Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (NIT) of Gangtok, Sikkim is a treasure trove of Tibetan literature and artifacts. The only one of its kind in India and just three of their kind in the whole world. Other two are in "Institute of Peoples of Asia" in Moscow and Toyo Bunko, in Tokyo. Institute was founded by ruler of Sikkim of that time, the 11th Chogyal "Tashi Namgyal" in 1958. The first Prime Minister of India Pandit Jwaharlal Nehru inaugurated it on the 1st October of same year. Till in the middle of the last century, people outside mostly believed that the Tibetan literature meant nothing else but mostly religion, mysticism and magic. However, by now the world community has become aware of the fact that Tibetan literature was not confined to just about Dharma, Tantra and yoga. It actually covers large variety of secular subjects and areas like history, geography, botany, chemistry, medicine, surgery, art and architecture.

Contents 1 Visitors Information 2 Museum 3 Library 4 Contact Information

Visitors Information

Institute is situated in Deorali, to the south of central Gangtok. The opening hours are from 10 am to 4 pm from Monday to Saturday. It is closed on Sundays, second Saturdays every month and on official government holidays. Entrance fee to the museum and the libraries is Rs. 5.

Museum

On the ground floor of Namgyal Institute of Tibetology (NIT) contains array of items including old Tibetan icons (Almost 200 of them in various shapes and sizes).Some of the rarest possession of the Institute Museum are musical instruments of Bhutan such as wooden drums, Gyaling or clarinet, depiction of different reincarnations of Lord Buddha in nicely woven hand crafted, Thankas or cloth paintings (tapestries used in Buddhist liturgy) depicting stories of Lord Buddha and other stories and episodes.

Library

Situated on the first floor of the institute's main building, library has reasonably good collection of Lepcha and even Sanskrit manuscript and scrolls of ancient vintage. The largest collections of Tibetan works in the world outside Tibet. There are over 60,000 titles consisting of Tibetan translations of canonical and non-canonical works from their original Sanskrit or Pali, as well as tantric texts belonging to the four sects of Tibetan Buddhism. Among others, the library also has the collected works of Padma Lingpa, Mipham Rinpoche and the great 5th Dalai Lama, and the hagiography of guru Padmasambhava.

Contact Information

• Email: info@tibetology.net
• Mailing Address: Namgyal Institute of Tibetology, Deorali, Gangtok, Sikkim - 737 101, India
• Website :Official home of Namgyal Institute of Tibetology