It may not be entirely out of place to recall the significance of the
paṭa in
the sacred arts of medieval Buddhism, and, I suppose, other religious
communities as well. I have written on this in
“Weaving the World: The Ritual Art of the
Paṭa in Pāla Buddhism and Its Legacy in
Tibet”. In History of Religions 34/3 (1995), pp. 241-262.
My reason for bringing this up in this context is that so much of the emphasis in the materials I studied was on the
paṭa, the canvas, itself, its ritualized production and sacred status. It
seems not likely that this was just forgotten in juridical contexts, and so it may have
been the case that a land-grant, edict, or contract written on a paṭa
was in some sense sanctified, though here I am just speculating.
Matthew Kapstein
Directeur
d'études,
Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes
Numata Visiting Professor of Buddhist Studies,
The University of Chicago