File:11th-century Buddhist Pancaraksa manuscript of 8th-century original, Pali script, text on spells, benefits and goddess rituals.jpg

English: The Pancaraksa means "Five Protections", and it is the title of a Buddhist text in Sanskrit. It is an early work in the dharani genre of Buddhist literature, with Tibetan records mentioning it by about 800 CE. However, there are significant variations in the recensions of the Pancaraksa manuscripts found in different Buddhist monasteries.

This manuscript is dated to the 11th-century. Like other Pancaraksha manuscripts, it includes spells, a list of benefits by its recitation, and the ritual instructions on how and when to use it. Each of the "Five" protections, are Buddhist deities (goddesses), though the text does not mention any of these goddesses by name. The text is notable for the 36 miniature Buddhist painting illustrations, finely done. The text is evidence of ritualism in Buddhist traditions.

Daniel Wright purchased this manuscript sometime between 1873–6 in the Bengal region. The manuscript is now preserved as MS Add.1688 at the Cambridge University LIbrary.

Language: Sanskrit

Script: Pala

The photo above is of a 2D manuscript artwork created about 900 years ago, itself a copy from a text that was authored earlier. The artwork and this 2D photograph, therefore, fall under Wikimedia Commons PD-Art licensing guidelines. Any rights I have as a photographer is herewith donated to wikimedia commons under CC 4.0 license.