Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) (Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in th

Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra) (Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This manuscript was commissioned by a Nepalese monk named Aryashrimittra in the year 239 of the Nepalese lunisolar calendar. This date corresponds specifically to 1119. Monks and laypeople alike became patrons of books in order to accrue religious merit, or punya, for themselves, their families, and their teachers. Doing so not only showed the patron’s piety and status, but also assisted them in the cycle of reincarnation by excising bad karma. Commissioning books was also favorable because doing so disseminated the Buddha’s teachings, as books are portable, unlike large stone monuments.

Object facts

• Title: Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
• Date: Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)
• Culture: Eastern India, Bihar, Vikramashila Monastery. Painting: Nepal, Kathmandu
• Type: Painting
• Technique: gum tempera and ink on palm leaves
• Dimensions: Leaf: 5.4 x 56.2 cm (2 1/8 x 22 1/8 in.)
• Collection: Indian Art - Medieval
• Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
• Accession number: 1938.301.188.a

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.