A saying goes like this in Tibet: 'Jokhang Temple came before the city of Lhasa.'. Why is that?

From various frescos picturing religious or historical facts we can find the same story: When Princess Wencheng arrived at Lhasa, her carriage got into the sands in the forest near Wotang Lake. As the princess brought with her the statue of Sakyamuni, she had to set up a valance around the carriage and worship the statue right there. Later when Princess Wencheng predicted using yin-yang and the five elements, she found that the Wotang Lake was the heart of the legendary female demon. So she suggested using a goat to carry soil to fill the lake. In Tibetan language a goat is called 'Re' and earth 'Sa'. To commemorate the credit of the goat to carry soil to fill the lake, people called the temple built on the Wotang Lake the Resa Temple.



In the fresco we can still see this goat working diligently. When the temple on the lake was finished, people who went there to worship began to settle down around the temple. Gradually a city came into being there. People from other pales called this city 'Resa'. Later on Resa became Lhasa. The temple that Princess built on the Wotang Lake is now the Jokhang Temple.