The Punstog Ling Cave complex in Upper Mustang, Nepal, is one of four special Buddhist monastic/retreat complexes located in the region. The four sites starting in the West and moving East are: [1] Ganden Ling, [2] Puntsog Ling, [3] Ritseling and [4] Konchogling. Of the four, Puntsog Ling is the most damaged externally by the environment and internally by human action. The complex is a great study in the erosion of such caves in Mustang. The most stunning image is the first encountered at the site and shows a figure recessed only inches from the outer walls - hillside - of the cave but in fact what is being seen is a mural originally located at the back wall of a cave that existed 100s of years ago. Erosion has removed the entrance and side walls of the hillside so much that the image is almost completely exposed and at the mercy of constant weathering.

The Ritseling Cave is located in Upper Mustang on a peak West of the Konchog Ling Cave. Prior to the last few years it appears as though no one has entered the small cave complex in several hundred years. It has an assortment of murals with a large mandala close to the entrance along with several Buddha figures. Towards the back of the cave there is a mural depicting narrative scenes possibly of one of the occupants of the cave and his travels through Tibet and especially to Lhasa. Various protector deities are found along with a stunning image - large in size - of the nine faced, eighteen armed Garuda. The only other image of this Garuda in a Buddhist context is found in Phyang Monastery, Ladakh, India.

The Luri Cave in Mustang, Nepal, has some of the earliest and most beautiful Buddhist wall murals. A set of the Eight Great Mahasiddhas stands out for the fine line and early iconographic features.

Seeing, Rather Than Looking At, Nepalese Art: The Figural Struts by Mary Shepherd Slusser, December 18, 2009. Asianart.com

This article is drawn from the important discoveries revealed in the author's forthcoming The Antiquity of Nepalese Wood Carving: A Reassessment, which is now in press. The article does not repeat the critical apparatus which can be found in the book, so the reader is urged to seek, if needed, further references and citations from the book. The Editor, Asianart.com

The Creatures of the Rain Rivers, Cloud Lakes: Newars Saw Them, So Did Ancient India, by Gautama V. Vajracharya.

"The magnificent works of the Newar artists and architects of the Kathmandu valley include not only paintings, sculptures, residential houses, public building and royal palaces but also water fountains comfortably positioned in public places near the residential area or inside the palaces."

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Marvels of the Malla Period: A Nepalese Renaissance 1200-1603.
The Philadelphia Museum of Art.
December 22, 2007 â?? June 1, 2008.

In this exhibition, the Philadelphia Museum presents masterpieces from its own outstanding collection of rarely seen Malla Period art. Vibrant Buddhist ritual paintings burst with energy, a marvelous goddess coyly dances, and golden Hindu and Buddhist sculptures regally invite adoration. From INTRODUCTION.

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