bavarikon4UDescription
This text is a representative example from the collection of Mongolian manuscripts in the Bavarian State Library. It is a Buddhist manuscript produced in the Beijing style, in which a sheet has been inserted in both the upper and lower cover. A silk curtain of different colors protects the sheets set in the recess. This type of book cover was developed in Beijing for Tibetan and Mongolian manuscripts and is sometimes also found among block print bindings. This example is one of the Mahayana Sutras (Yeke kölgen sudur): the popular and widespread Vajracchedikā, one of the Prajñāpāramitā texts. On the left of folio 1 is a miniature of the Buddha, and on the right, one of his devotees. Depicted on the lower cover, as is often the case with Mongolian manuscripts, are the four so-called Great Kings, or custodians of the world. // Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Oriental and Asia Department// Datum: 2019