Kurjey is the “impression left by the sacred body of Guru Rinpoche on the rock in the cave of the Diamond Piled Red Rock (Drakmar Dorje Tsekpa) while meditating to subdue Shelging Karpo, who took the life force (sog) of King Sindhu Raja of Bumthang. Therefore, it was known as Kurjey. The body impression can still be seen.
It is the first sacred site of Guru Rimpoche in Bumthang where he subdued evil spirits and wrathful local deities and then turned the Wheel of Vajrayana Buddhism for the very first time in Druk Yul by preaching the Nying-gi Thigpa, the essence of all religions known as the Dzogpa Chenpo Selwai Melong (The Clear Mirror of Great Mahasanti).
Later, Kurjey Lhakhang was built by Chogyal Minjur Tempa on this sacred site in 1652. Therefore, Kurjey is a very holy place for the pilgrimage of Guru Rinpoche.
Bumthang Kurjey Lhakhang is one of the two sacred places blessed by Guru Rinpoche during his first visit to Bhutan and has become a central site for pilgrimage from people worldwide.
How to Reach Kurjey Lhakhang
The Kurjey is located at the Drakmar Dorje Tsekpa (the Vajra Piled Red Cave), 5 km from Jakar town. It takes only 15 minutes by car to reach Kurjey. If you visit from Chakhar Lhakhang, Kurjey is 2.5 kilometers away. The Kurjey Lhakhang is only 1 kilometer from Jambay Lhakhang.
Sacred Relics to See at Bumthang Kurje
- Cave of the Red Cliff (Drakmar Dorje Tsekpa) where Guru Rinpoche meditated;
- Self-arisen body imprint of Guru Rinpoche;
- Guru Lhakhang, Sampa Lhundrup Lhakhang and Ka Gong Phur Sum Lhakhang;
- The figure of a snow lion with a Garuda (Jachung);
- Cypress tree grown from the Guru’s walking stick;
- Kurjey Drupchhu.
Also Read: Guru Rinpoche in Bhutan: His Visits to Bhutan and Sacred Sites
Historical Significance of Kurje
Kurjey is one of the most sacred sites in Bhutan, regarded as the first holy place established in Bumthang by Guru Rinpoche. The history and importance of Kurjey Lhakhang date back to the year of the Iron Tiger in 810 AD.
Also Read: 2 Holiest Sites Blessed by Guru Rinpoche During His First Visit to Bhutan
Sindhu Raja had a conflict with a king to the south, known as Naochhe, or ‘Big Nose’. Before sending his troops—one of whom was his son—into war with Naochhe, Sindhu Raja prayed to (pre-Buddhist) local deities to protect his soldiers, specifically praying for his son’s safety.
However, Sindhu Raja’s son was killed during the fighting, causing Sindhu to become resentful of the local deities. Sindhu then ordered his men to destroy religious sites, angering the local deities, especially the chief local protective deity, Shelging Karpo. Shelging Karpo thus aimed to kill Sindhu Raja, stealing his ‘life essence’, or his soul.
As a result, Sindhu Raja slowly became ill and could not be healed by any astrologers or local shamans. One of Sindhu Raja’s ministers requested the king to invite Guru Rinpoche as a final effort. At the invitation of King Sindhu Raja of Bumthang, Guru Rinpoche traveled from Nepal and entered Bhutan via Nabji Korphu in the Trongsa District. Guru Rinpoche came to Bumthang to recover the life force (sog) of Sindhu Raja snatched by the local deity, Shelging Karpo as Guru Rinpoche’s supernatural powers were well known throughout the Himalayan region.
Once he arrived in Bumthang, Guru Padmasambhava meditated in the cave of the Red Cliff for three months and left his kur (body) jey (print) on the rock cave. Therefore, the cave is considered sacred and is known as Kurje(སྐུ་རྗེ།), now surrounded by Kurje Lhakhang.
While Guru stayed in deep contemplation, Khandro did the household chores and helped lay out the ritual edifies. Guru pierced the Vajra Piled Red Cave, which hit the palace of the Naga King and shook it.
