The Catalogue of the Rig 'dzin Tshe dbang nor bu rNying ma'i rgyud 'bum
Modern library pagination and markings
In this volume, the western numbering is written in blue pencil numbers.
Paper composition
Some sheets are thicker than others, and many of them are made up of at least two layers.
Size of folios
The size of the plain sheets is 577 x 125mm. There is some size variation and some sheets are not cut very straight (eg. 63 is 560mm top/572mm bottom x 122mm left/120mm mm right, both sides coming out to the bottom; 64 is 573mm top/560mm bottom x 122mm, both sides coming in to the bottom. There are many similar sheets. The top of 249 is cut in a zig-zag fashion for the whole length.
Sheet numberings
As in other volumes, many of the sheets have tiny Tibetan numerals written sideways, some of which are missing or partially cut off, and where they do occur, they do not seem to correspond to the page numbering in words.
Pagination
Page details are given in words written sideways in black ink, to the left of the writing on each recto side.
Page settings
Most sheets, as in other volumes, have 7 lines of black ink writing, with double red vertical lines to the sides of the writing. The lines are ruled with faint (diluted?) reddish ink. On many folios in this volume, the double red vertical lines bordering each side of the writing area are partially erased. In some cases (eg. 49), the writing is not exactly square on the page, the horizontal ruled lines going down slightly to the right.
Ornaments, openings and punctuation
Except for 74-76, up to and including 170, the truncated Om. syllable with a gter shad ( gter yig mgo a thung (U0F01) , + ma, anusva’ra (U0F7E) , above) are found in the upper left corner of all recto sides, apart from 1-4. gNyis, gsum and bzhi each have a triple yig mgo, and the verso side of gcig also has a triple yig mgo. There are some slight differences in style in the regular Om. syllables, with some larger or a slightly different shape from others. In the case of the recto sides of 74-76, and of all from 171 (ie. all parts of the volume which have the usual style of shads and which presumably are not gter ma), we find the usual double yig mgo (except for 187a, which is a title page, and 187b, which follows it and which has a triple yig mgo).
Note that gter tsheg (U0F14) begin at folio 3a and are used up until the bottom of 65a, from where we find rnam bcad (U0F7F) instead of gter tsheg. Ordinary shad are used between 74-76, after which rnam bcad are again used, from 77. Finally, from 170b, we find ordinary shad rather than rnam bcad.
Handwriting
The writing in this volume varies a little in style and size. The writing tends to be quite large near the beginning of the volume, but becomes considerably smaller around 79, increasing in size again, around 177, and becoming especially large in the following twenty or so folios.
Corrections and interventions
There is some evidence of later corrections. For instance, there are 7 syllables added at the bottom of the sheet on 67b, attached via dots to the 3rd line, seemingly in a different hand from that of the scribe. Similarly, we find an additional insertion (perhaps in the same hand) above the writing area on 70a.
Marks and blemishes
Some of the ink is smudged at the top of 198b, making some of the central syllables in the upper two lines more difficult to read.
State of preservation
Many, in fact most, of the folios in this volume are badly creased or frayed at the edges, especially at the top and at the left of the folio, and many have corners torn off or creased up. The condition of the folios gets worse from 132, when we start to find black spots and considerable folding, creasing, and edges torn away at the top left corners of the folios. Despite this and the discolouration/blotching/dirtiness of most of the sheets, the writing in this volume is usually clear (although eg. 158a is washed out at the top, affecting a few syllables). From 169-170, we also find creasing at the top right. The black spots and creasing at the top of folios ceases from 172. However, we have more black spots and creasing to the upper right-hand edges from 203. The condition of the sheets improves again from 230.
There are also occasional small holes and tears. Sheets with small edge indentations include: 4-6, 12, 18, 21, 22, 29, 72-5, 84-8, 98, 122, 126, 147, 160, 181, 196, 204, 215, 226/227, 236, 245, 262, 263. Sheets with small holes within the writing area, which may partially obscure the writing, include: 50, 53, 15, 222, 245. Sheets with small holes outside the writing area include: 5, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 21 - 23, 25, 27-29, 31, 38-41, 71, 76, 83-4, 99-101, 199, 203, 228, 260. Sheets with repairs of small pieces of paper stuck along part of an edge include 6, 19, 26, 126, 137, 258. Sheets with small edge tears include: 19, 27, 41, 45, 49, 51, 72, 88, 239. Sheets with a single corner torn off include: 28, 33, 57, 98, 100, 265, although a lot more sheets have corners creased up or otherwise damaged. 34 is badly creased up in the centre of the folio; 141b has a large tear at the bottom of the top layer of paper although the layer beneath is unaffected and the writing is still legible, and 248b has a similar tear outside the writing area affecting only the top sheet. The last two folios, 266 and 267, are torn around the edges, and 267 has lost two of its corners. However, the writing is still clear.
Cover folios
There is no blue lacquered front folio in this volume.
There are no index leaves in this volume.
Decorated first folios: construction
The first folio, gcig, is a laminate of about 18 sheets, 570 x 125 mm.
