Description
This text presents a vidyā (spell) centered on the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess), who emerges from the uṣṇīṣa of the Buddha Śākyamuni as he rests in samādhi among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. It enumerates various dangers, illnesses, and threats, offering spell formulas for their averting. Sitātapatrā, as both deity and spell, has long served as a source of protection against misfortune and continues to be widely invoked in contemporary Buddhist practice. The manuscript is written on black paper with alternating lines of gold and silver ink. The silver lettering on folios 1b and 2a is faded and difficult to decipher. Folio 1b features an illustration, likely of Avalokiteśvara, depicted with an eye on each hand and leg. Although a date appears after the word "saṃvat" on the final folio, it is illegible due to damage.
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