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 in black ink stamped numbers. At the front of the volume, there is a long rectangle of coarse red cloth, on which is stuck a rectangular IOL paper sticker, which is white with red borders (as in other volumes, with a heart-shaped decoration in each corner). We find red handwriting, reading, '286 pages', blue writing, reading, 'MISC COLL. GYUT 7', and in large Tibetan writing, 'rgyud ja'.
Paper composition
Some sheets are thinner than others (eg. 31, 53, 233), although most are quite thick, appearing to consist of two layers of paper.
Size of folios
The size of the plain sheets is 577 x 126mm. There is some size variation. Some sheets are not cut very straight (eg. the left margin of 30 and many other folios, the bottom edge of 88).
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. The writing is not always exactly square on the page (eg. 30b, the lines go up slightly towards the right; 227b, the lines go down slightly towards the right).
Ornaments, openings and punctuation
Double yig mgo 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. The regular double yig mgo usually start on or to the right of the red vertical margin delineators. There are some slight differences in style, with some larger or more elongated than others. On 137a, a cover title is introduced with an elaborate double yig mgo, each section having a hook-shaped line (as in tsa phru (U0F39) ) going up from the top. In the first part of this volume, the rin chen spungs shad (U0F11) , is used when a yig rkang runs onto a subsequent line with one or two syllables left. In the latter part of the volume, this usage becomes irregular and often disappears.
Handwriting
The latter parts of the volume appear to have been done more speedily and carelessly, with more abbreviations, and poorer writing, perhaps to meet a deadline. Otherwise, the writing in this volume seems to be of a fairly consistent style throughout, with the letters mostly clear and distinct. In general, the writing tends to be small and a little cramped in comparison with other volumes. The ink is a little thicker towards the end of the volume, and the letters are slightly larger, although there are not large variations in size.
Corrections and interventions
Occasionally, attention is drawn to a small syllable which is inserted beneath the line, by red shading over the area, eg. 208a. We have an instance (27a) of an insertion marked in the same way as that on 236b of volume 'A and 144b of volume Ya: a symbol of a cross with a small circle in each of the four corners made by the cross; the symbol marks the place in the text and is repeated above or (in this case) below the writing area, in front of the insertion which is given in small writing. We also find instances (35b; 36a) of insertions marked with a clockwise pointing swastika, again both in the text and above or below the writing area. In the case of the first insertion occuring on 35b, the fact that a double shad occurs after the "las" in the chapter title, when the other chapters in the text have single shad suggests that the corrector may not be the scribe of the body.
Readers' marks
There are what appear to be some doodles, or large syllables in handwriting, at the bottom of 23a; some attempt appears to have been made to rub them out, and they are smudged.
A small piece of red paper has been stuck to the end of a yig rkang on 204a, but it is uncertain whether this was deliberately done to draw attention to this line or the chapter ending on the following line.
Missing or misplaced folios and other numbering anomolies
Some of the Tibetan folio numbers given in words (59, 61-63, 106-114, 116-7, 119-123 and 177-189, 240) appear to have been corrected, with original numbers apparently deleted and replaced.
Marks and blemishes
There are occasional ink smudges but these hardly ever obscure the clear writing.
State of preservation
The writing in this volume is rarely obscured by tears and rips. Most sheets are in a reasonable state with few holes or tears - there are occasional small holes and tears, or ink smudges, and most sheets are brownish in colour and in some cases rather dirty. Near the end of the volume (from 277), however, there is some evidence of water damage, with black blotches and white patches, especially on the right hand side of each sheet, getting worse on the last few folios, the paper becoming thicker and bent. However, the clear writing is hardly ever obscured.
