Zhabdrung in the City of Joy


19 January, 2010 - Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyel (1594-1651?), who died more than three and half centuries ago, perhaps never visited Kolkata in his times, but a statue of him sits on the landing of a staircase on the third floor of its Asiatic Society building.

The 250-year old statue is a work of art and measures about six feet. The wooden plaque below it reads, “Brass Image of Dhurm Raja. Found at the capture of the Buxa Duar on 7 December 1864.” In bold letters, it is printed, “SAID TO BE HUNDRED YEARS OLD.”

The statue is believed to have been found by Captain Hadyat Ally in the Buxa duar foothills, one of the duars (gateways) to Bhutan. Captain Ally donated it to the Asiatic Society in the City of Joy.

Bhutan fought a war against the British in 1864-65. The small Bhutanese army, equipped with stones and matchlocks, were no match for the British army’s mortar’s and rifles. On November 12, 1864, the Governor General of India issued a proclamation of war against Bhutan. By the end of November, preparation of all military operations had been completed. By 19 December the British had annexed the Bengal duars, which includes the Buxa duar.


This water colour was painted by Lt Col. Armstrong (Engineers) at Dalimkote during the Bhutan war of 1865. It is currently on sale on e-Bay.

Buxa duar is what Bhutanese know today as Pasakha, part of which is still in Bhutan’s possession. This duar is one of the oldest towns in West Bengal. According to American scholar John Ardussi, an expert in Bhutanese history, “Buxa was truly the most ancient trade mart between India and Bhutan, going back centuries.”

However, Nicholas Rhodes, who has compiled the duar war documents, has raised some doubts about the size of the fort in Buxa capable of housing such a statue. Paintings and written records of that time do not show or mention any large monastery.

But records maintained by Captain Warren, a british officer, who served during the duar war, says that ‘Buxa itself consisted of a large two-storied house, substantially built, with carved verandahs on the upper storey - this was used for a hospital and as officers’ quarters.”

So where could such a statue have come from? Before the Anglo-Bhutan War, in addition to the Buxa fort, Bhutan had three other hill forts. The first fort is the Yongla goempa and the only one in present Bhutan. The second fort hill is between Kalimpong and Sikkim, India. John Ardussi, describes the location, “The Damsang Dzong is on a hill above Pedong, on the road from Kalimpong up to Tibet. This small hilltop fort is at least of 17th century vintage, and is now in ruins. Ardussi said, “The Bhutanese during the 18th century took over this area and held it until the British seized it in the 1865 war.”

The third and the most likely place for the origin of the statue is the fort hill of Dalimkote. It is a long way from Buxa, about 45 miles west and much closer to Kalimpong. According to Ardussi, Buxa and Dalimkha did have a monastery during the 18th century. Kalimpong district was annexed by the British after the war, along with 18 Duars that had previously been part of Bhutan.

Dasho Zepon Wangchuk supports Ardussi. He knows that the Paro monk body appointed the chief abbot of that monastery. Oral history records Lam Sangay Dali Jamtsho as the last abbot of the fortress. Oral stories, commonly told in Haa, talk of how Lam Sangay built a replacement monastery in Haa after the fortress of Dalimkot was razed to the ground.

Written British records describe the attack on the fort of Dalimkot, “a detachment of 400 infantry with the artillery, went up against Dalimkote, on the 6th of December…”

After ten hours of bombing the fort, the British took possession of it. The British suffered, “eight of their men were killed and fifty-six wounded.”

Ardussi explores another option. “When this war broke out, or at the threat of war, might not the Bhutan government have had the monk body transport this large statue to the frontier, for the purpose of imposing a kind of “protective” guardianship?

According to the librarian of the Asiatic Society “scrolls of paper were found with the chant of Aditya inside the statue.” In the Rigveda, the Adityas are the seven celestial lords. For Buddhists, it is a normal practice to put scrolls of paper with appropriate chants inside statues. Without these chants, a statue is just an art piece.

Contributed by Tshering Tashi
Co-author of Bold Bhutan Beckons