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Cover for an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra

10th–11th century
Not on view
This painted cover for a palm-leaf manuscript belongs to the Pala- Nepalese tradition. It comes from a palm-leaf edition of the Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra (“Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Verses”). Seated at center is Prajnaparamita, the goddess of transcendent wisdom and the personification of the text she holds in a raised hand. Two seated bodhisattvas, Padmapani Lokeshvara and Vajrasattva, attend her. At left are two miraculous events from the life of the historical Buddha: his birth in the Lumbini grove, and his subduing of the enraged elephant Nalagiri at Rajgir. Depicted at right is the Buddha’s first sermon at Sarnath, where he preached to an assembly of monks and bodhisattvas, and the miracle at Shravasti, where he caused a multiplicity of Buddhas to appear.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Cover for an Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita Sutra
  • Period: Thakuri-Malla periods
  • Date: 10th–11th century
  • Culture: Nepal, Kathmandu Valley
  • Medium: Ink and color on wood, with metal insets
  • Dimensions: 2 1/4 x 22 3/8 in. (5.7 x 56.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Gift of John and Evelyn Kossak, The Kronos Collections and Mr. and Mrs. Peter Findlay, 1979
  • Object Number: 1979.511
  • Curatorial Department: Asian Art

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Bodhisattva, probably Padmapani Lokeshvara, Gilt copper alloy, Nepal (Kathmandu Valley)
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