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Sanskrit Manuscripts : Nityasodaṣikārṇava

Sanskrit Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'>These palm-leaf fragments written in Nepālākṣarā contain a passage of the <i>Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava</i> (verses 11a8-39b2), 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 part 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. 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. It appears likely that our two fragments are what has survived of a manuscript, in which the scribe started to copy the <i>Nityāṣoḍaśikārṇava</i> from the beginning, but abruptly broke off his endevour in the middle of verse 39, which is followed by plenty of blank space. Our leaves are found in a bundle containing a fragment of the <i>Yoginīhṛdaya</i> (<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-OR-00722-00006/1'>Or.722.6</a>), one leaf of the <i>Kuśopadeśa</i> (<a target='_blank' class='externalLink' href='http://cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk/view/MS-OR-00722-00001/1'>Or.722.1</a>), as well as many hitherto unidentified fragments of Buddhist, Śaiva and generally Tantric texts, to which they don't seem to be related, although they appear to be equally old. Both the kind of palm leaf and the script are different to other folios in this bundle.</p>


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