Lui Gyalpo Pemachen knowing it was the work of Guru Rinpoche humbly responded asking what service he should offer. To this, Guru said, “I need Chhu Drowa Drenpa (an elixir that would liberate all sentient beings)”. The Naga king did not understand what it meant and asked what it was.
Guru said, “It is the mixture of 9 different glasses of water”. The Naga King understood it and said he would offer.
Then, on the morning of the 7th day after this, Guru told Khandro:
“Today we will exhibit the miracle of our achievement. Lhachig Bumden, you take the golden container Gahta (གསེར་གྱི་གྷ་ཌ) and go in the direction of north-west where there is a small crag. From there holy water will come out. Before it touched the ground, hold the container and receive it.”
As Khandro arrived there, as destiny would have it, the holy water (Kurje Drupchhu) gushed out and Khandro received it in her container instantly, five Dakinis appeared and each Dakini held the same container.
Also Read: Drupchhu or Holy Spring Waters in Bhutan: Beliefs and Benefits
While the princess was away, Guru Rinpoche transformed into his eight manifestations, and they all started to dance in the field. Every local deity appeared to watch this spectacle, but the stony-faced Shelging Karpo stayed hidden away in his rocky hideout.
When Khandro arrived at Marthang, the first ray of the sun hit the Gahta and reflected on the cliff which then reflected on Khandro. The whole area was filled with rays and rainbows, attracting the attention of evil spirits and demons and taking them by surprise. Shelging Karpo too got tempted by the event and turned himself into a lion peeped from his shelter to watch the show. At that instant, Guru turned into a garuda (Jachhung), pounced upon the lion, and ferociously announced, “Now you, Shelging Karpo are in the claws of the Great Chant Master, Guru Pema Jungney. You are the one who has seized the life force of King Sindhu Raja”.
Shelging Karpo pleaded:
ཀྱེེ། སྔགས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ལགས། Oh! The Great Master!
བདག་ནི་སྲོག་བདག་དཔོན་བྱེད་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of life,
ཤེལ་གིང་དཀར་པོ་བྱ་བ་ཨིནཿ I am called Shelging Karpo,
གནོད་སྦྱིན་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the King Yaksha,
གང་བ་བཟང་པོ་བྱ་བ་ཡིནཿ I am called Gangwa Zangpo,
རྨུའི་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of wind,
རྨུག་རྟ་འུར་ཆེན་བྱ་བ་ཡིནཿ I am called the swift wind horse,
བཙན་གྱི་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of Tsen,
སྐྱེས་བུ་ལུང་བཙན་བྱ་བ་ཡིནཿ I am called Kebu Lungtsen,
གཟའ་ཡི་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of planet
གཟའ་བདུད་རྒྱལ་པོ་ར་ཧུ་ལཿ My name is Rahula,
བདུད་ཀྱི་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of Maras
འཆི་བདག་ཟྭོ་ར་ར་སྐྱེས་ཡིནཿ I am Zorarakey,
ཀླུ་ཡི་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of Naga,
ཀླུ་ཆེན་མགོ་དགུ་ང་ཡིན་ནོཿ I am the nine headed serpent.
མ་མོའི་དཔོན་པོ་བྱེད་པའི་ཚེཿ When I assume the king of Mamo,
ང་ནི་དམ་སྲི་མ་མོ་ཡིནཿ I am the Damsi Mamo,
ང་ནི་ལྷ་འདྲེ་ཀུན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་སྟེཿ I am the king of all demons
སྣང་སྲིད་ལྷ་འདྲེ་ང་ཡི་འབངསཿ Demons and demi gods are my subjects,
ང་ལས་ཆེ་བཙན་སུ་ཡང་མེདཿ No one is above me,
རྒྱལ་པོ་སིནྡྷུ་རཱ་ཛའི་བླ་སྲོག་འདི་ཡིན་ཁྱེད་ལ་འབུལ་ལོཿ Yes, this is the soul of King Sindhu, I offer it back,
སྔར་ཡང་སྤྱོད་ངན་བྱེད་པས་ལནཿ I seized it because he ill-treated us before,
ད་གཟོད་སྤྱོད་ངན་མི་བྱེད་ཞུཿ Tell him not to repeat.
