7. July 2014

NEWS
Completion of 155ft tall Repousse Statute of
Guru Padmasambhava in Bhutan
Guru Padmasambhava is believed to have meditated in a sacred cave of
ancient Village of Pharping, the south of the Kathmandu Valley, and attained
enlightenment. Presently as a homage, Bhutan has the tallest statue of Guru
Padmasambhava and it was made possible with the art and craftsmanship of
the Nepalese artists.
Guru Padmasambhava is often referred
to as the second Buddha in Bhutan
where the official state religion is Drukpa
Kagyu Buddhism. A great master of
Buddhist Tantra, he is said to have
emerged in Bhutan around eighth
century and established the teachings
of the Buddha all over the country. He
is also credited in bringing Vajrayana to
Tibet and Bhutan and he is
revered today as one of the
great patriarchs of Tibetan
Buddhism and the founder
of the Nyinmapa School.
The project of the 155
feet tall repousse statue
of Guru Padmasambhava
was assigned to Raj Kumar
Shakya and his team.
They were assigned to
design and built the 155
feet tall statue of Guru
Padmasambhava in Takela,
Eastern Bhutan. The
intricate work on the copper
repousse statue began
on 20 June 2010 and after
working diligently for three
years and nine months, the
statue was completed on
20 March 2014.
As Nepal’s is renowned for its metal
works and artifacts, the practice is
believed to be very ancient as it traces
far back to the 11 th century. This art has
been practiced and passed down to
generations and the historic monuments
created by the generations of artists
are strewn throughout Nepal and all
over the world. Hence Nepalese artists
were requested for the project in
Bhutan whereby the project itself
was a complex task undertaken by
Raj Kumar Shakya and his team. The
project started with many models and
under the direction of Shakya, a total
number of 57 people worked on the
project. The concrete base that was
constructed is 40 feet tall. In fact, the
actual size of the copper repousse
figure is 115 ft tall and the face alone
measures 15 ft.
To mark the successful completion of
the 155 feet tall repousse statute of
Guru Padmasambhava in Bhutan and to
felicitate the involved artists, a program
was carried out in Patan on 12 July 2014.
In the program, Mr.R.J. Shakya, Architect
Anil Shakya and his team from Sumeru
Art Village were honoured. Senior scholar
and culture expert Mr.
Satya Mohan Joshi and Ani
Maya Shakya presented
tokens of appreciation to
all the team members
who were involved in the
project in Bhutan. The
Event at Yala Maya Kendra
was a kind of celebration
of Nepal’s craftsmanship
that will present a good
and optimistic outlook from
abroad. The contributions
of Raj Kumar Shakya and
team, Ar. Anil Shakya and
Sumeru Art Village are
greatly acknowledged.
Apart from Nepal and
Bhutan, Shakya’s work
has also reached China,
Germany, USA, Korea,
France, India and Japan.
18 / SPACESNEPAL.COM