Details

Subjects:

Devotional literature, Sanskrit.
Lingas (Śaivism).
Rites and ceremonies -- India.
Rites and ceremonies.
India.
Siva (Hindu deity).
Mokṣa.
Pilgrims and pilgrimages -- India.
Pilgrims and pilgrimages.
Vārānasi (Uttar Pradesh, India).

Form/Genre:

Hymns (documents)
Treatises.
Manuscripts, Sanskrit.
Manuscripts.

Language:

In Sanskrit (Devanāgarī)

Summary:

Text celebrating the greatness (māhātmya) of the city of Varāṇasī (also Kāśī) by its name of Pañcakrośī, a reference to the city's traditional size of five krośa or approximately 10 miles, a distance and circuit of temple sites that pilgrims are thought to be able to complete in five days. Includes frequent mention of the deity Viśveśvara (Lord of the universe), a local form of the god Śiva, as well as other sacred spots and liṅgas (cylindrical stone forms representing Śiva) such as Saṃgameśvara, and their ability to transform and give benefits to pilgrims who worship there.

Notes:

Title from colophon (f. 8v).
Written in 9-10 lines per leaf.
8 leaves foliated 1-8 , upper left and lower right verso.
Colophon: iti paṃccakrośīyātrāmāptā // (f. 8v).
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 black line.

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 3109 (UP 2404).

Cited as:

UPenn Ms. Coll. 390, Item 2404.

OCLC:

965447098