ལར་ནི་ཁམས་གསུམ་སེམས་ཅན་རྣམསཿ Henceforth, all life bearing sentients of the three spheres
དབུགས་མེད་ས་རྡོ་མ་གཏོགས་པཿ Except the non-living things, land and stones,
དབུགས་ཅན་སྲོག་ཀུན་ང་ཡིས་དབང་ཿ All that has life, I will rule.
སྲོག་འདི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རང་ལུ་ལོག་ཕུལཝ་ཨིན། Now I am returning the king’s life force.
In an iron locket, there is a thin skin like that of a rat, This is the soul of the king, Inside this thin skin, you will see a white spider, this is his life,
My secret mantra for this life is ཏྲི་དུ་ཏྲི་ཛ༔
Due to the power of Guru’s intense prayer, the cave of Shelging Karpo too got sealed and the footprints of Guru appeared clearly. All those demons and demigods gathered there witnessed this event and remained awestruck looking at each other not knowing whether it was a dream or real. At that moment, Guru and Khandro rushed to Chagkhar Gyalpo Sindhu Raja’s bed carrying the holy water and the king’s life force. Guru opened the skin and the king inhaled his breath, the spider dissolved from the King’s crown and after drinking the holy water (drowa Drenpai Chhu), the king got alright.
Since then people from all walks of life have had strong faith that Kurje is the most sacred site and the Kurje Drupchhu is the holiest of all waters. With unwavering devotion, people drink this holy water and use it to take a bath to treat various diseases. Because of this, travelers passing via Bumthang make it a point to collect it and take it as a gift.
Also Read: Kurjey Drupchhu, the Holy Water that Cures all Diseases
Kunkhyen Longchen Rabjam said:
“On the cliff of the northern mountain, nearby it (Tharpaling) There is the self-arisen body-imprint of the Pema Gyalpo (Guru Rinpoche). Even if you see that just for a single time, the doors to lower rebirths will be closed, and one will tread on the liberation path.”
The grasses that grow in the meadows of Kurjey are believed to bear the self-arisen mantra syllables.
Lama Drukpa Kunley said:
“There is no place where I can relieve myself. All the grasses of Kurje bear self-arisen syllable AH”.
Description of Kurjey Lhakhang Complex
The Kurjey Lhakhang is built against a cave where Guru Rinpoche subdued the local deity, Shelging Karpo, and imprinted his body on the cave. The first temple is believed to have been built in the 8th century by King Sendha of Bumthang after his conversion to Buddhism by Guru Rinpoche.
A five-minute walk up the hillside near the entrance is the holy water created by Guru Rinpoche. This sacred water is known as Kurjey Drupchhu.
There are three main temples; Guru Lhakhang, Sampa Lhundrup Lhakhang, and Ka Gon Phor Sum Lhakhang. The oldest, Guru Lhakhang was built in 1652 on the site where the Guru meditated, the second temple where he left his body imprints and the third was added in 1984.
The Guru Lhakhang was built by Chogyal Minjur Tempa when he was the first Trongsa Penlop of Bhutan. Below the Kurjey cave, one can see a lion figure with a Garuda (Jachung) above it. It is said to represent the struggle between Guru Rinpoche (transformed into garuda) and the local deity, Shelging Karpo (transformed into a snow lion).
At the entrance to the lower floor of Sangay Lhakhang is a small rock passage where it’s believed that those who can crawl through it will cleanse all their sins. Sangay Lhakhang house of Buddhas of the three times. Behind the statues is a passageway believed to have once led to Tharpaling.
