References to the Preservation of Sanskrit Manuscripts in Medieval Tibetan Monastries: gCung Ri bo che and sPos khang

Abstract

Hardly any Sanskrit manuscripts of Buddhist scriptures remain in India proper today, even though such manuscripts have been discovered in surrounding regions. Tibet in particular is one of the richest treasuries of precious Sanskrit manuscripts from as early as the 8th century. While these materials are currently studied mostly in order to clarify Indian Buddhism, their historical aspects (e.g. their origins in India, their transmission to Tibet, their preservation in Tibetan monasteries) are yet to be clarified. Currently, almost all of them are preserved in Lhasa, but they were once preserved in various monasteries outside Lhasa, though we do not know the relevant details. The present paper investigates two examples that show their preservation at monasteries in the medieval period, focusing on the Sanskrit manuscripts once preserved at gCung Ri bo che and at sPos khang tshogs pa. Those preserved at gCung Ri bo che are mentioned by Tāranātha in his autobiography. He mentions a Sanskrit manuscript of the Suhṛllekha from this place, which might be identified with that currently preserved at ’Bras spungs monastery. In sPos khang there were once three bundles of Sanskrit manuscripts, as mentioned by Rāhula Sāṅkṛtyāyana and dGe ’dun chos ’phel, of which one bundle (a paper manuscript of verses of the Madhyāntavibhāga, Dharmadharmatā[pra]vibhāga, and Abhisamayālaṃkāra) was produced in Ya tse and presented to Tibet in the 14th century.