Sanskrit Manuscripts : Sarvadurgatipariśodhanasamādhi

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Sanskrit Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This Nepalese paper manuscript, dated 1866 CE, contains a Tantric Buddhist text called <i>Sarvadurgatipariśodhanasamādhi</i>, , belonging to the <i>Sarvadurgatipariśodhana</i> cycle. Most of the textual material of the present work is included in the so-called Version B of the <i>Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatantra</i> (see Skorupski 1983: xviii), where it susbtitues the 'Basic Tantra' (consisting of the description of the ritual <i>maṇḍala</i>). In the present text, the rite for the elimination of all evil destinies, aimed at procuring a better rebirth for the dead and a a better life for the living, is described in its different elements (for instance, the various <i>mantra</i>s, the visualization of <i>maṇḍala</i>s, the transference of merits, the vow for the development of the supreme Enlightment-mind, Skt. <i>bodhicitta</i> etc.). This manuscript seems to give particular importance to the hand-gestures (<i>mudrā</i>s) to be perfomed during the rite, which are carefully depicted in numerous polychrome illustrations throughout the book. As in the case of many other ritual texts from Nepal, the manuscript is an accordion book (or concertina), the ideal format to be read and consulted during the performance of often complex ritual practices. Possibly, the colophon recorded also the name of the owner of this manuscript, which has subsequently been erased (probably due to some change of ownership). </p>