Some sheets have small edge indentations (eg. 3, 6, 9-10, 25-6, 31, virtually all sheets 41-56, 97-101, 108-113, 121-3, 129, 154-5, 164, 182, 199-203, 229, 238, 257, 270, 285-6) or edge tears (eg. 9-10, 27, 43, 45, 112, 117, 145, 157, 194-5, 215, 247, 254, 256, 286), or in one case, a tear across the middle of the folio (275), or creasing across the folio (eg. 34, 156). Occasional sheets have a small part of the corner torn off (eg. 14, 46, 48, 107, 130, 197). Some sheets have small holes outside the writing area (eg. 7, 9, 13-14, 24, 30, 74, 151, 190, 207, 211, 222, 237, 256, 271) or much more rarely, within the writing area (eg. 179, 256, 271, 286), but the letters mostly remain clear.
Cover folios
There is no blue lacquered front folio in this volume. At the front of the volume, there is a long rectangle of coarse red cloth, on which is stuck a rectangular IOL paper sticker (see above) with the volume identification.
There are no index leaves in this volume.
Decorated first folios: construction
The first folio, gcig, is a laminate of about 10 sheets, 570 (top)/ 575 (bottom) 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 412 x 71 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 slightly at the edges and the blue lacquer is rubbed off in parts. 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, 452 x 73mm, outlined (around the frame) with a red paint line.
Decorated first folios: window curtain
There is a silk cover fitted over the window, with three layers, sewn together. The yellow layer is at the top, with gold thread around the outside, and it measures 427 (top)/ 425 (bottom) x 62mm (left)/ 60mm (right) visible (the upper part tucks under the blue frame above). A blue layer is the middle layer, with white thread around the outside, measuring 437 (top)/ 434 (bottom) x 65mm visible to the right, 67mm to the left. The third and final layer beneath is orange, with green thread around the outside, measuring 449 (top)/ 443 (bottom) x 72mm visible to the right, 75mm to the left. They are not exact rectangles of material, they go in a little at the sides towards the bottom, especially on the left. The bottom of the orange layer forms a slightly wavy line, and it does not quite cover the whole of the window frame.
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, the 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, 81 x 70mm. The lefthand miniature is within a rectangle 50 x 70mm, the righthand miniature's rectangle is 49 x 70mm. The legends for the miniatures are written below each, within the border of gold lines outside the window. Each legend is within double ornamenal brackets:
[ first, to the left:] {{[yig mgo x 1] /rig 'dzin tshe dbang nor bu la na mo/}} [second, to the left of centre. Much of this is smudged out and barely readable but the remnants of the syllables appear to support a reconstruction similar to other volumes:] {{//lha lcam man da' ra/ [yig mgo x 1]//sangs rgyas gnyis pa oyan rje/ [Then continued to the right of centre, on the other side of the gold vertical strip transversing text:] mkha'gro ye shes mtsho rgyal}} [third, to the right:] {{ [yig mgo x 1]/ dpal seng ge la na ma la na mo/}}Size of folios
The second folio, gnyis, measures 575 x 125 mm.
Decorated second folios
The recto side of gnyis is blue lacquer, with 4 lines of gold writing, within a double gold rectangular box, the outer measuring 480 x 76mm (left)/ 78mm (right), the inner, 464 x 66 mm. The margins are ruled as usual, with the collection, volume and folio identification to the left.. The boxes are not exact rectangles; the vertical lines are not at exact right angles to the horizontal lines, coming down slightly to the left. The folio is a laminate of 5 thick pages, with thick cross stitches visible on both sides, two to the top and bottom, one to the left and right. Some of the inner sheets are ruled with 7 lines and red margins. 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. 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 boxes are not very exact rectangles, and the ink sometimes makes thicker lines, for instance on 5a, where parts of the box have two clear thin red lines and in other parts, the thick ink lines merge together. The boxes measure as follows. 2b: 495 x 81mm (left)/ 78mm (right); 3a: 494 x 85mm (left)/ 81mm (right); 3b: 496 x 82mm (left)/ 80mm (right); 4a: 490 x 81 mm; 4b: 486 x 81 mm; 5a: 486 x 85 mm. 5b starts the usual style of red margins down each side and 7 lines per side.
