Most Bhutanese are familiar with the epic of Khando Drowa Zangmo. It was taught in the schools as part of the school curriculum until a few years ago. Towards the end of the epic, Khandro Drowa Zangmo’s son, Kuentu Legpa rules a village called Yue Pemachen. And that place is said to be the present day Chaling village under Shongphu Gewog, Trashigang.
There is a vast ruin of stone structures buried underneath the soil. The ruined structures are believed to be that of Kuentu Lekpa’s palace. And the existing Pemachhen village, which is under Chaling Chiwog, is said to be Yue Pemachen, the epic place where Kuentu Legpa ruled as the King.
According to legend, Gyalse Kuentu Lekpa came there after his stepmother Duem Hachang attempted to take his life and that of his sister’s.
Most part of the ruined structures have been demolished in recent years. Except for few metres of outer and inner walls, the main structure is now hardly visible.
The only structure that withstood the test of time is the Chorten, built right in the middle of the ruined structure. The Chorten is said to have been there since Kuentu Lekpa’s time. But there is no descendants of Kuentu Lekpa or that of Yue Pemachhen to substantiate the story today.
The current residents of Chaling and Pemachhen villages came from Tawang under Arunachal Pradesh in India about 500 years ago. The locals said almost all the houses in Pemachen village are built with stones from the ruined structures.
“When we were just a kid, most walls of the ruins were intact,” remembers Leki Wangchuk, a local resident. “The whole ruins were covered with big trees. Later population here increased and people started building houses extracting stones from the ruined walls. Most houses were built recently and they have also used the stones from the ruined walls to build their houses,” he says.
According to 87-year-old Shongphu Lam Tharpo, Kuentu Lekpa came and lived there more than 1400 years ago.
Despite its rich historical background nobody has carried out research or archeological studies. The whole area where the ruined structures stands is now a private land. Lam Tharpo believes that it is high time for the government to do something to protect this historical palace.
“Since there is no descendants of Kuentu Lekpa, there was no one to take care of the palace and it became a forest. So if government can take care of the ruins, it will help in preserving our history,” says the Lam.
“Not only that, Pemachhen is also part of three Gonpas. In the east we have Rigsum Gonpa, the other one Yongla Gonpa and the third one is Pemachhen. The other two are being taken care of and Pemachhen has become a ruin,” says Lam Tharpo.
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Another historical place linked to the epic of Khandro Drowa Zangmo is Damnongchhu. The Damnongchhu is believed to be the battlefield of Kuentu Lekpa and Duem Hachang. It is about six hour’s uphill walk from Chaling village.
In the main battlefield, there are three Chortens. The largest one, which is known as Chorten Nagpo, was constructed to subdue Duem Hachang. The other two Chortens were constructed to subjugate the horse of Duem Hachang and her maid Zemarago. But all the Chortens, including the main Chorten have been vandalised now.