The upper floor is the Lhakhang complex’s main and holiest sanctuary. The central statue is Guru Rinpoche, flanked by his eight manifestations and the eight Chortens. Hidden behind the statue of Guru Rinpoche is the meditation cave, where he left his body imprint. There are also thousands of small statues of Guru Rinpoche.
The second temple, Sampa Lhundrup Lhakhang (Complete Fulfillment of one’s Mind and Thoughts
or Anabhog bhavana), was built in 1900 by Gongsa Ugyen Wangchuck, the first King of Bhutan when he was the 12th Trongsa Penlop. The entrance has paintings of the Guardians of the Four Directions and various local deities. The local deity, Shelging Karpo, is represented as a white ghost-like figure riding on a white horse above the doorway to the right. The central statue inside the temple is a 10 m tall statue of Guru Rinpoche, flanked by the statues of the eight manifestations of Guru.
The third and most recent temple, Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum Lhakhang, was built by the Queen Grandmother of Bhutan, Ashi Kesang Choden Wangchuck, in 1984 under the guidance of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche. The Ka Gon Phur Sum Lhakhang means “Three Mystic Revelations of The Eight Pronouncements (Kagye), Abhipraya Samaja (Gongdue), and Vajra Kilaya (Phurpa).”
The Construction of Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum Lhakhang
The construction of the new Lhakhang on the sacred ground of Kurjey was undertaken by Mayum Chonying Wangmo Dorji and Her Majesty The Queen Mother in keeping with His Majesty’s desire and wishes to build a holy image of Palchen Heruka. At the same time, her mother Mayum Chonying Wangmo Dorji had also wanted to construct a similar big image of Dorji Phurpa (Vajrakila) at this holy spot.
When His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche was consulted, he advised Her Majesty The Queen Mother to build a temple of Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum (Kagye, Gongdue, and Phurpa) in this sacred place. Thus the construction on this magnificent temple started in 1984 in loving memory and dedication to all the past Kings of Bhutan, and to Gongzim Ugyen Dorji, Gongzim Sonam Tobgye Dorji, and Lyonchen Jigme Palden Dorji, and with deepest prayers for the long life and successful reign of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck, and for the eternal happiness and well-being of the Kingdom of Bhutan in particular and all sentient beings in general. It is the biggest and most elaborate Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum Temple of the Terma tradition.
Description of Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum Lhakhang
The new Kurjey Temple has three storeys with the main image of Palchen Chemchog Heruka (Mahasri Parama Heruka) in wrathful form or the short form “Mahasri Heruka of Palchen Duepa”, with his mystic consort standing imposingly from the first to the third floor. This commanding image of Palchen Heruka is 34 feet in height and has 21 heads, 42 hands with an image of various deities in each hand, and 8 legs. The mystic consort has 9 heads, 18 hands, 4 legs, and stands 30 feet in height. The image of Palchen Heruka has the beneficial effect of averting all undesirable elements like war, internal strife, natural calamities, misfortune, and epidemics and bringing peace and happiness to the country.
On the right of Palchen Heruka stands the 17 feet image of Drangsong Throepa Lama Gondue with 3 heads, 6 hands and
4 legs while his consort has one head with two hands and two legs. On the left side of Palchen Heruka stands a 17-foot image of Sinbu Throepa Palchen Dorji Phurpa or Vajrakila with 3 heads, 6 hands, and 4 legs with his consort who has one face with two hands and two legs.
Life-size statues on the top floor on the right of Palchen Heruka are KHEN-LOB-CHOE-SUM or Khenchen Bodhisattva (Shantaraksita) on the right, Lopon (Guru) Rinpoche in the center and Choegyal Thrisong Deutsan on the left. Images of
the lineage of Nyingmapa Lamas adorn the top portion of the altar.
Statues of similar size on the left side of Palchen Heruka on the top floor are Drogoen Tsangpa Gyare Yeshe Dorji, founder of the Drukpa Kargyu tradition with Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel and Gyalse Tenzin Rabgye, the fourth Desi of
Bhutan on the right and left respectively. Images of the lineage of Drukpa Kargyu Lamas are beautifully placed in a row above the three statues.
