Pañcarakṣā Sūtra

This manuscript is a complete illustrated compilation of the Pañcarakṣā Sūtras, one of the most important collections of Buddhist protective dhāraṇī literature in the Mahāyāna–Vajrayāna tradition. The text contains five major protective dhāraṇīs dedicated to the goddesses Mahāpratisarā, Mahāsāhasrapramardanī, Mahāmāyūrī, Mahāmantrānusāriṇī, and Mahāśītavatī. Each section is marked by an illustration of the respective deity, demonstrating the ritual and devotional importance of the goddesses within Buddhist Tantric practice. The manuscript emphasizes mantra recitation, ritual protection, healing, pacification of calamities, removal of obstacles, and spiritual welfare. The presence of deity illustrations, invocatory formulas, and individual colophons for each dhāraṇī reflects the manuscript’s liturgical and ceremonial function. The concluding colophon records that the manuscript was copied in Saṃvat 989 by Vajrācārya Ratnasāgara, indicating its association with the Nepalese Vajrācārya Buddhist tradition.