An imposing 13-storey stronghold constructed on a rocky outcrop near Lhasa, Tibet, in the 17th-c. Once the religious and political centre of Tibet, the complex includes the Red Palace (former seat of the Dalai Lamas) as well as many halls, chapels, and prisons. A world heritage site.
The Potala Palace (Tibetan: པོ་ཏ་ལ; Wylie: Po ta la, Traditional Chinese: 布達拉宮, Simplified Chinese: 布达拉宫, pinyin: Bùdálā Gōng), located in Lhasa, Tibet, was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to Dharamsala, India after a failed uprising in 1959.
The site was used as a meditation retreat by King Songtsen Gampo, who in 637 built the first palace there in order to greet to his bride Princess Wencheng (Traditional Chinese: 文成公主, Simplified Chinese: 文成公主, pinyin: Wen Cheng Gong Zhu) of Tang Dynasty of China, which was incorporated into later buildings. The construction of the present palace began in 1645 under the fifth Dalai Lama Lozang Gyatso. In 1648, the Potrang Karpo (White Palace) was completed, and the Potala was used as a winter palace by the Dalai Lama from that time.
Built at an altitude of 3,700 m, on the side of Marpo Ri hill, the Red Mountain in the center of Lhasa Valley, Potala Palace, with its vast inward-sloping walls broken only in the upper parts by straight rows of many windows, and its flat roofs at various levels, is not unlike a fortress in appearance. It contains the principal halls and chapels and shrines of past Dalai Lamas.
The Potala Palace was inscribed to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994.
White Palace
The White Palace is the part of the Potala Palace that makes up the living quarters of the Dalai Lama. The first White Palace was built during the lifetime of the fifth Dalai Lama in the 1650s then was extended to its size today by the thirteenth Dalai Lama in the early twentieth century. A central, yellow-painted courtyard known as a Deyangshar separates the living quarters of the Lama and his monks with the Red Palace, the other side of the sacred Potala which is completely devoted to religious study and prayer. It contains the sacred gold stupas—the tombs of eight Dalai Lamas—the monks assembly hall, numerous chapels and shrines, and libraries for the important Buddhist scriptures, the Kangyur in 108 volumes and the Tengyur with 225. The yellow building at the side of the White Palace in the courtyard between the main palaces houses giant banners embroidered with holy symbols which hung across the south face of the Potala during New Year festivals.
Red Palace
The Red Palace is part of the Potala palace that is completely devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer. It consists of a complicated layout of many different halls, chapels and libraries on many different levels with a complex array of smaller galleries and winding passages:
The Great West Hall
The main central hall of the Red Palace is the Great West Hall which consists of four great chapels that proclaim the glory and power of the builder of the Potala, the Fifth Dalai Lama. The hall is noted for its fine murals reminiscent of Persian miniatures, depicting events in the fifth Dalai Lamas life.
The Saint's Chapel
On the north side of this hall in the Red Palace is the holiest shrine of the Potala.
The North Chapel
The North Chapel centres on a crowned Sakyamuni Buddha on the left and the Fifth Dalai Lama on the right seated on magnificent gold thrones. On the far left of the chapel is the gold stupa tomb of the Eleventh Dalai Lama who died as a child, with rows of benign Medicine Buddhas who were the heavenly healers. On the right of the chapel are Chenrezi and his historical incarnations including Songsten Gampo and the first four Dalai Lamas.
The South Chapel
The South Chapel centres on Padmasambhava, the 8th century Indian magician and saint.
The East Chapel
The East chapel is dedicated to Tsong Khapa, founder of the Yellow Hat sect.
The West Chapel
This is the chapel that contains the five golden stupas. The enormous central stupa contains the mummified body of the Fifth Dalai Lama. On the left is the funeral stupa for the Twelfth Dalai Lama and on the right that of the Tenth Dalai Lama.
The First Gallery
The first gallery is on the floor above the West chapel and has a number of large windows that give light and ventilation to the Great West Hall and its chapels below.
The Second Gallery
The Second Gallery gives access to the central pavilion which is used for visitors to the palace for refreshments and to buy souvenirs.
The Third Gallery
The Third Gallery besides fine murals has a number of dark rooms branching off it containing enormous collections of Bronze statues and miniature figures made of copper and gold worth a fortune. The chanting hall of the Seventh Dalai Lama is on the south side and on the east an entrance connects the section to the Saints chapel and the Deyangshar between the two palaces.
The Potala Palace from the south-westThe Tomb of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama
The tomb of the XIIIth Dalai Lama is located west of the Great West Hall and it can only be reached from an upper floor and with the company of a monk or a guide of the Potala.
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