Note 49 — Chapter IX · FUNERAL OF THE PANCHEN RINPOCHE.—VISIT TO THE GREAT LAMASERY OF SAMYE AND TO YARLUNG.

We forded the Yarlung river, in which there was but little water, nearly all of it having been drawn off by irrigation ditches higher up the valley, and passing to the villages of Yangta and Gyerpal, we came to the old sanctuary of Yarlung, called the Chyasa lha-khang, or “the resting-place-of-birds temple,” for the vast flocks of birds49 which pass here in their migrations make it a resting-place. It is situated on the banks of the Tsang-po, and is a finely built and well-kept edifice, with a courtyard and beautifully frescoed walls. The image of Sakya Buddha in the temple is said to be made with an alloy of gold, silver, copper, and iron.