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The Namdroling Monastery, one of the largest teaching centres of Nyingma Tibetan Buddhism, is situated in:
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Answer: Option D — Karnataka
Detailed Solution
The Namdroling Monastery (Thegchog Namdrol Shedrub Dargyeling) is located at Bylakuppe, in the Kodagu (Coorg) district of Karnataka, near Kushalnagar, about 85 km from Mysuru.
About Namdroling Monastery:
- It was founded in 1963 by Kyabje Drubwang Pema Norbu Rinpoche (Penor Rinpoche), the 11th throne-holder of the Palyul lineage of the Nyingma school, after he came to India from Tibet in 1959.
- He began it with a small bamboo temple; it has grown into one of the largest teaching centres of the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism in the world.
- It has thousands of monks and nuns, a monastic college (shedra), a nunnery, a school and a hospital.
Its "Golden Temple" ("Padmasambhava Buddhist Vihara") is famous for three huge gilded statues, about 18 metres (60 feet) high, of the Buddha (Shakyamuni) in the centre, Guru Padmasambhava and Amitayus (Buddha of Long Life).
The temple's walls have colourful paintings of Buddhist deities and stories.
It is a popular tourist attraction in Kodagu.
About Bylakuppe:
- It is one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India, along with Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh).
- It was established in 1961 on land given by the Mysore (Karnataka) government to Tibetan refugees who came to India after the Dalai Lama's escape in 1959.
- It has many monasteries, including the Sera Monastery (Sera Jey and Sera Mey), a major Gelugpa monastic university re-established in India.
Other Tibetan settlements in Karnataka:
- Mundgod (Uttara Kannada): has the Drepung and Ganden monasteries, re-established in India.
- Kollegal (Odeyarpalya).
About the Nyingma school:
- It is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism (the others being Kagyu, Sakya and Gelug).
- It traces its origin to Guru Padmasambhava (8th century).
- Its followers are sometimes called the "Red Hats" (along with other non-Gelug schools).
- The Dalai Lama belongs to the Gelug school ("Yellow Hats").
Other important Buddhist monasteries in India:
- Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh): the largest monastery in India; Gelug.
- Rumtek (Sikkim): Karma Kagyu.
- Hemis and Thiksey (Ladakh).
- Tabo and Key (Himachal Pradesh).
- Mindrolling Monastery (Dehradun, Uttarakhand): Nyingma; has the Great Stupa.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Himachal Pradesh has Dharamshala (seat of the Dalai Lama) and the Tabo and Key monasteries.
- ✗Sikkim has the Rumtek and Pemayangtse monasteries.
- ✗Arunachal Pradesh has the Tawang Monastery.
Quick tip
Remember: Namdroling Monastery = Bylakuppe, Kodagu, Karnataka (Nyingma; founded 1963 by Penor Rinpoche; "Golden Temple" with three 18-metre statues); Mundgod = Drepung and Ganden; Tawang = largest in India; Nyingma = oldest school.
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Monuments & Religious Places — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Monuments & Religious Places, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers India's important monuments, temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras and pilgrimage sites, who built them and when, their architectural styles, and India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Questions ask who built a monument, where it is located, or which dynasty or style it belongs to. For example, the Qutub Minar was begun by Qutbuddin Aibak, and the Sun Temple at Konark was built by the Eastern Ganga king Narasimhadeva I. Revise the UNESCO World Heritage Sites as a list, noting the most recent additions. Practise the monuments and religious places questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.