Stupa · Buddhist
Chendebji Chorten
Built by Lama Zhida to subdue a local demon·18th century CE·Trongsa
A Nepali-style stupa with painted eyes, built to pin down a demon, on the road between Pele La and Trongsa.
Dedicated to
Built by Lama Zhida to subdue a local demon
Period
18th century CE
Neighborhood
Tangsibji gewog, beside the Nikka Chhu
Chendebji Chorten stands on a grassy terrace beside the Nikka Chhu, on the highway between Pele La and Trongsa. It is immediately unlike anything else on that road: a whitewashed dome with a square harmika and painted eyes on all four sides — the form of Boudhanath in Kathmandu, not of a Bhutanese chorten.
Why it is here
It was built in the 18th century by Lama Zhida, and the reason given is the usual one for a structure of this shape in this position: a demon had been subduing the valley, and the chorten was raised on the spot to pin it down. The Nepali form was deliberate — the lama had trained in that tradition.
A smaller Bhutanese-style chorten and a mani wall were added beside it later, so the two idioms stand side by side.
Visiting
Fifteen or twenty minutes, and it is a natural stop rather than a destination — the drive between Wangdue Phodrang and Trongsa is long, and this is the one place on it worth getting out of the car for. Walk clockwise around it.
Coda
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