PUNAKHA | AP KHACHEP AND HIS PROMISE

 

In jest, elderly folks in the western region of Bhutan call a person, Ap Khachep, if he fails to keep a promise. But who really is Ap Khachep? Did he actually renege on his promise? Let us figure out the legend guided by available oral resources. 

Drolue Gyalp, later known by the pseudonym, Ap Khacheb, is a local deity that looks after Chubu Tshachhu (hot spring). Whoever visits Chubu must ensure that they consult an astrologer in advance and visit on a good day. Not doing so could bring mishaps is what the elderly folks believe.

Sometime in 1637, when Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal laid out his plan to construct Punakha Dzong, not only humans but also deities and semi-divine beings showed up to extend their support. Amongst them, Ap Kachep pledged to offer logs and timbers for the construction as his demesne had abundance of walnut and champ trees. His task was to fell trees and get them ferried by Pho-chhu towards Punakha. Impressed, Zhabdrung banked timbers on him. 

When the construction work actually began, despite months of waiting, not a single timber of Ap Khacheb arrived at the construction site. Zhabdrung was incensed that Ap Khachep reneged on his promise. However, the truth was, he did supply all the timbers as pledged. It was the Tshomen Gyalmo (mermaid) of the Lamjami Tsho that intercepted and sank down all his supplies in her territorial river. 

On the contrary, Ap Khacheb, was not aware of the mermaid’s loot. He was of the opinion that his cargos would have reached there safely and that the Zhabdrung must be pleased with his work. In the hope of checking the status, he made his way out to Punakha. While he reached Bjeli-gang (a ridge behind the Dzong), he peeked exposing half of his face. To his utter surprise, he saw not a single log he had ferried arrived there. Coincidentally, he saw Zhabdrung stare out at him exasperated. 

It is believed that in a split second, half of Drolue Gyalp’s face glanced by Zhabdrung Rinpoche turned dark from downright disgrace and shame. From that moment on, Drolue Gyalp got the pseudonym ‘Khachep’. “Kha (ཁག་ཆེ)” means needful and “chep (ཆད་)” means missing or being absent. So, being absent or missing in a nick of time. Folks claim that later Zhabdrung had forgiven Ap Khachep, tamed the mermaid and retrieved all the intercepted timbers. 

Generally, Ap Khachep is perceived as a scary semi divine figure. Several horror stories are associated with him. On your way to Chubu Tshachhu, the places like Khachep Makhu Tsisa (ཁག་ཆདཔ་མར་ཁུ་བཙིར་ས་) and Deb Chag-Chursa (སྡེཔ་ལྕགས་བསྐྱུར་ས་) are a must seen sights to get acquainted with more of the deity’s stories. At Deb Chag-Chursa, Ap Khacheb had laid boulder traps to smackdown blasphemous Debs (rulers) who held rebellious motives against Zhabdrung. This protective attitude clearly establishes Ap Khachep as one of the Zhabdrung's intimate deities. 

About the hot spring: 

Chubu Tshachhu falls under Toedwang gewog in Punakha. Blessed by Zhabdrung himself, it is known for its healing and curative properties for ailments like body aches, sinuses, ulcer, gastritis and even piles. The hot spring is located approximately 30 km away from the suspension bridge in Punakha.

Oral sources: Kencho Tshering and Sonam Dorji.

Picture: Khachep Makhu Tsisa by Ratu and the hot spring by The Bhutanese.