Sanskrit Manuscripts : Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava

Sanskrit Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>This palm-leaf manuscript written in Nepālākṣarā and copied in Kathmandu in 1346 CE contains the <i>Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava</i>, a text of the Śaiva Śākta tradition (Śrīvidyā). Traditionally, this work is considered to constitute the first part of the <i>Vāmakeśvaratantra</i>, the second being the <i>Yoginīhṛdaya</i>. The <i>Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava</i> consists of four hundred verses in five chapters and deals with the external worship of the goddess Tripurasundarī. Our manuscript too contains four hundred verses, but appears to follow a slightly different recension than the published editions, and, for instance, ends with an additional set of nine verses within those four hundred verses (<a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(51);return false;'> folio 26 recto, line 4,</a> to <a href='' onclick='store.loadPage(52);return false;'> folio 26 verso, line 5</a>). The date of the work is unknown, but it must have been in existence by the beginning of the thirteenth century, when it received a commentary by the Kashmirian Jayaratha.</p>