Lundysheva O. Fragments of dhāraṇī Blockprints from Khara-Khoto (Serindian Fund
of IOM, RAS). With Appendix by A.Sizova // Written Monuments of the Orient, 2. Moscow: Vostochnaya literatura, 2015. P. 31-47.
The paper focuses on a blockprinted dhāraṇī from Khara-Khoto belonging to
the group of unidentified and unpublished fragments in the Serindian Fund of the IOM,
RAS. The characters used in the text of the print have much in common with the pāla
script that was widespread in the North-Eastern India and associated with the Pala
Empire. The print exists in several fragments. Judging by the content, it comprised two
independent parts. Their relationship to each other, as well as the total number of pages,
remain unknown. The first block of text has survived in its entirety. It has five lines
of text. The first four lines are a triple repetition of the Akṣobhya Buddha Dhāraṇī
The fifth line consists of five bija mantras and the well-known “Buddhist creed”, the
Ye dharmā mantra. Only half of the second block of text has survived but still it can
be identified and is presumed to be the mūlamantra, hṛdaya and upahṛdaya from the Bodhigarbhālaṇkāralakṣa dhāraṇī. Part of the print is also half of an engraved image. Features of the image and its stylistic peculiarities make it very similar to the printed
engravings in the Tangut and Dunhuang collections. It is assumed that the entire blockprint
could have been a compilation of selected prayers used in common Buddhist ritual
practice. The type of paper, image and script suggest a date for the blockprint around the
12th c.
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