Sardgiyn
Khiyd
Monastery Founded by Zanabazar
Location: N48º27.719 / E107º59.591. Töv Aimag. In the valley of the Khiydiyn Gol, a tributary of the Tuul River. Accessible only by horse from the sum center of Möngönmort in Khentii Aimag or the Terelj resort area north of Ulaan Baatar.
Zanabazar received his preliminary ordination as a monk of the Sakya sect of Tibetan Buddhism at Shireet Tsaagan Nuur (see above), where he received the title of Sumati-Sakya-Dodza, “He Who Hold the Sakya Banner of the Great Mind.” During his 1649–51 sojourn in Tibet Zanabazar had been converted to the Gelug sect of Tibetan Buddhism by the 5th Dalai Lama, however, and upon his return to Mongolia he set about converting existing Sakya institutions and establishing new Gelug monasteries.
In 1654 we find Zanabazar in the Baga Khentii Mountains, part of the Khentii Range in what now Töv Aimag. Above the valley of a small tributary of the Tuul River, in what is now a very remote area sixty-three miles north of current-day Ulaan Baatar, Zanabazar established a new Gelug monastery with the official name of Ribo-gejai-gandan-shadublin. It became more commonly called as Sardgiyn Khiyd and, like Zanabazar’s other residences, was also known as Ikh Khüree.
At least one source indicates that the Panchen Lama, with whom Zanabazar studied while in Tibet, instructed him to build Sardgiyn Khiyd Unlike Erdene Zuu, which had been built by his great-grandfather Avtai, and Shankh Monastery, which had been established by Zanabazar when he was still a member of the Sakya sect, Sardgiyn Khiyd was solely Zanabazar’s creation and would be a Gelug institution from its founding. Apparently Zanabazar planned to make this new monastery, located in a remote area removed from the immediate influence of any other monasteries or settlements, the new center of Buddhism in Mongolia.
On the lower slope of Bukh Yan Mountain, at an elevation of about 6000 feet. a naturally occurring terrace was built up and enlarged into a flat area measuring some 650 by 575 feet. Here eventually were to be built seven large temples, three big stupas, and attendant buildings. Perhaps influenced by what he had seen in Tibet and by the Tibetan monks and artisans in his entourage, Zanabazar employed Tibetan designs in the construction of the temples, the largest of which had 108 pillars. An Amdo aimag, or section of the monastery, made up in large part of Tibetan lamas from Amdo who had accompanied Zanabazar back from Tibet, was eventually established, along with several other aimags and a Tantric College. Zanabazar composed new prayers, rituals, and other liturgical materials for the new monastery, and the Panchen Lama sent two monks from Tibet to assist Zanabazar in the creation of new music. The entire complex was not completed until 1680.
Unfortunately, the monastery was short-lived. When Zanabazar’s
long-time nemesis the Zungarian Khan Galdan Bolshigt invaded Khalkh Mongolia
in 1688 he singled out Sardgiyn Khiyd, perhaps because it was solely Zanabazar’s
creation, and almost completely destroyed it. When Zanabazar returned
in the early 1700s from exile in China he refurbished Erdene Zuu and other
monasteries which had been damaged in the wars with Galdan but for some
reason he never attempted to re-establish Sardgiyn Khiyd.
The site was completely abandoned and today very few people apart from
local hunters and plant gatherers who venture into the Baga Khentii Mountains
are aware of its location. I discovered the ruins quite by accident. I
was traveling by horseback from the sum center of Möngönmort
in the upper Kherlen River valley west 53 miles west to 9143-foot Asralt
Khairkhan, the highest mountain in the main Khentii Range. We crossed
a pass into the valley of the Tuul and then headed up the Khiydiyn Gol,
a tributary of the Tuul. Near the top of the pass leading to Khar Nuur
(Black Lake) the son of the herdsman whose horses I was using and who
was acting as a guide related that while collecting deer antlers in this
area he had noticed some old ruins on the side of a nearby mountain. His
father, who had accompanied numerous Mongolian researchers into the Khentii
Mountains and was very familiar with local landmarks, said he himself
had never visited the ruins but had heard that they were connected with
Zanabazar. A twenty minute ride through a thick larch forest brought us
to the remnants of Sardgiyn Khiyd. Of the large Tibetan-style temples
which Zanabazar had built all that remained were several section of stone
walls, in places up to twenty feet high, the barely discernible foundations
of buildings, and what liked like the bases of stupas. Full grown larch
trees were growing within the foundations of several of the buildings,
testimony that they were destroyed over three hundred and ten years before.
Section of Temple Wall
According to a legend related by the older herdsman, when Zanabazar came here to Sardgiyn Khiyd for the last time before it was destroyed he scattered incense made from artz, a species of wide juniper, on the nearby mountainsides. The artz which now grows here in profusion is said to have originally sprung up from the incense offerings made by Zanabazar. Even today local herdsmen make special trips to come and collect this artz, which is said to have a unique aroma. The temples built by Zanabazar built may have been destroyed, but it believed that his spirit still resides here in this artz.
Khadags left by incense gatherers