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Lhuntse Dzong


In 1551, Ngagi Wangchuk, the youngest son of Ngawang Chogyal, visited Bhutan, accompanied by his family from Druk Ralung in Tibet. His visit of a number of holy sites in different regions of the country eventually took him to Kurtoe. At the present-day site of Lhuntse Dzong he meditated and built a small temple which came to be known as Kurtoe Lhuntse Phodrang. For many years the Lama resided here and later went to Timula, where the established his summer seat.
Legend	According to another account, Ngagi Wangchuk first meditated at Timula. Later, when he went to look for a winter seat, he arrived at the present site of Lhuntse Dzong. There the local deity appeared before him in the form of a white, bleating goat. The bleat was taken as an auspicious sign and he built a temple in 1552. it was named as Leyley Dzong (The fortress of the goat) after the sound of the goat’s bleat. Various other oral sources, though, suggest different ways in which the Dzong acquired its name. one story says that a stone below the Dzong is in the shape of a goat; and it is said that this stone bleated, alluding to the Dzong’s name. Another account states that the site chosen for Lhuntse Dzong was on a high ridge across the Kurichu, on the right-hand side of Tangmachhu village. Opposite the ridge and below it lies Minjay village, where there is a rock shaped like a frog. This rock is also believed to have bleated like a goat. The people considered this as an unfavorable sign and shifted the site of construction from Minjay village to the present site. In an attempt to spread the Drukpa rule in eastern Bhutan, the first penlop Minjur Tempa headed to Kurtoe for battle after defeating the Chokhor Deb of Bumthang. After defeating his adversaries in Kurtoe, he ordered the construction of Lhuntse Dzong. Another source states that Lama Namsay led the battle and contemplated building a Dzong in the area. While looking for a site, he found the temple of Yongzin Ngagi Wangchuk suitable. In 1654 the Dzong was built and was named Lhundrup Rinchentse. During the reign of the fourth Desi Gyalse Tenzin Rabgay, a monk-tax a tradition of sending one boy from each family to the Dzongs- was imposed, where by the first sixty monks were recruited in Lhuntse Dratshang. The practice of monk-tax gradually died away over the centuries. After the completion of the Dzong, various religious artifacts and relics were installed by the 4th Desi gyalse Tenzin Rabgye. Today the Dzong houses approximately 200 monks.
Soaring Statue	A legend tells about the origin of the statue of Tshepame and its arrival at Lhuntse Dzong. A fisherman who had laid his trap in a steam, possibly Kilingchu, found the image while inspecting the trap one morning. It was decided that the image be kept in killing Lhakhang; but the image behaved most strangely, construed as its refusal to stay in the Lhakhang. On more than one occasion, it is believed to have flown outside of the Lhakhang. On one occasion it was found at a place called Nongma Chorten. An iron curtain was hung in front of the Lhakhang’s window in order to guarantee that the image remained in the Lhakhang. However, the image tore a gap in the chain and escaped. Killing Gonpo, the Lhakhang’s deity, is believed to have thrown a stone as it was escaping, which broke the centre of its crown, Rignga. On a hill adjacent to Lhuntse Dzong stands the village of Jang. A woman was cutting grass in the paddy fields when she heard the word atsa, an expression of pain. On closer inspection she found the sacred image. Her sickle had sliced through its left thumb. One source states it is possible that the image was then moved to Lhuntse Dzong. Anther source says that it first traveled close to the Legpagang stream, to the cypress grove below the village; then it was taken to the Dzong. Due to the blessing of the image, it is believed that smoke rises from the grove in the eight month, prior to the celebrated “blessed rainy day”.