Description
The manuscript can be identified as Svayambhūpurāṇa, a celebrated Buddhist Purāṇic text associated with the sacred history and religious importance of the Svayambhū region of Kathmandu and the Nepal Valley. The text opens with the Buddhist invocation “Oṃ namo ratnatrayāya” and praises Svayambhū as the self-manifested luminous deity, confirming its Buddhist devotional character. The manuscript contains ten chapters and preserves several hymns, dialogues, and devotional sections, including the Śrī Svayambhū Stotra, Ādibuddha-dvādaśanāma-stotra, and the dialogue between Śākyasiṃha and Maitreya concerning the merits of worship. The numerous illustrations of Buddhist deities and Bodhisattvas—such as Mañjuśrī, Maitreya, Samantabhadra, Vajrapāṇi, and Kṣitigarbha—along with the depiction of Guhyeśvarī Temple, indicate the manuscript’s strong Mahāyāna–Vajrayāna Buddhist affiliation and its artistic importance. The colophon records that the manuscript was completed in Nepal Saṃvat 1063 on the full moon day of the bright fortnight of Śrāvaṇa, on a Sunday. It further mentions donors and patrons connected with Lalitpur, particularly residents associated with the Hiraṇyavarṇa Mahāvihāra. Names such as Buddhimān, Viṣṇudevī, and especially Hiramān Śākya are mentioned prominently, suggesting that the manuscript was sponsored or commissioned by members of the Śākya Buddhist community. ( {7+393+4=404 images} Inicial pages 7, then start the folio 1-393, thereafter 4pages blank.)
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