Tradruk Temple is located in Nedong County of Lhoka Prefecture about seven kilometres south of the county seat, Tsetang. It has a history of more than 1300 years and Princess Wencheng would frequent the temple and practice Buddhism.
Tradruk temple is the first Buddhist temple in Tibet and it was built in the 7th century by King Songtsen Gampo. Tradruk means “Hawk and Dragon”. According to legend, there was a lake at the location of this temple and Naga-dragon with five heads. King Songtsen Gampo manifested himself into a hawk and subdued it. Because the demonic Naga was harming the lake and the life of people around it. Later the temple was built on top of the lake. Furthermore, it is supposed to be one of the many temples built on the important part of the body of a She-demon. She-demon is in a lying posture on the land of Tibet.
The most important treasure of Tradruk is a unique Thangka of Avalokitesvara. In addition, it is embroidered with thousands of pearls. Princess Wencheng made it. Other holy relics enshrined in the temple are the statue of Padmasambhava. It was made in the 8th century by his disciples. There is also “speaking Tara” which means that statue used to speak in the past. Besides these, there are many other statues of Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Dharma protectors and scriptures just like in the other Buddhist temples.
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