Statues on the middle floor are Kagye (The Eight Pronouncements), Gongdue (Abhipraya Samaja), and Phurpa (Vajra Kilaya). They are the Chief Tutelary Deities (Yidam) of the Terma tradition of Buddhism in the Kingdom.
Along with constructing the new temple, a new Chari (wall) has also been erected around the three temples at Kurjey. The top of these walls is adorned by 108 Chortens (caitya) carved out of stones and placed at regular intervals. These Chortens are known as Duduel or Jangchub Chortens. Chortens represent the Buddhas’ minds and the steps towards spiritual enlightenment. The Chortens on the Chari at Kurjey commemorate Buddha’s victory over evil forces and the absolute purity of His enlightenment.
The Consecration of Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum Lhakhang
The main consecration of the new Kurjey Temple was held on the 15 Day of the Fourth Month of the Wood Horse Year in the 17th Rabjung corresponding to June 8, 1990, which coincided with the anniversary of Lord Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and Mahaparnirvana. The consecration ceremony was performed by His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Trulkus, and monks of Tongsa, Tharpaling, Nyimalung, and Shechan Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche at Boudhnath, Nepal. His Majesty The King, Her Majesty The Queen Mother, Their Majesties The Queens, Their Royal Highnesses The Princes and Princesses, senior monks from the Central Monastic Body, and officials of the Royal Government attended the consecration and offered prayers.
The first Drubchen (Mahasadhana) at this newly built temple started on the 5th Day of the Fourth Month and concluded on the 16th Day with Ngodrub Langchog (Ceremony of Receiving the Supreme Consummation) in the early morning hours. In the afternoon of the same day, the three-day long consecration ceremony was concluded with benedictions of Yondag Ngasoel (Installation of Patron) with the offering of the Eight Auspicious Emblems and the Eight Lucky Offerings to His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen Mother by His Holiness Khyentse Rinpoche to the accompaniment of prayers by the monks.
This was followed by the presentation of scarves, images by Their Majesties The Queens, Their Royal Highnesses The Princes and Princesses, senior monastic representatives, and government officials on behalf of the monastic bodies and the Royal Government. The Drubchen and the consecration ceremony ended with the prayer of Marmai Monlam (Prayer of holding sacred lamps in the hands) symbolizing the attainment of Buddhahood and spiritual brothers and sisters attending the ceremony.
The Second Consecration of Ka-Gong-Phur-Sum Lhakhang
The second consecration was performed by His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, Trulshig Rinpoche, other venerable Trulkus, and 108 monks from Tongsa, Tharpaling, Nyimalung, and Shechen Tennyi Dargyeling Monastery of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche at Boudhnath, Nepal from the 7th Day of the third month of Iron Sheep Year corresponding to 21st April till 4th May, 1991 following His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche’s Gongter.
It was consecrated after beautifully painted murals depicting life stories of Guru Rinpoche and his Eight Manifestations on the top floor and the ground floor life-size images of 16 Arhats (Neten Chudrug) including Hashang and Upasaka Dhamatala and one storey high image of Lord Buddha, flanked by Sariputra on his right and Moggallana on the left have been completed.
On the completion of the consecration, His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche gave the name Ngedon Shedrub Gatsal “The Joyous Garden for the practice and Expounding of the Absolute Teachings” to the new Kurjey Lhakhang.
Importance of Kurjey Lhakhang
Kurjey Lhakhang is the first sacred site of Guru Rinpoche in Bumthang, where he subdued Shelging Karpo and left his body imprint on the cave wall. This event is believed to have taken place in the 8th century when King Sendha Raja invited Guru Rinpoche to cure him of his illness. Guru Rinpoche discovered that the evil actions of Shelging Karpo and other local deities caused the king’s illness. He then meditated for three months inside the cave, subdued the deities, and left his body imprint, giving the site its name, Kurjey, which means “body imprint” in Dzongkha.
