History of the Jokhang Temple

History of the Jokhang Temple


After moving his capital to the Kyishod Wotso and unifying the whole of Tibet, Songtsan Gampo took further steps to realise his general plan. First he dealt with internal trouble, consolidated his royal power, reorganised the troops, developed the economy and improved agricultural techniques, and then sent Thonmi Sambhota abroad to study and create a script for Tibetan, and enriched the national culture. From then on, the might of the Tubo kingdom increased day by day. Under such circumstances, Songtsan Gampo sent an envoy to the Tang court in 634 AD to ask for the hand in marriage of an imperial princess. After a number of delays and setbacks, Princess Wencheng of the Tang court eventually made her journey to Tibet in 641 AD as the bride of the twenty-five year old Songtsan Gampo. The arrival of the noble Princess Wencheng in Tibet marked the speedy development of the Kyishod Wotso and its transformation from a deserted swamp into a prosperous, thriving city.

Before his marriage to Princess Wencheng, Songtsan Gampo had already taken Princess Bhrikuti Devi of neighbouring Nepal as his queen. Princess Bhrikuti Devi had moved into the cave dwelling on the Red Hill, so when Princess Wencheng arrived she had to take up residence on the sandy soil near the Wotso Pool, east of the Potala, where the image of Sakyamuni she had brought with her had to be left amidst a dense grove of willows. A traditional tale says that Princess Wencheng observed the aspects of the heavens and the earth of the place, and concluded that the sandy land where she was living was situated over the mouth of a dragon, and hence a temple should be constructed there. The Tsanpo wholeheartedly agreed with her suggestion to build a temple to house the image of Sakyamuni.

No sooner had this news reached Princess Bhrikuti Devi than she too conceived the idea of building a temple for the worship of Buddha. The Nepali princess chose the southeast part of the sandy area for the site of her temple, but no matter how closely she supervised the construction during the daytime, the whole thing collapsed as soon as night fell. She had no alternative but to beg Princess Wencheng's assistance. Princess Wencheng generously agreed to help, and calculated through divination and astrology the right site for the temple.

Skilled in Tang astrology and well-versed in the theory of the Five Elements, Princess Wencheng examined astronomical phenomena by night and topographical aspects by day, and found that the land of the Tubos appeared like an ogress lying flat on her back, which was highly unfavourable for the establishment of the kingdom. In order to prevent any violent changes of ill omen, the princess deemed it necessary to build temples to pin down the four limbs of the ogress. Princess Wencheng next examined the Wotso Pool and found it was the heart of the ogress, and the water in the pool the blood. Therefore it was necessary to fill in the pool to block the circulation of the blood, and build a temple over it to suppress it. Examining the harmonious or contradictory nature of the Five Elements, Princess Wencheng then advised Songtsan Gampo to use white goats to carry earth when filling in the pool. Finally, the enormous construction project got under way. The flocks of goats loaded with earth swarming round the Wotso Pool gave the spot its new name. As the word "goat" is "ra" and "earth" is "sa" in Tibetan, the temple got the name of "Rasa" (goat-earth). Subsequently, this unprecedented majestic feat of construction became the prominent symbol of the capital and the town itself took the name "Rasa."

A number of fascinatng tales still exist about the construction of the Jokhang. Tradition has it that Songtsan Gampo regarded Princess Wencheng as the incarnation of the goddess Tara. While the Jokhang was being built, Songtsan Gampo himself took his axe and climbed up to work on the building, which so alarmed the gods of the Heaven that they came down one after another to offer assistance. On one occasion a maidservant happened to take some food to the construction site, but when she arrived all the men working above and below looked identical to Songtsan Gampo, and she had no way of distinguishing the real one from the false. Turning pale with apprehension, she ran back to inform Princess Bhrikuti Devi, who, half-believing and half-doubting, went in person to take the food. When she discovered it was exactly as the maidservant had described, she let out a word of exclamation, "Strange!" At this, all the Songtsan Gampos seated on the beams looked down, and carelessly dropped their axes which, as they fell, struck off the noses of the sphinxes they were making. Today, visitors to the Jokhang will notice that everyone of the one hundred and eight sphinxes has a flat nose.

Many of the murals of the Jokhang are clearly in the Han style. In figure and attire, the warriors in the murals in the shrines of the Four Guardian Kings and the God of Serpents look very much akin to warriors of the Tang period, while the flag of the "Rising Lion" and the image of Sakyamuni to the west of the God of the Serpents Shrine are also painted in the Han style.

When the Jokhang was completed, Songtsan Gampo further asked Princess Wencheng to survey the astronomical phenomena and geographical aspects of Lhasa. After observing the aspects, Princess Wencheng said, "The sky is like the Eight Wheels of the Law, a sign of good omen; the earth is like the eight-Petalled Lotus, a sign of fortune; the mountains are like the Eight Auspicious Emblems, a sign of prosperity." So saying, Princess Wencheng pointed out the Eight Auspicious Emblems of the mountains surrounding Lhasa: the Lotus, the Parasol, the Conch Shell with a rightward spiral, the Whell of the Law, the Knot That Has No End, the Vase of Great Treasure, the Pair of goldfish, and the Banner of Supreme Excellence. Princess Wencheng then described the features of the four directions as seen from Lhasa in a poetic verse:

The eastern mountain peaks rise in waves;
Like angry tigers about to leap;
The two mountains to the west press into the gorge;
Like the outstretched wings of an eagle;
In the south the Kyichu river winds by;
Like a wriggling turquoise dragon;
Then northern peaks rise in gentle folds;
Like a tortoise crawling on all fours.


Princess Wencheng also named the four great mountains situated in the four directions. The southeast mountains she named Mindrug Zari, those to the northeast Jomo Sishi, the northwestern mountains she called Ganpoi Uze, and the southwestern ones Jomo Ulha. Today, over 1,300 years later, these names are still used.

In 648 AD the majestic Jokhang was finally completed. Together, Princess Wencheng and Songtsan Gampo planted a willow tree at the front gate of the Jokhang, which become known as the famous Jowo U-tra (The Buddha's Hair). The images of Sakyamuni brought by the two princesses were separately enshrined in the temples each had built, and ever since devout Buddhists from every region have flocked there on pilgrimage. At the end of the seventh century, over a dozen inns had appeared around the temple to cater for pilgrims. Gradually more residential houses were built and so the Bharkor with the Jokhang at the centre began to take shape, and the ancient city of the plateau started its rise to fame.