Yueling Namgyel Choling Lhakhang
Category:
Temple
Address
Trongsa
It is located in Yueling Village, which is a thirty-minute walk from the Sherubling Higher Secondary. We can also drive to the site, which is 7 kilometers away from Trongsa town and provides a nice vantage point from which to view Trongsa town.
Definitive dates and history of the temple’s construction are not yet known. Nevertheless, the Lhakhang is a sacred one because of its association with Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuk (1517-1555), who was the great grand-father of the Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel.
Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuk was from the Drukpa ruling family and travelled from Tibet to Bhutan. Guided by a vision of the guardian deity Palden Lhamo, he arrived in the Trongsa (Mangdu) region in 1541, and stayed in Yueling village before the construction of Trongsa Dzong. It is said that Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuk built a small meditation retreat (Tshamkhang)under the patronage of three villages: Yueling, Lashing and Tsengbi.
One night, while Yongzin Ngagi Wangchukwas meditating, his attention was drawn by a flicker of light, resembling that of butter lamp burning in the open air, at the spot where the present day protective deity’s temple (Goenkhang) of the Trongsa Dzong is located. In 1543, Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuck established a small meditation retreat (Tshamkhang) in the sacred spot and meditated there. Soon after, Lama Ngagi Wangchuck moved to where the present Trongsa Dzong stands. The retreat later became a center of worship for the three villages of Yueling, Lashing and Tsengbi.
With the passage of time, the meditation retreat became decrepit. A major renovation of the temple started in 2011, with construction of a two-story temple. The village received a half million Ngultrum from the local government fund for the renovation. At present the temple is looked after by the Yueling community members. The caretaker of the temple is appointed on a rotational basis, each household holding the post for the period of three years. The caretaker is responsible for the supervision of daily offerings and the coordination of work in the temple.
The main relics inside the Lhakhang are said to be from Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuk’s time, while the clay statue of Ngagi Wangchuck himself and other relics were included by devotees later on.
Source : Bhutan cultural Atlas
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