The murals of the Lotsawa Lhakhang in Henasku and of a few related monuments. A glimpse into the politico-religious situation of Ladakh in the 14th and 15th centuries

Abstract

The Lotsawa Lhakhang in Henasku, in the west of Ladakh, is a humble temple that has received little attention until now. Its murals, dated to the first decades of the 15th century, have suffered significant damage and therefore their analysis is greatly limited. The extant murals show an overall primary Drigung Kagyu affiliation, in a period of great turmoil for this school in Western Tibet. They were painted in a local style that departed from the reference to the Eastern Indian tradition and embraced the motifs of the Nepalese tradition. The indepth study of these murals further enables their attribution to a particular master-painter and their correlation with a limited ensemble of murals in Alchi, Saspol, and Phiyang, whence the political and religious situation of Ladakh during the 14th and 15th centuries is questioned.