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Laghuk�lacakratantrar�jatik�
(Vimalaprabh�)
Inscribed 2011
What is it
The Vimalaprabhā is an exhaustive commentary on the
Kālacakra Tantra, one of the most important Tantras in
Tibetan Buddhism, which has now spread to other parts
of the world. One complete and one incomplete copy of
the Vimalaprabhā have been registered.
Why were they inscribed
The complete copy of the Vimalaprabhā is regarded by
scholars of Tibetan Buddhism as the oldest in existence.
It is one of the most important Tantras not only in India,
but also in Tibetan Buddhism, and it discusses many
Indian philosophical concepts.
Where are they
Asiatic Society, Kolkata, India
The Laghukālacakratantrarājatikā (Vimalaprabhā) is
the most important commentary on the Kālacakra Tantra,
which was delivered by the Buddha at Dhānyakataka in
South India. Buddhist Tantric literature is both vast and
extensive, and the Kālacakra Tantra is a distinguished
paradigm among them. It was on this Tantra that the King
Pundarāka, one of the thirty-two kings of Shambhala,
composed the great encyclopedic commentary named
Vimalaprabhā in the 9th century.
In addition to the text of the Tantra, the commentary
contains detailed discussions of philosophy, astrology and
astronomy. There is also discussion on the lesser known
wisdom of svarodaya. Āyurveda occupies an important
thematic focus in the Tantra. Measurements of the globe
are given which are more detailed than those in the
Abhidharmakosa, a celebrated 4th-century text authored
by Acharya Vasubandhu, which is itself a renowned
encyclopedia of information.
There were once a large number of manuscripts of
Kālacakra Tantra and its commentaries in India. However,
as Buddhism disappeared from India during the 12th
and 13th centuries, a large body of Buddhist literature
was lost. Many of the literary manuscripts were taken
to neighbouring countries and regions such as Nepal
and Tibet. In the 19th century, when European scholars
commenced their studies in Buddhism, abundant literary
materials in Nepal were discovered. B.H. Hodgson, an
English administrator, ethnologist and a resident at the
royal court of Nepal, bequeathed 144 manuscripts to the
Asiatic Society in Kolkata with a view to preserving them.
Among the manuscripts that have been collected is this
unique and complete text of the Vimalaprabhā. All other
known manuscripts of the Vimalaprabhā are incomplete.
The complete palm-leaf manuscript was copied in the
thirty-ninth year of Harivarman of Bengal (last half of 10th
century), which makes this the oldest extant copy of the
commentary, transcribed a little over one hundred years
after the commentary was composed.
� Pages from the palm-leaf manuscript
of the Laghukālacakratantrarājatikā.
Laghukālacakratantrarājatikā (Vimalaprabhā)
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