After Circumambulating the Golden Temple and offering appropriate Prayers to the Seventeen Panditas of Nalanda I proceed inside. Normally there is a steady stream of pilgrims and tourists pouring through the temple: Kalmyks from both Elista and the countryside and Russians running the gamut from teenaged punk rockers, to leather-clad motorcyclists, to aging babushkas, many of them shepherded by local guides who describe in detail the contents of the temple. But at eight o’clock in the morning on this weekday the place is almost deserted, giving me a good chance to take a leisurely look around.
Buddha on the main altarThe walls of the temple has been covered with magnificent murals done by Tibetan artists imported from India. While the temple building was completely back in 2005 the interior artwork was just finished in the last month or so.
Detail of wall to the left of the main altar
Detail of wall to the left of the main altar
Wall to the right of the main altar
Detail of wall to the right of the main altar
Detail of wall to the right of the main altar
The back wall
Detail of the back wall
Detail of the back wall
Green Taras on the back wall
Green Tara on the back wall
Green Taras on the back wall
Green Tara on the back wall
Buddhas on a side wall
Buddhas on a side wall
More paintings on the back wall. That’s the Dalai Lama, top center.
Detail of Dalai Lama
Mandala in the ceiling the main hall of the temple. The top side of this mandala is the center of a Huge Conference Table on the fourth floor of the temple.
Top side of the mandala visible on the ceiling of the main hall of the temple
Third floor balcony overlooking the main hall of the temple. After school and on weekends this area serves as a rumpus room for local teen-agers. If you are a teenager looking to hookup with somebody with whom you can discuss the finer points of the Mind Only School and other such topics this is the place to go.
Third floor balcony overlooking the main hall of the temple
Buddha on the main altar from the third floor balcony
