Ancient Cave Of Saspol, Ladakh - Saspol Cave Paintings.
During my visit to Kashmir and Ladakh,(July 2025) I was fascinated by the Saspol Cave and its old paintings.This place is a hidden gem of the Ladakh region, there is so much to say, see and experience here.Many Ancient Secrets are Hidden in the High Mountains and valleys of Ladakh.
View Of Saspol Cave or Gon-Nila-Phuk.
Ladakh- Shrouded in a Mist of Myth and Mystery, this Land of Monks and Monasteries rises gracefully from the upper half of the Indus basin. Enclosed within the Western Himalayas and the Karakoram mountains, it embraces the headwaters of the Indus over a distance of about three hundred miles. It has Tibet in the east and Kashmir in the west.Ladakh, the one big region in India where Buddhism is professed by the people to this day, has till recently been almost a forgotten land, except by daring mountaineers and adventurous explorers and the slow-winding caravans on the Central Asian trade route. "Ladakh, in Tibetan La-tags, is the most common name; but is also called Mar-yul or Low-land or Red-land and Kha-chan-pa or Snowland*". Fa-Hien called it Kia-chha and Hiuen Tsang Ma-lo-pho..
Ladakh is one of the most elevated regions in the world with people living at elevations from 9,000 to about 15,000 feet above the sea. Many of the moun-tain peaks in or around Ladakh are well over 24,000 feet in height. These include Nanga Parbat (26,629 ft.) View Of Saspol Cave Temple
Now,We More talk About Saspol Cave's Old Painting Art and Cave Site.
The scholar and translator Rinchen Zangpo (958–1055 AD) traveled to Kashmir, and, upon his return, helped found large numbers of temples all over western Tibet and Ladakh.
Among them were a group of meditation caves and temples at Saspol, overlooking a large oasis on the right bank of the Indus, across the river from the famous monastic complex of Alchi. On top of the hill, the ruins of a ninth-century fort also survive and house an altar that is being used by the village of Saspol.
Located Behind Saspol village of Ladakh (Leh) the Saspol Caves, also known as the Gon-Nila-Phuk Caves, are five rock-cut temples, of which three are adorned with Buddhist paintings dated to the thirteenth( 13thCentur AD )to the fifteenth centuries ( 15th Century AD). The paintings are believed to have been made by followers of the Drikung Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. Of the five caves, Caves 4 and 5 are damaged and contain no paintings, with only caves 2 and 3 still housing a profusion of brightly-coloured murals. The paintings at Saspol are significant as the images are exemplary of Buddhist art made at a time when the influence of the Kashmiri style was waning, and the influence of the Central Tibetan style of Painting was Growing.
Painting From 2nd & 3rd Cave Of Saspol.
800 Year old Painting
Important & Influence Of Art and Old Paintings:- Ladakh, like Tibet, is known as the land of lamas. Lamaism, as the form of Buddhism prevalent in Ladakh is sometimes known, is a combination of the Mahayana and tantrism, not unmixed with traces of Bon, the ancient religion of Tibet. Besides Shakya Thuba or the Buddha, the people in Ladakh worship Jamya (Manjushri), Chanrazik (Avalokiteshvara), Maitreya (the future Buddha), Grolma (Tara), Padma Pani and Vajra Pani.
The paintings in these caves mainly depict the gods and goddesses of Mahayana and Tantrism. Numerous deities are portrayed, such as the guardian deity Samvara and the enlightened healer Hevajra. There are Apart from this, pictures of the chief Lama and his disciples have been made here, Apart from this, Ancient Image of Mandala, five Buddhas and others have also been engraved on the walls.
Old Painting Of Mandala, Tantric Buddhist Gods and Some Magnificent Painting Art.
Cave 2
Studies reveal that in preparation for painting, the cave walls were first plastered with a mixture of clay and mud to smoothen any unevenness, and a thin layer of white gypsum-based ground was subsequently Applied over the Plaster. The paintings were made on this white ground, and the predominant colours used are blue, red, ochre, white, yellow, green, and white, derived from both organic and inorganic materials. The former includes carbon-black, indigo and madder, and the latter includes azurite, orpiment and vermilion. Paint was applied in multiple layers, and variations in colours were made by applying very thin washes of one colour over another. These techniques are consistent with those seen in paintings from this period in other parts of Ladakh.
Damaged Cave & Painting ( Saspol)
How beautifully the small images of Buddhist deities are carvedThe paintings of Anuttarayoga Tantra (also known as Yoganiruttaratantra) in the main cave are very rare for the period of execution.
Avalokitesvara
Painting of Dhyani Buddha And Hevajra
Myself Inside in Cave
Paint Art Of Mandala and Deities
Damaged Painting ( Tantric Deities)
Classic View of Saspol Cave & Valley
Fine work Of Bricks, Mud and Paints..
Myself Inside in Cave
FORT:- On top of the hill, the Ruins of a Ninth-Century fort also Survive and House an altar that is being used by the village of Saspol.We can still see evidence of fortifications here. This fort was located at a very important place in ancient times, mud, stone and wood were used in its construction.
Fort Of Saspol ( 9th Century)
Remains Of Fort ( Saspol, Ladakh)
Fort Of Saspol ( 9th Century )Overview : in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, awakening can be attained in a single lifetime, with the help of an array of deities. This tradition gave rise to a rich visual culture as an aid to meditation, and the interiors of the Gon-Nila-Phuk caves are covered with wall paintings that depict different manifestations of Buddhahood, likely executed as early as the eleventh century. The paintings carry an esoteric symbolism and are an invaluable resource for understanding the history of Buddhism and Buddhist thought as it was practiced in this region. But the caves were carved into a hill of conglomerate rock, and the weathering of the soft conglomerate puts the survival of this sacred art at great risk. Erosion damages the painted surface and threatens the structural stability of the caves. Already, due to collapses, only two of them remain accessible. Stabilizing the hill would be a daunting engineering task, and yet the significance of the site calls for action.
Myself With Saspol Cave Temple, Saspol, Ladakh
Landscape Of Saspol Village
Cave of Saspol or Gon-Nila- Phuk
Saspol, LadakhIn the My View " If you like art, Ancient Sites, History, Archaeology, Peace, Solitude and mystery, Then Saspol and its caves can be a good choice for you.
Just Magnificent View Inside the Cave
Thanks For Visit, Next Story Upcoming Soon on My Blog ( Prince)
Saspol, Saspol Cave, History Of Ladakh, leh, Ladakh, my Ladakh journey, History
Reference:- 1.
My Own Visit Of Saspol Cave
2.Buddhism in kashmir and Ladakh
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