Trans Himalayan Buddhism

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The Trans Himalayas Mountain Region or Tibetan Himalayan Region is located to the north of the Great Himalayas which consists of Karakoram, Ladakh, Zanskar and Kailash mountain ranges. The countries lies in Trans Himalayan region are Nepal, Bhutan; China occupied Tibet and China itself. Indian states and union territories like Kashmir, Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Mizoram, Sikkim, and Darjeeling (West Bengal) are the part of this region. This mysterious region always attracted saints and ascetics of various cults. How and when Buddhism spread in this region where human survival is very tough and challenging, how Buddhism attracted the barbaric community of this region, are the interesting topics discussed in this volume.

Dr. G. K. Lama, Professor, Department of AllIC & Archaeology, Centre of Advanced Study, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, having specialization in the field of Archaeology, Buddhism and Asian Studies, has 26 books in his credit namely Tibet Ment Bauddha Dharma Ka Itihas-2004; Samyak Darshan- 2004; Cultural Heritage of South-East Asia-2009; Indus to Ganges-2009; Pakkakot: Some New Archaeological Dimensions of Mid-Ganga Plain- 2012; Buddhist Cave Temples of Ancient India-2013; A Buddhist Universe-2016; An Archaeological Journey of Nalanda-2018; Art Heritage of Nalanda- 2018; India: A Journey from Lithic to Iron-2019; Footprints of the Buddha on the Roof of the World- 2020, Glimpses of North-East India-2021, Indian Culture through the Ages-2021, Revealing India's Past-2021, Buddhism on the Silk Route-2022, Mysterious World of Siddhas-2022, The Cult of Adamantine Path-2022, Buddhism A Living Spiritual Force-2022, Indian Archaeology Some New Perspectives-2022, Glimpses of Asian Art Heritage- 2023, Indian History A Multidisciplinary Approach- 2023, Fusion of Indian Culture on Asia-2023, Unique Features of Buddhist Monasteries-2023, Unending Journey of Indian Culture-2023, Mahayana Sutra Samgraha-2023, and Cultural Heritage of Nepal- 2023. He has presented 67 research papers in various National and International seminars and 113 research papers have been published in various reputed journals, edited books, conference proceedings and felicitation volumes. He has completed a Major Research Project entitled Archaeological Investigation in and around Nalanda, granted by the University Grants Commission, New Delhi, which was submitted in 2014. The author has also completed 16 projects regarding archacological investigations in Sikkim, Eastern and Western UP and Bihar with the kind permission of Archaeological Survey of India, New Delhi. He has invited twice to Sri Lanka and once to Thailand to deliver special lectures.

The name Trans Himalaya was coined by a Swedish geographer Sven Hedin in early 20 century. It was described by the Columbia Lippincott Gazetteer in 1952 as an ill-defined mountain area" with "no marked crest line or central alignment and no division by rivers." On more modern maps the Kailash range (Gangdise or Kang-to-se Shan) in the west is shown as distinct from the Nyenchen Tangiha range in the east. The Trans Himalaya or Gangdise-Nyenchen Tanglha range is a 1600 km long mountain range in China, India and Nepal, extending in a west-cast direction parallel to the main Himalayan range. Yarlung Tsangpo River on the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau, the Trans Himalaya is composed of the Gangdise range to the west and the Nyenchen Tanglha range to the east. This range coordinates 30° 23'00" N: 90" 34'31"E; elevation is 7, 162 m. length-1600 km. heighest point-Nyaingentanglha Feng, and mountain range-Tibetan plateau. The Trans Himalayas Mountain Region or Tibetan Himalayan Region is located to the north of the Great Himalayas which consists of Karakoram, Ladakh, Zanskar and Kailash mountain ranges. Most of the part of these ranges lies in Tibet. The Karakoram Range is known as the Backbone of High Asia."

It is also known as Krishnagiri which is situated in the northern most range of the Trans-Himalayan Ranges. It forms India's frontiers with Afghanistan and China and acts as watershed between India and Turkestan. It extends eastwards from the Pamir for about 800 km. the average width of this range is 120-140 km. It is a range of lofty peaks and the elevation hardly ever falls below 5, 500 mt. It is the abode of some of the greatest Glaciers of the world outside the Polar Regions. Some of the peaks are more than 8, 000 mt above mean sea level. K2 is the second highest peak in the world and highest in the Indian Territory. It has been named as Godwin Austen by the Britishers and Qogir by China.

It lies to the north of the Leh and is an important part of the Trans- Himalayan range that merges with the Kailash range in Tibet. The important passes that lie to the north-east of Leh are-Khardung La and Digar La.

It separate from the Great Himalayan Range near 80° E longitudes and runs parallel to it. The Nanga Parbat (8126 mt) is the highest point in the north-west but the adjoining Deosai Mountain may also be included in it. Ladakh range is in the north of the Zanskar range which runs parallel to it. This range is having the average elevation of 5, 800 mt sea level and it is about 300 km long, only few peaks of this range attains height of over 6,000 mt. the Rakaposhi-Haramosh ranges beyond the Indus may be treated as extension of the Ladakh range to the north-west.

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