Tawang Monastery
Tawang Monastery, located in Tawang city of Tawang district in the Indian state of Arunachal Pradesh, is the largest monastery in India. It is situated in the valley of the Tawang Chu, near the small town of the same name in the northwestern part of Arunachal Pradesh, in close proximity to the Chinese and Bhutanese border. Tawang Monastery is known in Tibetan as Gaden Namgyal Lhatse, which translates to "the divine paradise of complete victory." It was founded by Merak Lama Lodre Gyatso in 1680–1681 in accordance with the wishes of the 5th Dalai Lama, Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso. It belongs to the Gelug school of Vajrayana Buddhism and had a religious association with Drepung Monastery of Lhasa, which continued during the period of British rule. The monastery is three stories high. It is enclosed by a long compound wall. Within the complex there are 65 residential buildings. The library of the monastery has valuable old scriptures, mainly Kangyur and Tengyur. Etymology The full name of the monastery is Tawang Galdan Namgye Lhatse. 'Ta' means "horse", 'wang' means "chosen", which together forms the word 'Tawang', meaning "the location selected by horse". Further, 'Gadan' means "paradise", 'Namgyal' means "complete victory" and 'Lhatse'