The Nechung Monastery in McLeodganj is considered a major centre of religious faith for Buddhists and Tibetans. Situated just 3.4 kilometres from the main city, this Nechung Monastery also holds historical significance for Buddhists and people of the Tibetan community.
The Nechung Monastery is completely different from other Buddhist monasteries, with more pre-Buddhist rituals, Nechung occupation and exorcism in this monastery. Due to this, the atmosphere of this monastery also seems a bit scary. Apart from all these activities, all the artworks and murals made in the inner part of the monastery are also made completely different from other Buddhist monasteries.
In the inner part of the monastery is made of bright strange figures. Apart from the shining figures, the monastery also has paintings of serpents and humans, paintings of head and feet and garlands of thin clothing with artefacts of the angry gods. The pillars of the main hall of the monastery are also carved with figures of mythological animals of Buddhism such as horoscopes, snakes and dragons.
Nechung Monastery was the Oracle seat of Tibet until 1959, besides it is also believed that Nechung is His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the guardian deity of Tibet. Because of this Nechung has been given a lot of importance in the history of Buddhism and Tibet. In the 18th century, Nechung served as a spiritual guide for the Tibetan government.
Nechung is also known as Kooten by Buddhists and Tibetans. It is believed that when a medium reaches a trance-like state, the guarding deity takes over the medium’s body and advises and predicts the current Dalai Lama and Tibetan leaders. Before 1959, there were 115 monks in the original Nechung Monastery of Lhasa, Tibet, but after the 1959 revolution, only six Buddhist monks managed to escape from Tibet to India.
After that, the then Government of India permitted those monks to build Nechung Monastery here. After that, the construction of the new Nechung Monastery was started in 1977 and in 1984 it was fully completed by becoming a monastery. Due to the religious importance associated with the Nechung Monastery, people from all the Buddhist sects around it keep visiting this monastery.