Padmasambhava Mahavihara Monastery is also known as the Thupten Mindrolling monastery located at Jiranga in the Gajapati district. As the main monastery belonging to the Ripa Lineage. It is said to be the largest Buddhist monastery in Eastern India. The Dalai Lama inaugurated it in January 2010. The Chinese invasion and occupation of Tibet in 1959 forced about 85,000 Tibetans, including their religious and political head.
The 14th Dalai Lama to seek shelter in India and other places. Then Chandragiri, about 80 kilometres from Berhampur Southern town of Odisha, was chosen as one of the main six camps/settlements established in the country. The Tibetan refugees stay at Jiranga. This place is also popularly known as Chandragiri call this place Phuntsokling, which in Tibetan translates to -“Land of Happiness and Plenty”. An agreement was reached in 1998 for the monastery by the Dalai Lama. The foundation stone was laid in 2003, and the building was completed in 2008.
It is built in the Atanpuri style of architecture of Nalanda by architects from Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan assisted by local masons. It is 70 feet and five stories high and is built on 10 acres (40,000 m2) of land. It features a 23 feet (7.0 m) high Buddha statue and a 17 feet (5.2 m) Buddha Padmasambhava.
Around 200 monks are resident in the monastery, which is named after Acharya Padmasambhava (who was born in Oddiyana), who is believed to have spread Buddhism to Tibet in the 7th Century. There is a school for Tibetan studies, and students are staying and reading different courses here. The five-storey monastery has a meditation shrine hall and other small temples, institutes and hostels inside the spread-out complex. The Padmasambhava Mahavihara monastery is one of the Best Tourist places in Gajapati, Odisha (Source).
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