I am sure many
travelers that ply from Phuentsholing to Thimphu or either way must have come
across this sacred Neydo (Holy stone), a big conical shape boulder by the side
of the road between Tshaselhakha and Takikoti (Lachugang).
Well this is not an
ordinary boulder. On this boulder you will see Terton Drukdra Dorje’s seal and
Takshok Balap’s footprint. This clearly indicates the importance of this
boulder and the area that carries name from this stone.
Long ago, the main
route to communicate between northern and southern Bhutan was through this
area. In the deep valley there inhabits a deadly demon that always terrorizes
traveller that passes by. Learning this Terton
Drukdra Dorje visited the area on
Taktshok Balap (horse) , caught hold of this deadly demon and subdued for
eternity. In order to prevent from demons’ harm in future, Terton has stamped
his seal on this stone thus protecting us.
In view of the
existence of Terton Drukdra Dorje’s seal and the horse footprint, the name of
the place was known as རྟ་མཐིལ “Tak Thel”. Tak
mean horse and Thel mean seal. Or can be understood as
རྟགས་མཐི “Tak Thel” where “Tak”
mean Signatory and Thel mean seal. Today the area is famously called as Takti. A decade back the place was also named as Lachugang which didn't pick up well. Because of Dantak Canteen it is famously known as Takti.
It is said that when
project Dantak during the road widening of Phuentsholing to Thimphu national
highway in 2010 they have planned to blast this boulder using explosives. When
they attempted to drill hole on this rock using compressed air drilling machine,
water in a form of milk oozed from the hole forewarning not to harm the
boulder. Someone explained the sacredness of the boulder and Project Dantak stopped
and shelved off the plan. Thank god for timely intervention, otherwise this
Neydo is gone forever and wonder what will happen thereafter. Later they also made
a small Shiva Mandir beside the Neydo.
The present Terton
Drukdra Dorje’s Yangsi visited the Neydo during his first visit and blessed the
boulder.
So friends if you happen to pass by please stop at this spot, explore the Neydo and get yourself blessed.
Understand that the name Takti came from this sacred stone. Due to long existance of Dantak Canteen at Takti, the name is famously known by all people.
