Drakarpo

Drakarpo is a sacred cliff that Guru Rinpoche broke and took out an evil spirit in the 8th century. This holy cliff, also known as the mini-Taktsang, is located in Shaba Deyangkha of Dogar Gewog under Paro Dzongkhag at 2,663 meters above sea level.

Historical Significance of Drakarpo

Dra Karpo is a sacred place of pilgrimage blessed by Guru Padmasambhava on his second visit to Bhutan. It is believed that Guru Rinpoche flew to Drakarpo from Paro Taktsang and meditated there. When he arrived at Drakarpo, he split a rock into two pieces, revealing an evil spirit hidden therein. The site came to be known as ‘Dra Karp’ meaning ‘the split cliff’, which has now become ‘Dra Karpo’, a corrupt form of the original word. The split rock can be seen in the monastery’s altar room, which was shifted from the mountainside to its current site.

On one face of the split, he dug out a cave (Drupkhang) to meditate there; he pasted the chippings of the stone on the cave wall to create a mandala, a visual guide for meditation. The shape of the large stone lumps on the opposite rock wall suggests that Guru Rinpoche excavated them by hand and placed the stones there. The rock lumps resemble mud applied to the cliff wall, with many finger impressions visible. The stone lumps are said to contain 48 peaceful and 52 wrathful deities. Manjushri and other deities were also shown on the stone lumps.

Many prominent Buddhist saints, including Khandro Yeshey Tshogyal, Machig Lhabdron, Namkhai Nyingpo, Drupthob Thangthong Gyalpo, Lam Drukpa Kinley, Phajo Drugom Zhigpo, Vairochana, and others also meditated at Dra Karpo.

From here, Guru Rinpoche is said to have flown to the sacred site of Dzongdrakha in Paro just above Shaba in the 8th century.