Illuminated pages of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra – The Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 lines
See it in the Museum
India and Nepal
Orientation 3
Display 4
ABM 006
Code: ABM 006
Country: India (north-east)
Style: Late Pala Style
Date: 1100 - 1200
Dimensions in cm WxHxD: 28.2 x 5.3
Materials: Palm leaf
Illuminated pages of the Ashtasahasrika
Prajnaparamita Sutra – The Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 lines
These three illuminated pages come from a Sanskrit manuscript of the sutra of the Prajñaparamita in eight thousand stanzas. Written in Devanagari script on palm leaves, illustrated with various figures –Vajrapani, Mahakala and four unidentified bodhisattvas–, apart from few wall paintings, this type of manuscript is the only known example of Indian Buddhist graphic art, since no large-scale paintings survived the destruction of the thirteenth century in India. When compared to the statuary and some ancient thangka and wall paintings of Tibet— such as those of the famous Dratang monastery—great similarities appear, allowing us to infer the stylistic canons of Pala painting.
These three illuminated pages come from a Sanskrit manuscript of the sutra of the Prajñaparamita in eight thousand stanzas. Written in Devanagari script on palm leaves, illustrated with various figures –Vajrapani, Mahakala and four unidentified bodhisattvas–, apart from few wall paintings, this type of manuscript is the only known example of Indian Buddhist graphic art, since no large-scale paintings survived the destruction of the thirteenth century in India. When compared to the statuary and some ancient thangka and wall paintings of Tibet— such as those of the famous Dratang monastery—great similarities appear, allowing us to infer the stylistic canons of Pala painting.