Ngagpa is one of Drepung’s four tratsang, or colleges, and was devoted to Tantric study. The chapel is dedicated to bull-headed Dorje Jigje (Yamantaka), a Tantric meditational deity who serves as an opponent to the forces of impermanence. The cartoon-style Dorje Jigje image in the inner sanctum is said to have been fashioned by Tsongkhapa himself.
Walking clockwise, other statues include Palden Lhamo (first clockwise, riding a horse), Nagpo Chenpo (third), Drölma (fourth), Tsongkhapa (fifth), the fifth Dalai Lama (seventh) and, by the door, the Nechung oracle. Look for bull-headed Chögyel to the side, his hand almost thrusting out of the expanded glass cabinet.
To get a feel for what Drepung was like before the renovation teams arrived, detour briefly up to the Samlo Kangtsang , unrestored and surrounded by melancholic ruins.
As you follow the pilgrim path (clockwise) around the back of the assembly hall you will pass the small Jampelyang Temple , where pilgrims pour yak butter on the wall and then peer in to glimpse holy rock images of Jampelyang and Drölma and get hit on the back with a holy iron rod. Just a little further, tucked in on the right, is the tiny meditation cave of Jamyang Chöje, with some fine rock paintings.
