Details

Standardized Title:

Puranas. Skandapurāṇa. Sūtasaṃhitā

Subjects:

Devotional literature, Sanskrit.
Hindu mythology.
Bhairava (Hindu deity).
Śaivism.
Siva (Hindu deity).
Tantrism.
Pāśupatas.

Form/Genre:

Poems.
Hymns.
Prayers.
Manuscripts, Sanskrit.
Manuscripts.

Language:

In Sanskrit (Devanāgarī)

Summary:

Manuscript used for consultation on a number of topics that include rituals, rites, modes of worship, mythology, and other elements, primarily centered on the Hindu deity Śiva. May have been compiled by the Pāśupata sect of Śaivism and composed around the 6th century A.D. Reference to the figure Bhairava, a horrific form of Śiva, along with references to the Bhairavas (underlings of Śiva). Mention of the Pāśupatas is made and their rite of smearing ash on their bodies and wearing rudrakṣa beads, sacred to Śiva. Text is divided into four saṃhitās (sections) and contains a version of the Brahmagītā in the final section (Yajñavaibhavakhaṇḍa).

Contents:

(Part 1:) Śivamāhātmyakhaṇḍa
(Part 2:) Jñānayogakhaṇḍa
(Part 3:) Muktikhaṇḍa
(Part 4:) Yajñavaibhavakhaṇḍa.

Notes:

Title from colophon (f. 208r).
Written in 11-12 lines per leaf.
209 leaves foliated [i], 1-208, upper left and lower right verso.
Colophon: iti śrīskaṃdapurāṇe sūtasaṃhitāyāṃ yajñavaibhavakhaṃḍasyoparibhāge sūtagItāyaāṃ aṣṭamodhyāyaḥ // śrīsāṃbāyanamaḥ // śrīgurubhyonamaḥ // śrīśivāya namaḥ // (f. 208r).
Mistakes covered over in yellow or blacked out; some corrections and additions in margins; significant syllables, words, or phrases highlighted in red throughout; vertical margins marked with double red or black line.
Manuscript encased by two dark brown wooden boards; the bottom board is split, but held together with metal pieces nailed into wood.
Non-Latin script record.

Cited in:

Listed in H. I. Poleman, Census of Indic Manuscripts in the United States and Canada (New Haven, Conn.: American Oriental Society, 1938), Poleman 1509 (UP 2316).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Coll. 390, Item 2316

OCLC:

804683255