Phodong Monastery is a Buddhist

Buddhism

Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...

 monastery in Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

, India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. It is located 28 kilometres from Gangtok

Gangtok

Gangtok is the capital and largest town of the Indian state of Sikkim. Gangtok is located in the Shivalik Hills of the eastern Himalayan range, at an altitude of . The town, with a population of thirty thousand belonging to different ethnicities such as Nepalis, Lepchas and Bhutia, is administered...

.
It was built in the early 18th century but an older monastery had pre-existed the current one.

9th Karmapa was invited by the king of Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

, where he founded three monasteries : Rumtek, the most important monastery of the Kagyu

Kagyu

The Kagyu, Kagyupa, or Kagyud school, also known as the "Oral Lineage" or Whispered Transmission school, is today regarded as one of six main schools of Himalayan or Tibetan Buddhism, the other five being the Nyingma, Sakya, Jonang, Bon and Gelug...

 sect of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism is the body of Buddhist religious doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet and certain regions of the Himalayas, including northern Nepal, Bhutan, and India . It is the state religion of Bhutan...

, Phodong and Ralang Monastery

Ralang Monastery

Ralang Monastery is a Buddhist monastery of the Kagyu sect of Tibetan Buddhism in southern Sikkim, northeastern India. It is located six kilometres from Ravangla....

  .

It was reconstructed by Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal

Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal

Sidkeong Tulku Namgyal was the ruling Maharaja and Chogyal of Sikkim for a brief period in 1914, from 10 February to 5 December. He was the eldest son and heir of Maharaja Sri Panch Sir Thutob Namgyal, and was educated at St. Paul's School, Darjeeling and at Pembroke College, Oxford. A polyglot,...

, who was recognized as the reincarnation of his uncle, Sidkeong Namgyal

Sidkeong Namgyal

Sidkeong Namgyal was king of Sikkim from 1863 to 1874. He was son of Tsugphud Namgyal and was succeeded by his half-brother Thutob Namgyal.-External links:*...

, the abbot of the monastery. The line was to be continued by Palden Thondup Namgyal

Palden Thondup Namgyal

Palden Thondup Namgyal was the 12th and last Chogyal of Sikkim.At six, Namgyal became a student at St. Joseph's Convent in Kalimpong, but had to terminate his studies due to attacks of malaria...

The monastery has a residence of approximately 260 monks and has a numerous collection of some ancient murals.