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| 1984, Monasteries. Shemgang Dzong |
1984, Monasteries. Shemgang Dzong 25-chetrum Bhutan MN H
Text: Shemgang Dzong 25-chetrum BHUTAN
Condition: MN H
Title:
Shemgang Dzong
Face value: 25 Ch
Stamp Currency: Chhertum
Country/area: Bhutan
Year:
1984
Set:
1984 Monasteries
Stamp number in set: 5
Basic colour: Multi-coloured
Usage: Franking
Type:
Stamp
Theme: Monasteries
Perforation:
Stamp subject: Monasteries
Stanley Gibbons number: 558
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Shemgang Dzong (Zhemgang Dzong)
Zhemgang Dzong is situated atop the peak
of a triangular shaped ridge that rises sharply from the Mangdechu, facing the
village of Trong and the town of Zhemgang.
Legend
The founding of the Dzong is credited to
Lama Zhang Dorje Drakpa who lived in the 12th century A.D. According to oral
information, Lama Zhang, from Zhamling in Tibet, was a renowned scholar-sage of
the Drukpa Kagyu school of Buddhism. In his mission to spread Buddhism in
Bhutan, in 1163 A.D. he traveled as far as present Zhemgang, where he resided
at the site of the present Zhemgang Dzong. Lama Zhang is considered by many to
be the greatest Buddhist saint to have settled in Zhemgang. His importance in
Kheng is justified by the fact that he was the founder of the Dzong, the most
important religious building in the Kheng area.
Khenrig Namsum is the ancient name of
Zhemgang Dzongkhag. It literally means the three divisions of Kheng: upper
(Chikhor), Middle (Nangkor), and lower (Tamachok) Kheng. Later, around 1655 EC,
on the site where Lama Zhang had previously built a hermitage, a one-storied
Dzong was built to mark the unification of the Khenrig Namsum and defend the
land against invaders led by Choetse Penlop.Lama Zhang resided at this
hermitage for many years, spreading Buddhism in the Kheng region; thus the
hermitage was known as Zhang (name of the Lama) and Gang (hillock). Later it
aquired the one-word name, Zhemgang. Still later, its pronunciation became
“Zhemgang”.
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