CONG ZHI RANG BYON PHUG
28.943100,83.822200
Description
Two south-facing cave entrances (the smaller 3 m wide and 2 m high, the larger 10 m wide and 6 m high), which are separated from each other by a rock pillar, give access to a modified natural temple cave sacred to Tibetan Buddhists (note 1). They give access to a solitary, oblong cave chamber (25 by 15 m wide, up to 9 m high) of which the entire floor is occupied with a giant flowstone mass (speleothem, dry during most of the year) that rises steeply towards the inner side. The cave chamber is dimly lit by daylight throughout and dominated by the huge stalagmite boss (secondary calcite formation), which almost touches the cave chamber's ceiling and represents the largest speleothem that I have seen anywhere in the Himalaya. ETYMOLOGY: It is this huge flowstone formation / calcite deposit, which gives the cave its name, the 'self-arisen stupa' (note 2) and focusses its religious importance (note 3), which is reflected in several contributions to cultural history (note 4). SITUATION: The cave lies at an elevation of about 3300 m above the orographically right (western) bank of the Mustang Chu (the upper reaches of the Kali Gandaki River) between the villages of Chele (note 5) and Geling (note 6) on the lower route (note 7) from Samar (note 8) generally north-west to Syangboche / Syanboche (note 9). Here, the cave entrance lies above the left (northern) bank of Yamda Khola (note 10), a tributary from the west to the Mustang Chu (Kali Gandaki), and closer to Samar (two walking hours) but is much easier reached from Syanboche. The site is indicated as »Ranchun Choten« on the trekking map "Mustang" (1: 70'000, undated, circa 1996, ascribed to Paolo Gondini) near (±1 km) N28°56'35”: E083°49'20” (unknown geodetic datum, Central Service Map 1989 sheet 42 Mustang 1: 125'000). APPROACH: From Syangmoche, a quite unused and inconspicuous trail descends moderately into the Syangmoche Khola (half an hours' walking) before the cave is reached. Beyond the cave, the trails becomes unsafe for horses and ascends steeply with switch backs and across inclined rock surfaces to a pass above the north-east of Samar. Leaving from Samar, the main route to Geilung and Lo Manthang first crosses two gorges in the immediate north of Samar village. The main route or upper trail keeps heading to an obvious pass, while the much more inconspicuous lower trail to Syangmoche and Geilung takes a more easterly direction and climbs to the top of a cliff face marked with five, more or less "inaccessible" cave entrances. Around the corner, an area with huge juniper trees is reached and the trail descends steeply to the Yamda Khola, where one passes several, both large and small entrances to caves of gravitational origin.
NOTE 1: Three houses in the entrance area, an adjacent rock shelter, and a courtyard in front of the cave serve religious purposes and visitors, while nine painted shrines are erected in the interior. According to Wangdu Lama, a local scholar of international education, there are two flowstone formations which are housed in miniature shrines at the south-eastern foot of the calcite boss and which are identified by the devout as manifestations of the female deities Tara and Vajrayogini, while a series of further secondary calcite formations, aligned along the north-eastern corner of the cave wall, are regarded as an additional set of Rangjoin (rang byun = self-arisen, -originated, -grown, etc.) statues or manifestations. NOTE 2: In Tibetan: Rang Byon, literally: rang byun mchod rten (Charles Ramble 1996.05.15 personal communication), in Sanskrit: