Padmasambhava Mahavihara monastery

The Padmasambhava Mahavihara monastery, located at Chandragiri, Gajapati district, in the state of Orissa, India, is the largest Buddhist monastery in South Asia. It was inaugurated by the Dalai Lama in January 2010.

Accord for the monastery was given by the Dalai Lama in 1998. The foundation stone was laid in 2003 and building was completed in 2008 at a cost of about Rs 8 crore. It was built in the Atanpuri style of architecture of Nalanda by architects from Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan assisted by local masons. It is 70 feet (21 m) and five stories high, and is built on 10 acres (40,000 m²) of land. It features a 23 feet (7.0 m) high Buddha statue and a 17 feet (5.2 m) Buddha Padmasambhava. 200 monks are resident in the monastery, which is named after Acharya Padmasambhava who was born in Orissa and who is believed to have spread Buddhism to Tibet in the 7th Century.