be suggested that it is especially the lore attached to a
religious object, the complex of history and legends regarding its origins and
its vicissitudes, which establishes its function. it is on this lore, rather than on
the particular original contextual placement of an object, that the guidebook

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concentrates. indeed, the dkar chag of sakya suggests the fact that an object
acquired a social role when its history was recorded and transmitted: the
history of that object became patrimony of the whole community, and its
powers would be shared by the whole society around it. therefore, while the
most immediate aim of this paper has been that of showing and identifying
pictures of a place that has now disappeared, in the hope of re-establishing, at
least visually, its intended appearance and original environment, this paper has
secondarily shown that the paucity of physical descriptions in the dkar chag,
contrasted with the wealth of information on legends and narratives connected
to the place, highlights how, in tibetan traditional culture, the lore attached
to a sacred space is as essential as, and sometimes more charged with mean-
ing, than its original physical context. hence, when looking at tibetan art or
architecture, it may be worthwhile to pay attention not only to its particular
placement, but also to the histories and legends connected with it.

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