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The Mañjushri Temple or Jampe Lhakhang was a free-standing structure until the Translator's Temple was attached to its left-hand side wall. The original shape of the temple is highly unusual in that it was virtually constructed around the four central images of Mañjushri seated on a common platform. The temple is square and measures c. 5.7 x 5.7 metres.
The large central platform is c. 85 cm high and supports the four pillars holding the diagonally arranged cross-beams of the ceiling. The complex throne construction is then set on this central platform and reaches a height of c. 175 cm, the crowns of the images being level with the capitals of the pillars. The four images of Mañjushri are seated back to back in an elaborate common frame crowded in a sort of horror vacui with animals, gods and symbols and topped by the decorative scrolls deriving from the tails of the makaras. The four images and their frames have been completely repainted in recent times (> Mañjushri Sculpture Gallery).
Page last updated: 16.12.2005
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