swayambhu chaitya. Locally, the site is known by two distinct, near-homonymous denominations. Some people call the site "gcong ghzi rang join (phug)", (cave of the) self-grown moon milk / mont milk (a Tibetan medicine), while others call it "chub shi rang join (phug)", (cave of the) fourteen self-grown (ones). Tibetan literary sources are said to refer to the site as the "rang abyung mchod rten", self produced chorten (TUCCI 1953a, 1953b edited 1977: 56: Ran abyun mC'od rten). Subsequent literary sources tend to use derivates Ranbyang Cave LAMA & RAI (1993: 8) Ranchun Choten GONDONI, Paolo (undated circa 1996 trekking map) Rangbyang Cave ARMINGTON (1992: 18); BACH (1993) Rangbyung Cave TUCCI (1953, 1977: 56) Rangchung Chörten tibetfocus.com/himalayas/mustang/2.htm (accessed 2004.11.01) Yungshi Cave BACH (1993) and Yungshung Gömpa BACH (1993) or the circumscriptions Grotto di Samar TUCCI (1953a) Samar Cave TUCCI (1953b edited 1977: 56) and Sa-dmar Grotte HUMMEL (1957). NOTE 3: EHRHARD (1993, 1998) points out that there exist several versions of the Tibetan text '[g]Cong [g]zhi rang byon gyi gnas yig' or »guide to the sacred site [where has] appeared the seld-arisen [calcite mineral] moonmilk, the wish granting gem« and they all refer to the visions of sTag-rtse sKu-skye (1654-1715, alias: Mi-pham Phun-tshogs shes-rab), namely the different forms of Tantric gods and goddesses in the calcite formations of the cave. A part of this guide to the sacred site (in Tibetan: gnas yig) was incorporated into the inventory of the pilgrimage places (in Tibetan: dkar chags) to the Muktinath area by GNAS CHEN CHU MIG RGYA RTSA'I (s.a., in: RARE TIBETAN TEXTS, fol. 66.6-67.2). A more complete text, titled Cong zhi rang byon gyi gnas yig, is found in sMAN LHA PHUN TSHOGS (1996: 89-90). As for the meaning of gCong-ghzi, it is a sacred site on which the Acharya Padma (Padmasambhava) set foot and likewise was blessed by the Eighty Mahasiddhas. The secondary calcite formation deposited as gCong-ghzi was perceived in the pure "vision" (sic!) of bKa'brgyud Bla-ma Rin-po-che Mi-pham yongs-'dus and sGrub-pa chen-po sTag rTse-ba as (being the deity) Bde-mchog lhan-skyes in union. NOTE 4: TUCCI (1953a: 79, illustration opposite page 289; 1953b edited 1977: 55-56, 60 & illustration opposite pages 29, 49): »The Tibetans call it the Rangbyung chorten (rang abyung mchod rten) "the chorten that built itself" or appeared by a miracle. The cavern owes its name to a big round natural pillar, which stands in the middle of it, almost as if it supported the weight of the vault. There are many carvings in the original rock of the walls: a succession of unidentifiable personages. According to tradition one noble old figure is represents Atisha … but carvings of Padmasambhava predominate. …However, the cave was quite clearly a sacred place before the coming of Buddhism. On the inner side of the central monolith, steps lead up to a bigger platform, which appears to be an altar. In a number of man-made holes I found charcoal and juniper twigs. …pilgrims come from every direction to the famous cavern, and clay models of gods, particularly Padmasambhava, are piled up in every corner as mementoes of pious visits.« EHRHARD (1993: 11-12): »Tucci (1956: 1) equated this cave with the secret cave on the north-eastern flank of Dhaulagiri [–>Guru gSang Phug] … XXX something lost: SNELLGROVE's translation. [formation] of gcong-ghzi (stone), the wish granting gem', then the problems dissolve, and it becomes clear how Tucci's misidentification of the two caves and Snellgrove's translation of their names came about: in both cases it was obviously the information supplied by the Tibetan informants that led to the attributes and name of Padmasambhava Cave near Larjung [Guru gSang Phug] in the south being applied to the northern cave.