The 29 “Sanskrit” manuscripts of the John Rylands Library

The following is a list of the 29 Sanskrit, Prakrit, Hindi and Punjabi (and one Avestan) manuscripts [some illustrated] in the John Rylands University Library. I “think” I read through them in the very agreeable Reading Room on an afternoon in the summer of 1997. I understand there exists no published catalogue of these manuscripts yet, hence I adduce these hasty and incomplete notes...

MS number: 1 Hitopadeśa

MS number: 2 Antiqui sermonis Indici, qui Sanscrita... paradigms of Sansk. gramm. written out for Sir W. Jones'. Contains a Persian letter from Rāja Subhā Singh to the Emperor Aurangzeb on Hindu religion.

MS number: 3 Bhāgavata Purāṇa 1780AD. minutely written and illustrated.

MS number: 4 Tarkabhāṣābhāvaprakāśa, or Tarkasāra by RoveṭaVeṅkaṭabudha on the pramāna section of Cennaṃbhaṭṭa's work.

MS number: 5 Sarvasāratantra by Viṣṇucandra; Bengali script; Rosewood panels bearing the inscription Padmapurāṇa; on yellow burnished paper; four sections per folio. dated 1741AD.

MS number: 6 Rāmacaritmānas of Tulasī Dās with commentary; 18th cent fol. 1–141

MS number: 7 Bhāgavatapurāṇa; illustrated; 1650 AD.

MS number: 8 3 Hindi MSS: 1) Nāyikābheda by Śivanātha; 2) Sujana-hita-nibandha by Ānandaghana; 3) Kṛṣṇalīlāvatī by Somanātha

MS number: 9 Pañcaratnagītā: ie. Bhagavadgītā + Viṣṇusahasranāma + Bhīṣmastavarāja + Anusmṛti + Gajendramokṣa

MS number: 9 Bhagavadgītā illustrated.

MS number: 10 2 Punjabi Sikh texts: Dasama Pādśāh-kā granth; Vicitra-nāṭaka by Guru Govind 814 fol.

MS number: 11-14 Pṛthvīrāja Rāso; Cand's Hindi history of Rājā Pṛthvīrāja.

MS number: 15-17 Mahābhārata; books 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 14.

MS number: 18 [1.] Bhagavadgītā; [2.] Devīmāhātmya from the Mārkāṇḍeya Purāṇa in 13 adhyāyas written in two cols.; profusely illustrated with miniatures in gilded frames, the first four illustrations are almost identical copies of each other in two columns; contains Kālī [6th instance right hand col]Left hand col. Bhagavadgītā; Right hand col. Devīmāhatmya, begins ...vajrakavacamātāmaṃtrasya ; half way through: iti bhagavatyā kīlakaṃ saṃpūrṇaṃ etc.

MS number: 19 Rāmacaritmānas of Tulasī Dās lithograph; 1854 AD.

MS number: 20 Mahāniśīthacūrṇī [a comm on the Jain canonical text Mahānisīha] 63 fol.

MS number: 21-24 Avestan: Videvdāt etc.

MS number: 25 Ṛgveda

MS number: 26a,b Nepalese Buddhist Tantric MS, neatly written, in two sections; numerous illustrations; contains an illustration of the sponsors of this text at end. Ruling Kings mentioned in colophon. 26a has 130 folios

