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Himachal
Pradesh is a state of high mountains and beautiful
valleys. Its mountains are snow covered its lake crystal
blue and its valleys filled with fruits, flowers and
pine and deodar forests. This land of the Gods is
particularly influenced by Lord Shiva, Durga and Buddha
along with numerous Rishi's and other gods of the
Hindu religion. You can find the Shikara, Pagoda,
and Mandap, Flat-roofed, Gompa and Cave styles of
temples. The monasteries with their Gompas that are
found here are both old and new. One among the various
beautiful monastries is 'Kye (Ki) Monastery'.
The 'Kye (Ki) Monastery' serves the western part of
Spiti and the most prominent feature of the valley.
It lies about 14-kms. north of Kaza and holds the
honor of being the oldest and biggest monastery of
Spiti.
It
is a well-known religious training center for the
Lamas, whom one will find dancing, singing and playing
on their pipes and horns.
One
will also find murals, books, scriptures and paintings
of Buddha and other Goddesses. This monastery is
an outstanding example of the monastic architecture,
which developed during the 14th century in the wake
of the Chinese influence. The Mongols plundered
the monastery in the middle of the 17th century.
In the 19th century, it again suffered three brutal
attacks. The successive trails of destruction and
patch-up jobs have resulted in a haphazard growth
of box-like structures, and the complex now resembles
a defensive fort. |