BALYUL SER PHUG
27.994400,85.883300
Description
A natural temple cave (or rock shelter?) sacred to Ekajati ral gcig ma [note 1], one of the twelve bstan ma goddesses, and used as a heritage retreat by Brigung (Bri gyung pa), Milarepa (Mi la res pa), etc. SITUATION: At an unknown location somewhere in the valley of the Bhote Khosi. HUBER (1989 note 162): »… bal yul gser phug not identified. According to informants at Lapchi (la phyi), the lake ma mo ekajati bla mtsho and its retreat place are in the hills above the Nepali border town of Kodari [note 2]. It is possible this is the mtsho sman lake (in Nepali: Bhairav Kund) described by AUFSCHNAITER (1976: 186-187).«CULTURAL HISTORY: CHOSKYI BLOGROS (1983 folio 68a): »In lower gnya' nang the sacred hermitages presently occupied by the Bri-gyung-pa [Brigung] include … the bal yul gser phug. And furthermore the great master [Milarepa 1040-1125†] stayed there for a short while, and after that with the foundation of a monastery there by the noble gzi brjid rgyal mtshan it flourished greatly, and after that it was the dwelling place of many Masters of spiritual understanding including la phyi ba nam mkha' rgyal mtshan, brug phu ba bde chen dpal 'bar, and the rdor 'dzin rnam rgyal byang chub.«
NOTE 1: NEBESKY-WOJKOWITZ (1956: 185-186) lists the site as the residence of Ekajati ral gcig ma, one of the twelve bstan ma goddesses. NOTE 2: Kodari N27°58': E085°56' (nima.mil/geonames accessed 16.11.2003).
Documents
Bibliography 15/07/2016- Aufschnaiter, Peter 1976; Choskyi Blogros 1983; Huber, Antoni 1989; Nebesky-Wojkowitz1956.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16.9 | NEA PEMA SALA CAVE, Panch Pokhari | ||
| 16.9 | PANCH POKHARI CAVE 2 | ||
| 22.3 | SALIA-OORAL | ||
| 28.4 | Sarmathang (Cave near) | ||
| 30.6 | RANI-OORAL | ||
| 30.7 | GUPHA (aa -) | ||
| 66.6 | KAGBENI (Varnedoe 1980) (Cave at) | ||
| 66.6 | SHÖN, Kagbeni (Cave at) | ||
| 84.6 | KUMJUNG (Cave near) |