MS number: 26a Nepalese collection of Tantric Buddhist texts, gold on black paper: folios 1-82 Kāraṇḍavyūha, illustrated. begins: Khasaṃpattiṃ paraloke sukhavati.m prāpnuyāt || likheteyaṃ sayavatvarake śrītarumuramahāvihāre sikāmaguli an_[ṭha?]āvāhārapūrvvadiśe paṇḍacūkadra_nalipasthe vajradevyāḥ caranasevitamahāpātakulavajrācāryaśrīdhanamunidevena likhāyitam || || yā ḍṛṣṭaṃ pustakaṃ …
fol.2r śrāvastyām viharati sma || jetavane anāthapiṇḍadasyārāme mahatā …
fol.82r āryā śubhasaṃvat 803 bhādravamāse śuklapakṣe
fol.83r oṃ namo bhagavatyai āryamahāpratisarāyaiḥ || pratisare namas[codd namos] tubhyaṃ sarvvasaṃpattidāyini[codd saṃpratidāyani] | śaṃkhakuṇḍa…
fol.84v [illustr. of Buddha with teaching mudrā]
fol.106v āryamahāmāyūrī vaidyārājñī avinaṣṭā yakṣamukhān pratilabdhā sa[māptā]
fol.110r āryamahāśītavatīmahāvidyārājñī samāptaḥ ||
fol.113r āryamahāpratisarā, āryamahāsāhasrapramarddanī, āryamahāmāyūrī, āryamahāśītavatī, āryamahāmantrānusāriṇī etāni pañcavajrasūtrāṇi samāptāḥ
fol.113v svasti śrīmahārājādhirāja-parameśvara-bhaṭṭāraka-śrīśrī-JAYAPARTHIVENDRAMALLADEVA-Prabhu-Thākurasya vijayarājñadānapati…
fol.115-125r ārya aparimitāyusūtraṃ nāma mahāyānasūtraṃ parisamāptam ||
fol.125v-134r āryaSarvadūrgatipariśodhanarājasya tathāgatasya… samāptaḥ ||

