The
oldest palace of Ladakh is located at Shey. whichis situated at a distance
of 16 km on the
Leh
-Manali road. King Lhachen Smal Gigun built this palace. The Shey Gompa is situated
on a hillock, and there is a 7.5 mtr high Buddha image in this temple. King
Deldan Namgyal, son of King Singhye Namgyal, built this temple in A.D. 1655
in memory of his father. The statue of the Buddha is made of copper, platted
with gold, and is the biggest metal statue of its kind in Ladakh. A lamp with
butter burns in front of the statue throughout the year.
A Nepalese sculpture named Sanga Zargar Wanduk was commissioned to make
this statue. Three Ladakhi craftsmen- Paldana Shering Gyaso, Gamani Jal
Shring & Nakbiri-assisted him. The castings of the statue were made in
Leh at a place called Zanstin Palace. Zans means copper & til means to
hammer. Actually the copper for this statue was hammered into plates on a
big rock. For this, copper was collected from Lingshet & other villages
of the Zanskar area. More than 5 kg of gold were used for platting. This
huge statue was built in Zanstil Palace in parts & then transported the
Shey temple, where they were assembled and installed.
