Tashigang Dzong

Tashigang Dzong. The landscape on which the Dzong stands is not only striking but also arouses curiosity. The Dzong stands majestically on a hillock. Situated on the ledge of a mountain with steep cliffs on three sides, Trashigang Dzong overlooks the Dan-gmechhu, which flows at its base. It is accessible only from the north. Due to its location, Trashigang Dzong is one of the most strategically placed Dzongs in Bhutan. Trashigang Dong was founded according to the prophecies of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal. In order to spread the Drukpa rule over Sharchog Khorlo Tisb Gyed (the eight regions of eastern Bhutan), he directed the Trongsa Penlop, Chhogyal Minjur Tempa, to subdue the local chieftains and . build a Dzong at the present site.Soon after, trouble started in the east. The chieftain of Kurote Tangmachu was killed by his rivals, Pelchen Dharma and Phagidung. The widow of the king appealed to the Trongsa Penlop for protection. The Penlop’s forces moved eastward, overpowering one chieftain after another. First they defeated Chokhar Deb in Bumthang, then Lhuntse was captured and a Dzong built. Moving farther east, they captured Trashi Yangtse and brought Zhongar under their con-trol.Penlop Chhogyal Minjur Tempa returned to Trongsa, leaving his lieutenants Lam Namsey and Umze Damchoe Rabgay to complete the work in Trashigang. The Trashi-gang chieftains Tshewang and Langa, having heard of the exploits of the Trongsa forces, submitted without a fight and relinquished their domains. Tshewang and Langa were compensated with chieftainships in Samkhar and Rangshikhar, where they established the lineage of Samkhar Khoche and Rangshikhar Khoche. At the time, almost every village in Trashigang was headed by petty chieftains. The places from where they reigned were known as khar, literally meaning a wall of stones, which could be equated to castles or Dzongs. Villages like Bikhar, Samkhar, Tshangkhar, Rangshikhar, Domkhar and Jamkhar were seats of power; and even today the names are retained. In fact, the first Dzong in.Trashigang was built in Jamkhar village in the 9th century CE, when Lhasey Tsangma, the elder brother of Thri Relpachen, who had been banished from Tibet, settled in Jamkhar, where the local people erected a Khar. He later built the Tshenkharla Dzong above Duksom, where is rematinscan stille seen today asily in other plac es. A chieftain named Lam Nagseng, from Merak-Sakten, refused to surrender to the Trongsa Penlop’s forces. He was eventually defeated, however, and fled to Tibet. Once the rebellions were curbed, a new Dzong was constructed at Bjirizor in Khaling. In a later conflict, Lam Nagseng was again at the forefront of the rebellion, but again he was defeated by the Trongsa Penlop’s troops. Chhogyal Minjur Tempa ordered. Kudung Pekar Chophel to build the Dzong at Bengkhar due to its strategic location. In 1659 the Dzong was constructed and named Trashigang Dzong, Fortress of the auspicious mound.