MS number: 26b Gold lettering on black burnished paper [better calligraphy and illustr. than 26a] fol.1r in large elaborate rañjā characters [contains an illustration of blue Ādibuddha] begins: oṃ namo bhagavatyai āryāmahāsāhasramarddanyai vidyārājñai || evaṃ mayā śrutaṃ ekasmin samaye bhagavan rājagṛhe viharati sma || gṛdh[em r]akūṭe
fol.2r [illustr. of Mahākāḷa] parvate dakṣiṇe pārśve buddhagocare ratnavṛkṣaprabhāse vaṇaṣaṇḍe mahatā bhikṣusamūhena[codd bhikṣasahena] sārddham[codd sāddham] arddhatrayodaśabhi[em r] bhikṣuśataiḥ | tadyathā āyuṣmatā ca śāriputreṇa | āyuṣmatā ca mahāmaudgalyāyanena | āyuṣmatā ca mahākāśyapena | āyuṣmatā ca gayākāśyapena | āyuṣmatā ca nadīkāśyapena | āyuṣmatā corubilvākāśyapena | āyuṣmatā cā_takoṇḍinyena | āyuṣmatā ca mahākātyāyanena āyuṣmatā ca vartulena | āyuṣmatā ca vāṣyena | āyuṣmatā kauṣṭhitena | āyuṣmatā ca vāgīśena | āyuṣmatā ca svajitā āyuṣmatā ca subhūtinā | āyuṣmatā ca suvāhanā āyuṣmatā cāniruddhena āyuṣmatā ca revatena āyuṣmatā ca nadikena āyuṣmatā ca nandena āyuṣmatā ca | eva{ṃ}m pramukhair ardhatrayodaśabhi[em r] bhikṣuśataiḥ tasminn eva [codd tasmiśva] samaye bhagavān sabhikṣusaṅgho māgadhena rāṣṭryā' jātaśatruṇā vaidehīputreṇa sakṛto gurukṛto mānitaḥ pūjitasvaccitasvīvarapiṇḍapātaśayanāsanaglānapratyayabhaiṣajo[em a]paskāreḥ tena khalu punaḥ samayena vaisālyān mahānagaryāṃ mahān bhūmicālo[']bhūd atra kṛtaṃ ca prādurbhūtam mahatī cākālavatāśanimahāmeyyāśvasamutthito deva ga_te guḍaguḍāyane | vidyta eva niśvaranti | deśadiśa evā_lībhūtāḥ tamo[']ndhakāra eva prādurbhūtaḥ | nakṣatrāṇi ca na bhāsa[em n]te | cand[r]asūryo na prabhavata.h | atha khalu bhagavann adrākṣī divyena cakṣuṣā viśuddhenātikrāntamānuṣyakena | vaiśālyām mahānagaryām eteḍa[em dra?]padravāḥ prādurbhūtāḥ | āryakā[em a]tyāyanāvaiśālakāli_vānāyāgrāmāntaḥ purīsābhūtair adhiṣṭhitā[']bhisaśṛṣṭā | āryyākatyāyāgrāma_mārakāḥ | gaṇakamahāmātyā[']mātāpāṣadyadasīdāskarmakarapreṣyaparicārakābhūtair āviṣṭāḥ | samantata eva vaiśālījanapade yā bhikṣubhikṣuṇy upāsakopāsikā bhītatrastāḥ | saṃvignāḥ saṃhṛṣṭaromakūpajātāḍabdhamukhāḥ prakrandanto buddhadharmasaṅghān namasyanti | atikrāntavarṇṇaye ca brāhmaṇagṛhapatayo buddhaśāsanenābhiprasannā te cāryyakatyābrāhmaṇagṛhapatayo brāhmān namasyanti | ke cit punaḥ śatrum keci[l] lokayālān namasyanti | kecit puna mahesvaraṃ mānibhadraṃ pūrṇṇabhadra 'hārītītyandasūryagrahanakṣatraparvatavaraṣaṇḍāśadhīvṛkṣa na sarodgagakūpaḍagavaityasthānānyapi namasyanti | kathan nāmetasmād vayam eva rūpad rūpadravato bhayasthānāny ari[em avi?]mucyema iti | atha bhagavān tathā rūpamṛdvyabhisaṃskṛtena trisāhasramahāsāhasraloka fol.3v…
fol.38v [illustr. of Buddha with bhūmisparśamudrā]
fol.39r [illustr. of Mahāsāhasramardinī?]
fol.90r āryamahāmāyūrīvidyārājñīsarvārthasādhanīsamāpteti ||
fol.94v āryamahāśītavatīnāmadheyā[codd nāmadhā] mahāvidyā mahānuśaṃsārakṣāsūtraṃ samāptaḥ ||
fol.118r mahāvidyārāñjīmahāpratisarāyāḥ kalpaḥ samāptaḥ || athāto vidyādharasya rakṣāvidhānakalpaṃ vyākhyāmi |
fol.125r āryamahāpratisarāmahāvidyārājñīrakṣāvidhānakalpe vidyādharasyāyaṃ samāptaḥ
fol.130r mahārakṣāmahāmantrānusāriṇī nāma mahāyānasūtraṃ rakṣākalpaṃ samāptam
fol.130v [illustr. of supplicants worshipping a stūpa] āryamahāsāhasrapramarddanī, āryamahāmāyūrī, āryamahāśītavatī, āryamahāpratisarā, āryamahāmantrānusāranī mahā_rakṣāsūtram samāptam || ye dharmā… mahārājādhirājaparameśvara… śrīKāṣṭhāmaṇḍapamahānagare… mahārājādhirājavidagdhacūḍāmaṇiśrīśrīRājendraKavīndra-JAYAPRATĀPAMALLADEVA-PrabhuThakūrasye vija[ins ya?]rājñadānapatiyaṃglaraṃ ganatorake śrīKīrttipūrṇṇamahāvihārāvasthita
fol.131r …saṃvat 784 ādyaPhālguṇamāse śuklapakṣe

MS number: 28 1. Bhagavadgītāmālāmantra, 164 fol.; separate miniature of a lotus emerging from Viṣṇu's navel; 2. Extract from the Mahābhārata?

MS number: 29 two fragments 1. Puruṣasūkta ? a manual on daily ritual fols 2-9 2.