State of preservation
Some very faint letters appear beneath the writing on line 7; it appears that some letters written in error have been rubbed out from the page.
Marks and blemishes
27b line 3: there is a mark shaped in a circle on right-hand side surrounding the gro of "du grol", yig rkang 5.
Corrections and interventions
Note that Chapter 16’s title begins with a string from an insertion written in the upper margin, indicated by dots and clockwise pointing swastika. Below the swastika in the upper margin is a mark resembling an attached "la" in dbu med. The two swastika also have small circles drawn both immediately above and below them.
Corrections and interventions
Note that Chapter 17’s title ends with a string from an insertion written in the bottom margin, indicated by dots and clockwise pointing swastika; in this case, only the swastika marking the place in the text has the tiny circles above and below it.
Corrections and interventions
Note that this chapter begins in an insertion written in the bottom margin, and attached to line 6.
Handwriting
On 52b line 7, the writing is suddenly more cramped and smaller, although still well-formed. Folios 53a and b also feature smaller writing, becoming spidery with more abbreviations (eg ngoo for ngo bo, rdzod. for rdzogs, yees for ye shes, etc.) on folio 53b, where the writing appears under pressure. On 54a, the writing returns to normal but is now smaller - over 40 syllables in a line rather than under 40, continuing in this style thereafter.
Ornaments, openings and punctuation
Also, after this point, curved tsheg shads are frequently on the right hand margin delineators or breaching them and more perfunctorily written, sometimes merely a squiggle. The curved three dotted shad, rin chen spungs shad (U0F11) , on the left becomes correspondingly rarer.
Corrections and interventions
59a nga dgu: the Tibetan number appears to have been corrected, with an error scratched out from the normal position and the correct number inserted afterwards, slightly smaller than usual.
Missing or misplaced folios and other numbering anomolies
60a sideways numbering reads nga sic dru sic cu
Handwriting
The writing becomes very spindly in line 7, and continues like this thereafter.
Justification
Both sets of double shad at the end of Ch. 77 breach the margin delineators on the right.
Microfilm
Note that on the microfilm, 87b and 88a are repeated.
Handwriting &
Justification
From 94a line 6, yig rkang 2, to 95b line 2, yig rkang 4, yig rkang are in 7-syllable metre, each yig rkang usually beginning and ending with a single shad and with a gap of a couple of centimetres between each yig rkang. The chapter end for chapter 2 is presented visually in the same format, but does not have 7 syllables. 94b has the usual 7 ruled lines, but only 6 are used. The yig rkang on 94b and 95a are wide apart, while the appearance of the first lines on 95b is much more "normal".
Microfilm
Note that on the microfilm, 222b and 223a are repeated.
Missing or misplaced folios and other numbering anomolies
Note that there are two folios 240, nyis brgya bzhi cu and nyis brgya bzhi bcu 'og (Western number 240a is given), and two folios 241, nyis brgya zhe gcig gong (Western number 241a given) and nyis brgya zhe gcig.
Microfilm
Note that on the microfilm, and also by the implication of the Western number 241a, nyis brgya zhe gcig gong is misleadingly placed after nyis brgya zhe gcig, although it actually comes before it.
Page settings
247b has the usual 7 ruled lines, but only 4 are used. The next text begins on the next folio.
Justification
The yig rkang on the last three lines of 247a and those on 247b are very spaced out across the sheet, with large gaps between them.
Page settings
286a is the final page. The previous page, 285b, has 7 ruled lines but only 6 are used. On 286a, the text is within a red rectangular box, 497 x 79mm, with 6 ruled lines, of which 3 are used.286b is blank apart from a red rectangular box.
State of preservation
This final folio, 286, has a large hole near the bottom left, black blotches probably due to water damage across the bottom right-hand side, and some tears in the edges, but the writing is mostly clearly legible.