 Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscript
from the Asiatic Society, Kolkata (No. 4079) Romanized Text (2014)
On
March 28, 2014, the Institute of Oriental Philosophy (IOP) and the Soka
Gakkai published a
romanized text of Sanskrit paper Manuscript from the Asiatic Society,
Kolkata,
India (No. 4079), the fourteenth part of its ongoing Lotus Sutra
Manuscript series. This record shows that this manuscript was
transcribed in 1680 CE,
indicating that it is the oldest paper manuscript among those currently
accessible.
This is the very first Nepalese paper manuscript that marks the
beginning of the period of copying paper manuscripts over 400 years
after the period of copying Nepalese palm-leaf manuscripts (from ca.
the
10th through the 12th centuries). It is thus an important manuscript,
which represents the fountainhead of the paper manuscripts that would
follow thereafter.
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