Manuscript of the Prajnaparamita Sutra
Wood and palm leaf
Manuscript of the Prajnaparamita Sutra
INDIA
It is thought that this manuscript of the Prajnaparamita Sutra originated from East India. This sutra was the earliest of the Prajnaparamita sutras and is held in high esteem by Buddhists following the Mahayana tradition.
The covers are made of wood and are ornately carved with a pair of swans and lotus petals against a background decorated in floral patterning. Written in Sanskrit in black ink on palm leaves, there is a colorful Buddhist image in the center of the text, which is further separated by bands with imitation gems. One leaf of the manuscript has a row of seated Buddha images, which are arranged in a similar manner to the text, with bands separating each set of three figures. Plain bands are drawn at either end.
For more details, go to the Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts, page 188.
Cite this article:
author = Hsingyun and Youheng and Youji and Pokorski, Stefanie and Mankuang and Fan, Wen,
booktitle = {Encyclopedia of Buddhist Arts: Artifacts },
pages = 188,
title = {{Manuscript of the Prajnaparamita Sutra}},
volume = 18,
year = {2016}}