Note 32 — Chapter III · JOURNEY TO DONGTSE.
Reading edition
December 30.—After breakfast Ugyen-gyatso and I went to make obeisance to the deities (choi jal), carrying with us a bundle of incense-sticks, two tankas’ worth of clarified butter, and about a dozen khatag, to present as offerings to the gods. Descending a steep ladder, we came to the lobby of the congregation hall (du-khang) of the Tsug-la-khang. The portico faced eastward; its painted wooden pillars had capitals most fantastically and picturesquely carved, the walls painted in fresco, with relief images of the sixteen Sthaviras (Naten chudug32) gorgeously coloured, but of a much lower style of work than what is seen in India, though the thick coat of varnish which covered them hid their defects, when not examined too closely.