« Stray references are given by modern Tourist guides, e.g. ARMINGTON (1992), BACH (1993); BAUMANN (1993); HENSS (1994); JOHN (1993); LAMA & RAI (1993), etc. NOTE 5: From Syangmoche, a quite unused and inconspicuous trail descends moderately into the Syangmoche Khola (half an hours' walking) before the cave is reached. Beyond the cave, the trails becomes unsafe for horses and ascends steeply with switch backs and across inclined rock surfaces to a pass above the north-east of Samar. Leaving from Samar, the main route to Geilung and Lo Manthang first crosses two gorges in the immediate north of Samar village. The main route or upper trail keeps heading to an obvious pass, while the much more inconspicuous lower trail to Syangmoche and Geilung takes a more easterly direction and climbs to the top of a cliff face marked with five inaccessible caves. Around the corner, an area with huge juniper trees is reached and the trail descends steeply to the Yamda Khola, where several large and small entrances to caves of gravitational origin are passed.NOTE 5: Chele N28°56'27”: E083°49'22” (estimated, not shown on the Central Service Map 1989 sheet 42 Mustang 1: 125'000): 3000 m asl (GONDINI, Paolo, s.a. circa 1996 Mustang Trekking Map). NOTE 6: Geling (Geilung, Ghiling, Ghilingaon) N29°02”: E83°51' (±2 km): 3500 m asl. NOTE 7: The lower, more difficult route descends down into the Yamda Khola instead of crossing the Beza La (3720 m) and Yanda La (3760 m). NOTE 8: Samar (in Tibetan: sa dmar = red earth, also Samargaon) near (±1 km) N28°57'30”: E083°48'15” (estimated, not shown on the Central Service Map 1989 sheet 42 Mustang 1: 125'000): 3550 m asl (GONDINI, Paolo, s.a. circa 1996 Mustang Trekking Map). NOTE 9: Syanboche (Syangboche, Syangmoche, Shyangmochen) near (±1 km) N28°59'20”: E083°50'25” (estimated, not shown on the Central Service Map 1989 sheet 42 Mustang 1: 125'000): 3650 m asl (GONDINI, Paolo, s.a. circa 1996 Mustang Trekking Map). NOTE 10: Yamda Khola near (±1 km) N28°57'50”: E083°50'10” (Central Service Map 1989 sheet 42 Mustang 1: 125'000).
Documents
Bibliography 15/07/2016- Armington, Stan 1992; Bach, Claus-Peter 1993; Baumann, Bruno 1998; Ehrhard, Franz-Karl 1993, 1998; Gnas chen chu mig brgya rtsa'i (s.a); Gu ru pad ma'i rnam thar (s.a.); John, Gudrun 1993; Henss, Michael 1993, 1994; Hummel, Siegbert 1957: 625; Lama, Derek & Rai, Bala Raj 1993; Mi-pam Phun-tshogs shes-rab = sTag-rtse sKu-skye (s.a.); sMan-lha phun-tshogs, Dol-po mkhan-po 1996; Snellgrove, David 1961; Tucci, Giuseppe 1953a, 1953b, 1956b, 1977.
History
EXPLORATION HISTORY: 1690 ±26: Mi-pham Phun-tshogs shes-rab (alias: sTag-rtse sKu-skye, 1654-1715) ascribed Tantric gods and goddesses to the calcite formations of the cave. 1801: O-rgyan chos-'phel [1755-?] visited the cave using the gnas bstod ("praise [book] of the sacred site") by a certain Mi-pam Phun-tshogs shes-rab or sTag-rtse sKu-skye [1654-1715] (EHRHARD 1998). 1996.05.18: H. D. Gebauer visited and mapped in company with Angela Simons.
Caves nearby
| Distance (km) | Name | Length (m) | Depth (m) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.7 | SAMAR (Gebauer 1996) (Caves near) | ||
| 3.1 | CHHUKSANG CAVES | ||
| 4.6 | SYANGMOCHE (Cave at) | ||
| 4.8 | TANGGE CHASM | ||
| 7.6 | BHOTE U | ||
| 9.9 | BRAGPOCHE no. 1 (Cave on) | ||
| 9.9 | BRAGPOCHE no. 2 (Cave on) | ||
| 9.9 | BRAGPOCHE no. 3 (Cave on) | ||
| 9.9 | BRAGPOCHE no. 4 (Cave on) |