Thien Ton Pagoda - Cave is one of the four most sacred temples located in the land now belonging to Hoa Lu Ancient Capital
The cave pagoda is currently located in Thien Ton Town, Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh Province. According to legend Thien Ton Pagoda is a worshipping relic decicated to Tran Vu Thien Ton, the patronage god of the East of the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital.
Thien Ton Cave is located in the area of Dung Duong Mountain. "Dung Duong Son" or "Vu Duong Son" means the mountain barrage of strong water from the top down. The three words "Dung Duong Son" was also written under the entrance to the temple of Tran Vu Thien Ton. Tran Vu Thien Ton or Chan Vu De Quan was Huyen Thien Thuong De Kim Thuyet's incarnation with the role of the general commander of heaven soldiers and generals that was sent down to the kill the monsters and bring the peace for people.
Thien Ton Cave worships Thien Ton God, the legendary god in the Capital of Hoa Lu in the 10th century. According to legend, before bringing troops to fight 12 warlords, Dinh Bo Linh brought offerings to pray for help to defeat other warlords.
Thien Ton is the land of the "beautiful mountains and rivers", the terrain combined of mountains and rivers with natural advantages for both launching attacks and defense. So, after the throne, Emperor Dinh Tien stationed in Hoa Lu.
Thien Ton Cave still preserves many worshipping objects with cultural and historical values, such as 18 statues of arhats, a stone altar with the patterns like "twin dragons waiting for the moon", the shape of phoenix, flowers, etc., that are deliberately carved and skillfully decorated. In particular, there is a large size bell with four knobs emitted four different types of sound dated from Canh Hung Era (1740 - 1786).
18 statues of arhats and bronze bell in Thien Ton cave
From 1930 to 1945, along with the establishment of Communist units in Truong Yen, Thien Ton was the meeting place for revolutionaries from districts of Nho Quan, Gia Vien and Gia Khanh.
With cultural, historical and spiritual values, in 1962, the Thien Ton pagoda - cave Relic complex was recognized as a national historical and spiritual relic by the Ministry of Culture and Information (now the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
The Thien Ton pagoda – cave festival takes place annually from the 6th to the 8th of the 3rd lunar month.
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