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The Manjushri Shrine , located on a western spur of the hilltop, comes second only to the main stupa in antiquity - the canopied chaitya is reckoned to be 1500 years old. Manjushri, the Buddhist god of wisdom and founder of civilization in the valley, is traditionally depicted by an empty niche in the chaitya, but an image of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning, was placed in the niche three hundred years ago, and so the shrine is now on the pilgrimage circuit for Hindus as well. Schoolchildren make a special trip here on Basanta Panchami, in late January or early February, to have their books and pencils blessed. The rest of the hilltop is littered with other obscure monuments. In addition, several Tibetan monasteries , which as a rule welcome visitors, have been built in the area since 1959, and more seem to be going up all the time. Many Westerners study Tibetan Buddhism here.
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