Kurjey Lhakhang is important as it was built where Guru Rinpoche meditated, subdued the local deity, treated King Sindhu Raja, and left his body impression to benefit all sentient beings.
The Bumthang Kurjey is also the final resting place of the remains of the first three Kings of Bhutan.
Cypress Tree of Bumthang Kurjey
Kurjey is one of three sacred sites of Guru Rinpoche where he planted his walking stick. The other two are in Baylangdra in Wangdue Dzongkhag and Dechen Phodrang in Trashi Yangtse.
Also Read: Cypress Tree of Baylangdra Ney, The Hidden Treasure of the Bull Cliff
The cypress tree at the entrance behind the Lhakhang is believed to have grown from Guru Rinpoche’s walking staff. When Guru Rinpoche subdued Shelging Karpo, the local deity agreed to become a protective deity of Buddhism. Guru Rinpoche planted his walking staff in the ground to seal this agreement. The tree is 1201 years old. Every attempt by the monks to propagate the tree has been futile. The cones of holy cypress trees are hung to protect from misfortunes.
It is believed to have been planted upside down to the disbelief of science, and if the deformation is still seen among the branches, is there anything to consider? The tree’s guardian is also believed to have been entrusted to Shelging Karpo – the local deity subdued by Guru Rinpoche. Hence, for anything to do with trees, special permission must be sought from the clay idol of the deity in the sanctum by rolling a pair of dice.
According to the Lam, an incident had happened in the past where red blood oozed out instead of the tree sap when a monk saw the tree branch to be used as ‘Zung’ (inner relics) for a newly built stupa. The monk survived for another three years after this incident.
Kurjey Tshechu
An annual festival called Kurjey Tshechu is conducted on the 10th day of the 5th month of Bhutanese calendar. The festival commemorates the birth anniversary of Guru Rinpoche, who introduced Buddhism to Bhutan. It is a one-day celebration where monks perform traditional mask dances, and the festival concludes with the unfurling of a giant Guru Thongdroel. The annual Kurje Kagay Drubchen was instituted in 1989 by Her Majesty the Royal Grandmother Ashi Kezang Choden Wangchuck.
Best Time to Visit Bumthang Kurjey Lhakhang
The Kurjey Lhakhang can be visited throughout the year, but the best time would be in June when the popular Kurjey Tshechu is held. During the Tshechu, a large Thongdrel of Guru Tshengye, the eight manifestations of Guru Rinpoche, is unfurled in the early morning. The Tshechu has a unique and historical mask dance that portrays Guru Rinpoche subduing the local deity Shelging Karpo.
You can contact Kurjey Lhakhang’s site manager, Sonam Dhendup at 17535974.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Kurjey Lhakhang is a sacred site of immense historical, cultural, and spiritual significance in Bhutan. It is a testament to the country’s rich Buddhist heritage and deep connection between religion, history, and government. The site is an important pilgrimage site, attracting devotees from around the world, and is a symbol of Bhutan’s commitment to preserving its unique cultural identity.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who built Kurjey Lhakhang?
Kurjey Lhakhang was built in three stages by different high-ranking government officials and royals:
- Guru Lhakhang: The oldest temple was built in 1652 by Minjur Tenpa, the Trongsa Penlop before he became the 3rd Desi.
- Sampa Lhundrup Lhakhang: The second temple was built in 1900 by Ugyen Wangchuck, the first King of Bhutan, who was still the Penlop of Trongsa then.
- Ka Gon Phur Sum Lhakhang: The third temple was built in 1990 by Queen Ashi Kesang Wangchuck, the wife of the Third King of Bhutan.
Why was Kurjey Lhakhang built?
Kurjey Lhakhang was dedicated to Guru Rinpoche who subdued the local deity, Shelging Karpo, and left his body imprint on the cave.
Who discovered Kurjey Lhakhang?
Kurjey is regarded as the first holy place established in Bumthang by Guru Rinpoche. The history and importance of Kurjey Lhakhang date back to the year of the Iron Tiger in 810 AD.
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