Antique Tibetan Buddhist Manuscript – Pecha

This Antique Tibetan Buddhist Manuscript – Pecha features hand-written script, an ornate front cover with carved letters and foliage around the edges. (see images) The script within the pages are usually Buddhist canonical scriptures or mantras and the carved script on the cover is the mantra Om Mani Padme Hum meaning Hait to the Jewel in the Lotus.

Size: Pages 45cm x 10cm -Wooden covers: 50cm x 10cm
Age: Likely 19th century, the wormholes likely indicate that the natural toxins in the paper have broken down, indicating that the manuscript is anywhere from 70 – 100+ years old.
Condition: The decorative front cover shows wear consistent with some age; the back cover is plain with handwritten gilded script.

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Antique Tibetan Buddhist Manuscript – Pecha

Antique Tibetan Buddhist Manuscript – Pecha used to record the Tibetan Buddhist canon in Tibet, the formal style is known as Uchen (dbu-can). Its name literally means “with a head,” which referrs to the prominent horizontal line at the top of each character. The presence of this specific opening formula (“Bhagavan, Tathagata, Arhat…”) indicates that this is a Sutra (a direct teaching of the Buddha). Because the handwriting is so precise and formal, it is likely a page from the Kangyur (the “Translated Word” of the Buddha), which is the most sacred part of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon.

The Head Bar: Each letter “hangs” from a thick horizontal stroke. the lines are very straight and uniform.
Syllabic Structure: Tibetan is not written letter-by-letter in a straight line. Instead, it uses syllabic blocks. You can see “stacks” where some letters are tucked underneath others (subjoined) or placed on top (super-joined).
Punctuation (The Tsheg): between the clusters of letters there are small, elevated dots (·), this is called a tsheg, and it marks the end of a single syllable.

Please Note: Over our lifetime we have collected several Asian Buddhist manuscripts, we do not profess to be an authority on the scripts or what they say, most of the information gained is through online research or with the help of AI, so there may be inaccuracies.