December 1, 2009

How Khidung became Pemagatshel (A brief history)

Originally the present site of Pemagatshel Dzong was known as khoidung, meaning the “village of cuckoos” as the region was once said to be full of this species of bird, but the people mispronounced as Khidung.

In 1969, Lam Sonam Zangpo of Yongla Gonpa invited His Holiness Chabji Dudjum Rimpoche to bless and teach “Rinchen Terzoe Wangling” to the present site of Pemagatshel MSS. Right after this, a Mr. Ugyen Tshering of Nangkhor village requested Rimpoche for a name to replace Khidung. Rimpoche renamed it Pemagatshel meaning “Blissful land of Lotus” after analyzing the shape and landscape of the place that resembles lotus flower.

Pemagatshel was under Dungsam Dosum area of the erstwhile Zhonggar Dzong. Hence, Dungsam was prefixed to Pemagatshel and thus today it is popularly known as Dungsam Pemagatshel. (This information is extracted from the Magazine titled ‘PASAM’ – the Dzongkhag Education Magazine produced as a tribute to coronation and centenary celebration-2008 )

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