DRANGSONG MANUSCRIPTS
| 1. Text number | Drangsong 273 |
| 2. Text title (where present) in Tibetan |
༄༅།། སྟག་ལ་སྤུ་གྲི་དམར་པོའི་་་་་བཞུགས། |
| 3. Text title (where present) in Wylie transliteration | sTag la spu gri dmar po’i…….bzhugs/ |
| 4. A brief summary of the item’s contents | Part of a sādhana ritual of the meditational divinity sTag la me ’bar. |
| 5. Number of folios | 1 |
| 6. Scribe’s name | |
| 7. Translation of title | [Sādhanā] of the meditation deity of sTag la me ’bar the Red Razor. |
| 8. Transcription of colophon | |
| 9. Translation of colophon | |
| 10. General remarks | Incomplete |
| 11. Remarks on script | dpe tshugs, tshugs ring, Zhangzhung smar chung |
| 12. Format | Loose leaf |
| 13. Size | 7.4 × 27.5 cm |
| 14. Layout | |
| 15. Illustrations and decorations | The only page of this manuscript is beautifully ornamented.The title folio possesses an elaborate double frame traced with thick red lines, patterned with red and black designs, and painted yellow. At the centre, the title of the text is written in smar chung script with black ink between two short syllables in large red dbu med letters, which symbolically open and auspiciously end the text, respectively.[1]
All these writings are surrounded by a frame made of black oblique strokes forming series of adjoining up- and downside triangles, which distantly recall the wave designs observed in other manuscripts of the collection. This frame extends to the sides into two compartments that include the syllables stag and lha starting the name of the deity sTag lha me ’bar, to a teaching of which the text is dedicated. A second, wider frame surrounds that first one, with the rectangular spaces left in between them on the sides painted yellow. It is patterned with triangular designs similar to those just described, traced with red ink on the sides and with black ink on top and at the bottom of the first frame. On the verso, the text opens with a yig mgo consisting of six curls painted in the negative on a black trapezoidal background, and a wide ornate rgya gram shad that develops organically on the sides into six scrolls modelled with red ink. It is further surrounded by a yellow frame, on the sides of which are added columns patterned with black triangular designs resembling waves. Overall, the ornamental features of this manuscript recall those of manuscripts Ds 112, 113, 195, and 215. |
| 16. Paper type | Woven, ply, soft and smooth |
| 17. Paper thickness | 0.21–0.30 mm |
| 18. Nos of folio sampled | f. 1 (the only folio preserved) |
| 19. Fibre analysis | |
| 20. AMS 14C dating | |
| 21. XRF analysis | |
| 22. RTI | |
| 23. GCMS |