The recto side is plain azure blue lacquer, but with gold margins ruled and the collection, volume, and folio identifications given at the left border, in gold writing. The box made by the ruled lines measures 420 x 67 mm, with the vertical lines not at exact right angles to the horizontal lines, but coming down slightly to the left. The blue sheet is torn at the edges and creased down the centre of the folio. Thick crossed stitches attach the folio together, two along the top, five along the bottom, and one to the left and the right of the folio.
Decorated first folios: frames [ TITLE PAGE]
The verso side of gcig (1b) is blue lacquer, with elaborate intertwining straight gold lines around the outside of the page, outlining exactly the same interlocking key design as we find in other volumes. The upper sheet has a rectangular window cut out for the text, 445 x 75mm, outlined (around the frame) with a red paint line. One section of the upper window frame is torn off, but none of the outer pattern is torn away. The lower window frame is missing its central section, from the first to the second lower stitch holding the folio together.
Decorated first folios: window curtain
There is a silk cover fitted over the window, with three layers sewn together. Horizontal yellow stitching sewing the window covers onto the sheets beneath is visible in the gap where the upper frame is torn. The yellow layer is at the top, with gold thread around the outside, and it measures 432 x 66mm visible beneath the blue frame (the upper part tucks under the frame above, and a further 22mm is visible in the gap where the upper frame is torn). A blue layer is the middle layer, with white thread around the outside, measuring 435 x 67mm visible. The third and final layer beneath is orange, with green thread around the outside, measuring 445 x 71mm visible to the left, 73mm to the right. They are not exact rectangles of material, the orange layer comes out very slightly at both sides near the bottom, and is slightly shorter on the left, not quite covering the bottom of the window.
Decorated first folios: window layout
Beneath the cover is a double lined gold rectangle drawn on black lacquer, with 3 lines of gold writing, split across two sides of the page. There are miniatures to the left and right, besides which the areas for writing are bounded by vertical strips with a regular pattern of gold lines, in this case, wavy line and spiral design (see "General Information on Volumes"). The larger miniature in the centre, which breaks up the page, is bounded to the left and right by a thin double vertical gold line, outlining a rectangle, 82 x 70mm. The lefthand miniature is within a rectangle 51 x 70mm, the righthand miniature's rectangle is 50 x 70mm. The legends for the left- and right-hand miniatures are written below each, within the border of gold lines outside the window. There is no legend for the central miniature (it would have been on the lost central part of the lower window frame), and the legend for the right-hand miniature is so smudged out, it is unreadable. The left-hand legend (and apparently the right-) is within double ornamenal brackets:
[first, to the left:] {{[yig mgo x 1] //bstan bsrung e ka dza ti la na mo//}} [third, to the right, is rubbed out:] [possibly includes:] hu la[gap]}}Size of folios
The second folio, gnyis, measures 572 x 125 mm.
Decorated second folios
The recto side of gnyis is blue lacquer, with 4 lines of gold writing, slightly smudged in the area to the right and centre of the page but still legible, within a double gold rectangular box, the outer measuring 480 x 77mm left/75mm right. The margins are ruled as usual, with the collection, volume and folio identification to the left. The box is not an exact rectangle, but almost a parallelogram, with the vertical lines coming down slightly to the left. The folio is a laminate of about 10 layers, with thick cross stitches visible on both sides, two to the top and bottom, one to the left and right. The blue lacquered recto side is rather torn at the top and bottom edges. The verso side is ordinary paper.
Page settings
As mentioned above, 2a has 4 lines of gold writing. 2b is ordinary paper. 2b - 5a have double red lined rectangular boxes and margins; in the case of 2b and 3a, with an inner double red lined rectangular box. 2b and 3a each have 4 lines of black writing; 3b - 4b, have 5 lines of slightly smaller writing, and 5a, 6 lines of writing. The box on 5a is drawn over another box with faded lines which was not drawn very straight on the page; thus, some of the margin lines of this box go over the letters written to the left and to the top right of the main box. The boxes measure as follows. 2b: 488 x 81mm; 3a: 490 x 85mm left/82mm right; 3b: 490 x 80mm; 4a: 487 x 81mm; 4b: 482 top/490 bottom x 81 mm; 5a: 476 x 82mm. 5b starts the usual style of red margins down the side and 7 lines per side.
Missing or misplaced folios and other numbering anomolies
Folio 9 is missing.
Ornaments, openings and punctuation
Note that rnam bcad, (U0F7F) , is used instead of gter tsheg from the bottom of 65a. Here, this is indicated by “:”.
Ornaments, openings and punctuation
Ordinary shad are used from folios 74 to 76; after which we again find rnam bcad from folio 77.
Ornaments, openings and punctuation
From 170b, we find ordinary shads rather than rnam bcad.
Page settings
After the first two lines on 186a, the rest of sides 186a and b are blank with ruled lines. 187a is a title page, the title within a ruled red box, 498 x 62mm. 187b has 6 lines within a ruled red box, 495 x 80mm.
Page settings
187a: title page, centred.
Missing or misplaced folios and other numbering anomolies
Note that there does not appear to be a separate 227. It seems that this was only discovered afterwards, and the words 227 were therefore added later to 226 in smaller writing, so we have a conflated folio 226/7.
Page settings
267 is the final folio. 267a has a red ruled box, 480 x 89mm, with 6 ruled lines, of which only 4 are used. 267b is blank except for red ruled lines and margins.