Dzong Monastery
Little is known about the history of Dzong Chode Shedup Choephel Ling Monastery, short Dzong Monastery, in Lower Mustang. The monastery is framed by the ruins of a castle, the origins of which can be traced back to at least the fifteenth century, when a noble family from Upper Mustang was sent to this area to administer it.
The main temple certainly is more recent and probably dates to the late seventeenth century. At that time, an earthquake led to the collapse of the castle and the death of its owner. This ruler was one of the sponsors of Gönpa Gang in Chukzang, which was completed in the 1680s.
The main temple certainly is more recent and probably dates to the late seventeenth century. At that time, an earthquake led to the collapse of the castle and the death of its owner. This ruler was one of the sponsors of Gönpa Gang in Chukzang, which was completed in the 1680s.
Location
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The village of Dzong, today more commonly spelled Jhong, is in the side valley of Lower Mustang that also houses the pilgrimage site of Muktinath. The monastery is located on top of a prominent hill south of the village and within the ruins of the former castle. Jharkot, on the other side of the valley, was the other royal seat of the Lower Mustang.
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The Temple
The main temple of Dzong Monastery is two-storeyed and has an eight-pillar assembly hall on the ground floor. Its architecture has been restored in recent years with funds from the US Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation. The veranda, the assembly hall, and a painted offering room preserve murals of different time periods. Dzong also houses a major collection of portable heritage, which was documented in 2019.
Its Murals
The original murals preserved in the assembly hall compare well to the murals in Gönpa Gang, which support a late 17th-century date. Subsequently, the monument and its murals were restored multiple times, as is apparent from both the architecture and the different paint layers in the assembly hall.
The murals feature large central deities surrounded by a dense array of secondary ones. Of these, the original paint layer is preserved only in some sections. Most main figures have been repainted over time, likely following the original. Overall, the murals of the assembly hall are a patchwork of different paint layers applied during several historical renovations. There are also minor sections in which the murals have been lost altogether. These will be repainted in the course of the restoration as this will not alter the overall patchwork impression of the walls.
The four images below show one of the main deities of each wall, starting with the left-side wall and continuing clockwise. They depict Ṣaḍakṣara Lokeśvara, Vairocana, Amoghasiddhi, and Pañjara Mahākāla. They have been photographed in spring 2025 after their cleaning.
The murals feature large central deities surrounded by a dense array of secondary ones. Of these, the original paint layer is preserved only in some sections. Most main figures have been repainted over time, likely following the original. Overall, the murals of the assembly hall are a patchwork of different paint layers applied during several historical renovations. There are also minor sections in which the murals have been lost altogether. These will be repainted in the course of the restoration as this will not alter the overall patchwork impression of the walls.
The four images below show one of the main deities of each wall, starting with the left-side wall and continuing clockwise. They depict Ṣaḍakṣara Lokeśvara, Vairocana, Amoghasiddhi, and Pañjara Mahākāla. They have been photographed in spring 2025 after their cleaning.
