Colophon, folio 188 (recto), from a Manuscript of the Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita-sutra)

Discussion

FROM THE CLEVELAND MUSEUM OF ART’S CATALOG

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 doing so disseminated the Buddha’s teachings, as books are portable, unlike large stone monuments.

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