MARDZONG MANUSCRIPTS

Category/Genre: Buddhist Canon

Find site: Mardzong caves GPS coordinates: 29°10’08.7″N 83°59’27.1″E / 29.169083, 83.990861 Elevation 3493 m above sea level.

Location (for place name): Choede Monastery Antique Museum

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ཀ ཀ་འདུས ཉིས་བརྒྱ ཉེར་གསུམ

ka ka ’dus nyis brgya nyer gsum

mtshan ma myed pa ’khrul pa rang bzhin gyis mi gnas par bstan pa’i le’u sum bcu rtsa lnga pa’o//

ka ka ’dus sum brgya lnga

’jug pa’i sgo so so myigs par bstan pa’i le’u ste bzhi bcu bzhi pa’o //

ka sum brgya nga gsum

skyes bun go mtshar gyi le’u ste bzhi bcu rtsa dgu pa’o//

WRITING/COPYING

Language: Tibetan

Script: dbu can

Text execution: hand written

Writing instrument: bamboo/wooden pen

FORMAT AND LAYOUT

Dpe cha (Pothī format)

Size (h x w): 22.5 × 65 cm

Full frame – (measurements): 11,5 × 56 cm

Lines per page: 4–7

Guidelines: 1.8 cm

Distances in between upper lines of text: 1.8 cm

Measurement from page: 304

Pagination/foliation: Foliation

MATERIALS

Type of paper: Handmade with woven type of mould

Raw material: Steller chameajasme and Daphne/Edgeworthia sp.

Papermaking sieve print (woven, laid lines /3cm, chain line intervals): Woven (textile)

Number of layers: 3–4, possibly more

Thickness of paper:

0.28–0.36 on page 2; 0.21–0.36 on page 3; 0.25–0.34 on page 4

Texture: Polished

Dyes: None

Ink colour: black, red