Note 41 — Chapter IX · FUNERAL OF THE PANCHEN RINPOCHE.—VISIT TO THE GREAT LAMASERY OF SAMYE AND TO YARLUNG.
Reading edition
Three hours’ ride from Tandub brought us to Ombu lha-khang,41 the most ancient of Tibetan palaces. It is situated on the side of a range of bare hills, and is about a hundred yards from the village of Ombu, which derives its name from the number of ombu trees (tamarisks) which grow around it. Ombu lha-khang, though it has temples and shrines, is more properly a kind of memorial hall. The images in it are not those of gods and saints, but of kings, nobles, and ministers. The building itself is a curious mixture of the Indian and Tibetan styles of architecture, and the interior arrangement of the rooms and their decorations were unlike those of Tibetan buildings. The rooms, I may add, all face eastward.