Dear colleagues,

I am trying to understand the following enigmatic text engraved on the four faces of the base of a small bronze sculpture of Vairocana held at the Met (photo of front = [2] attached):

[1] @ pratītyadharmapa(rā) [2] (ca)nte nāsti dharmaḥ (svabhāvo)[3]ḥ | (yotyi)tya(s)ujāna [4] te te jānant(i) dharmatāṃ @

My efforts to find parallels have thus far yielded nothing better than the following verse, attributed to the Buddha in the Prasannapadā, under 24.19 (cited from GRETIL e-text):

pratītyadharmān adhigacchate vidū na cāntadṛṣṭīya karoti niśrayam |
sahetu sapratyaya dharma jānati  ahetu apratyaya nāsti dharmatā ||

If this verse is in any way related to the one inscribed on the bronze, then the relationship is tantalizing. But since I have nothing better, at least the possibility seems worth exploring. Is the source of the verse cited by Candrakīrti known?

I will be grateful if anybody who has information on the source and interpretation of the Prasannapadā verse could share this information with me. I imagine that it may be helpful to start the investigation by consulting Jacques May's

Candrakīrti, Prasannapadā madhyamakavṛtti; douze chapitres traduits du sanscrit et du tibétain, accompagnés d'une introduction, de notes et d'une édition critique de la version tibétaine (Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1959),

and if anybody has access to a pdf of this work, then I would much appreciate being allowed to benefit from that too.

Thank you.

Arlo Griffiths

EFEO/Jakarta