[INDOLOGY] Rūpavaliya Rūpamālā

Rolf Heinrich Koch rolfheiner.koch at gmail.com
Sun Apr 23 14:05:16 UTC 2023


Dear Listmember,
this year I found in the library of the Nationalmuseum Colombo three 
unpublished Sanskrit manuscripts describing the iconographical details 
of Indian gods. They are written in Ślokas for learning by heart. "A 
handbook for temple artists" (Coomarasvamy).
I give an example for the description of the god Brahma:

Caturmukhaṃ caturbāhum pītavarṇṇa samāyutam
Jatāmakuṭasaṃyuktaṃ ratnakuṇḍalabhūiṣṭam (?)
Hemayajñopavītañca abhayaṃ pustakaṃ tathā
Svarṇṇahaṃsasasamārūḍhaṃ Brahma nāthasya lakṣaṇaṃ

The manuscripts are called Rūpavaliya and Rūpamālā. Apart of 
Gooneratne's English translation which follows another wording or 
unknown manuscript I could not find out any further manuscripts or an 
edition of the text.
Are there any other manuscripts available which I may consult?
I am aware of a few articles in which some extracts are published 
(Paranavitana, Coomarasvamy etc.). The text probably dates from the 11th 
century (Gooneratne).

Thank you
Heiner

-- 
Dr. Rolf Heinrich Koch
www.rolfheinrichkoch.wordpress.com



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