Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)
Unknown Artist
Sunday, September 14, 1119 (year 239 of the Newar Samvat in the month of Ashvina)
Medium
gum tempera and ink on palm leaves
Dimensions
5.4 × 56.2 cm
Classification
Painting
Department
Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1938.301.188.a
About this artwork
This manuscript was commissioned by a Nepalese monk named Aryashrimittra in the year 239 of the Nepalese lunisolar calendar. This date corresponds specifically to 1119. Monks and laypeople alike became patrons of books in order to accrue religious merit, or punya, for themselves, their families, and their teachers. Doing so not only showed the patron’s piety and status, but also assisted them in the cycle of reincarnation by excising bad karma. Commissioning books was also favorable because doin...