page_title: Dharani
hierarchical_section_title: Dharani
caption_attribution_description: 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.
context_page_description: A dharani is a Buddhist chant, mnemonic code, incantation, or recitation, usually a mantra consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Buddhist devotee, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature. These chants have roots in Vedic Sanskrit literature, and many are written in Sanskrit scripts such as the Siddham as well as transliterated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other regional scripts.
  Dharani are found in the ancient texts of all major traditions of Buddhism. They are a major part of the Pali canon preserved by the Theravada tradition. Mahayana sutras – such as the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra – include or conclude with dharani. Some Buddhist texts, such as Pancaraksa found in the homes of many Buddhist tantra tradition followers, are entirely dedicated to dharani. They are a part of their ritual prayers as well as considered to be an amulet and charm in themselves, whose recitation believed to allay bad luck, diseases or other calamity. They were an essential part of the monastic training in Buddhism's history in East Asia.
context_section_description: A dharani (Devanagari: धारणी, IAST: dhāraṇī) is a Buddhist chant, mnemonic code, incantation, or recitation, usually a mantra consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the Buddhist devotee, they constitute a major part of historic Buddhist literature. These chants have roots in Vedic Sanskrit literature, and many are written in Sanskrit scripts such as the Siddham as well as transliterated into Chinese, Korean, Japanese and other regional scripts.
  Dharani are found in the ancient texts of all major traditions of Buddhism. They are a major part of the Pali canon preserved by the Theravada tradition. Mahayana sutras – such as the Lotus Sutra and the Heart Sutra – include or conclude with dharani. Some Buddhist texts, such as Pancaraksa found in the homes of many Buddhist tantra tradition followers, are entirely dedicated to dharani. They are a part of their ritual prayers as well as considered to be an amulet and charm in themselves, whose recitation believed to allay bad luck, diseases or other calamity. They were an essential part of the monastic training in Buddhism's history in East Asia. In some Buddhist regions, they served as texts upon which the Buddhist witness would swear to tell the truth.
  The dharani-genre of literature became popular in East Asia in the 1st millennium CE, with Chinese records suggesting their profusion by the early centuries of the common era. These migrated from China to Korea and Japan. The demand for printed dharani among the Buddhist lay devotees may have led to the development of textual printing innovations. The dharani records of East Asia are the oldest known "authenticated printed texts in the world", state Robert Sewell and other scholars. The early-8th-century dharani texts discovered in the Pulguksa temple of Gyeongju, Korea are considered as the oldest known printed texts in the world.
  Dharani recitation for the purposes of healing and protection is referred to as Paritta in some Buddhist regions, particularly in Theravada communities. The dharani-genre ideas also inspired the Japanese Koshiki texts, and chanting practices called Daimoku, Nenbutsu (Japan), Nianfo (China) or Yombul (Korea). They are a significant part of the historic Chinese dazangjing (scriptures of the great repository) and the Korean daejanggyeong – the East Asian compilations of the Buddhist canon between the 5th and 10th centuries.
caption: 11th-century Buddhist Pancaraksa manuscript in the Pali script. It is a dharani genre text on spells, benefits and goddess rituals.
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