Manuscript Cover with the Buddha Shakyamuni, Attended by Manjushri and Vajrapani
Buddhist texts preserve the word of the Buddha. Originally transmitted orally, his teachings were in due course committed to writing, inked or incised on long slender pages prepared from the leave of the talipot palm. When paper replaced palm-leaf the slender landscape format was preserved. Relatively fragile, these books were protected by pairs of wooden covers, which themselves became a vehicle for depicting Buddhist imagery, as seen here.
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