New videos by Bidur Bhattarai (Hamburg/ Kathmandu) on the care and preservation of manuscripts in Nepal.

This video explores the 'Golden' Pañcarakṣā Manuscript and its Preservation - सुनौलो पञ्चरक्षा  पुस्तक तथा त्यसको संरक्षण कार्य. A unique manuscript, the Sanskrit 'Golden' Pañcarakṣā is a Nepalese nīlapatra book, which are made on burnished 'black paper' colored with indigo dye. This particular manuscript is a high end production, written in an exquisite Rañjanā script with golden ink, and decorated with painted images. In the Newa Buddhist community, these texts are recited by a Gubhāhju or Guruju ('priest') to gain religious merit or to ask protection from the Pañcarakṣā (five goddess-protectoresses) against disease, misfortune, or the negative life events. The colophon at the end of the manuscript is written in Newari script (Nepālalipi) and indicates the dates, samvat 762 (1642 CE).

The conservation of "Rolled Palm-leaf Documents of the Malla Period: A Step-by-step Overview" provides an introduction to 'live' conservation measures carried out for a severely damaged (rolled) palm-leaf document from Nepal.

Videos on Manuscript Preservation Work in Kathmandu

Bidur Bhattarai (CSMC Hamburg) has produced a series of videos highlighting the work at the Āśā Saphūkuthi in Kathmandu with support from Hidden Stories and the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC), Hamburg. You can watch some of these videos below, view more, and learn about the series “Preserving the Written Cultural Heritage of Nepal” on the CSMC site here.

Video on how to properly wrap a pothi-style manuscript in a protective cloth wrapper. This is an important practical and spiritual practice, central to the traditional care of these texts. Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg (3 mins).

Video on the care of a large accordion-style Kundalini Yogapurusa Manuscript, 466 cm long when unfolded. Written in Devanāgarī script in the Kathmandu Valley, likely in a 19th-century Buddhist workshop, it has been kept in the Dinesh Ram Shrestha family (Bhotahiti, Kathmandu) for three generations. The manuscript is backed with yellow orpiment-painted paper, which acts as a protective layer to keep pests away. Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg. (6 ½ mins.)

Video on the protective use of snakeskin in Nepalese manuscripts. Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg (7 mins).

Video on the preservation of a Buddhist nīlapatra Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā manuscript. Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg (6 ½ mins).

Video on the cleaning of manuscripts to remove substances such as dust, mould, insect and rodent-related residue that can damage manuscript folios or transfer to other folios during use. Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg (2 ½ mins).

Videos on a Buddhist sutra for protection - a Pañcarakṣā Sutra manuscript at Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Toronto

Pañcarakṣā (pronounce: "pancha-rak-sha") means “five protectresses” or “five protector goddesses.” This particular Pañcarakṣā Sūtra belongs to the Newari Buddhist tradition in Nepal and protects users from a range of illnesses and calamities including snake bites, defense from torments of hell, safety during sea journeys, and protection against pestilence - particularly appropriate for a global Covid pandemic. Join Jinah Kim (Harvard University), Alexander O’Neill (SOAS, University of London), and Sarah Richardson (University of Toronto) as they explore the production and use of this living text in which the Pañcarakṣā are embodied and are called upon by those seeking protection. These videos were produced for the symposium “Hidden Stories: Global History, Local Networks,” which took place Febrary 22-23, 2022, at the Aga Khan Museum in conjunction with the Hiddes Stories: Books Along the Silk Roads exhibition.

A brief overview of the Pañcarakṣā Sūtra. Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg (11 minutes).

Conversation about the Pañcarakṣā Sūtra Video produced by Dr. Bidur Bhattarai, Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures, Hamburg (1 hour).