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Shri Ashtapad Maha Tirth - II
The fifteen all-stone corbelled structures of this site occupy a narrow gully, an amphitheatre, cliffs, and ridgelines sandwiched between the eastern side of the Mount Kailash outer circuit and the inner circuit. One thousand years ago, Buddhists meditators occupied Prophecy Retreats, lending it the name it is still known by. The adequate shelter offered by the residential structures of Prophecy Retreats must have been attractive to Buddhist ascetics during their golden period in the region, in the 12th and 13th CE centuries CE. The rear walls of the old buildings are set deeply into the slopes, giving them a semi-subterranean aspect. The larger structures (around 8 m x 12 m) had three tiers of rooms or a forward courtyard and two upper tiers of rooms. Crystal Likeness is suspended on a steep and rocky slope located in the inner circuit. Although it was founded in the archaic era, Crystal Likeness was used subsequently by Buddhist practitioners for many centuries. One of the retreat buildings was partially restored in the 1980s. Spanning 14 m of the cliff face, the modern retreat has incorporated older structures into its construction. On the north side of this hermitage, there are three small rooms, two of which still have fully intact stone slab roofs supported by corbels. Southwest of the modern hermitage are the vestiges of five small buildings. Further west is a pre-Buddhist residence ensconced in an overhang.
Fig.6: Crystal Likeness (Shel-'dra). Ruins on the west side of the site
Cave of the Letter A is located directly above the Buddhist monastery of rDzu-'phrulPhuk, on the east side of the pilgrim's circuit. A 14.5-m long outer retaining wall was built up around a cave, forming a 3-m- to 6-m wide level area in front of it. Bon tradition maintains that practitioners such as the famous adept Tshe-dbang rig-'dzin (8th century CE) stayed in this cave. However, since the 11th century CE, Cave of the Letter A has been under the control of the Buddhists. Tibetan Buddhists commonly believe that it was used by the great saint Mi-la
The pre-Buddhist archaeological sites around Mount Kailash
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