Re: Fwd: Sinhalese manuscript 1st and last pages

your question cannot be answered without an identification of the text. If one had the introductory and the final portions one could check whether it is one of the already printed commentaries or not. If not, we would not know whether this is a rare paraphrase or commentary, since there are hundreds of manuscripts with Sinhalese paraphrases on the Dhammapada alone in Sinhalese monastery libraries. Whether most of them contain the same or different paraphrases/commentaries is not known (the latter is more probable). In the first volume of the manuscripts in Srilankan monastery libraries Somadasa lists more than three hundred manuscripts of Sinhalese paraphrases on the Dhammapada (Dhammapadasannaya), and in the second volume further 125 manuscripts. Because of this the chance that "your" manuscript contains a rare text is not so high – though one never knows. Regarding its monetary value, this depends on whether you find someone interested to buy it. If you donate it, I think the best would be to donate it to a university library, because it there is accessible for potential readers.

Am 30.12.2016 um 18:11 schrieb Bruce Simpson brucejsimpson@... [palistudy]:

Thank you, Petra. I'm not sure that my cell phone camera has the focus necessary to capture that.

Anyway, the group has been helpful in getting me pointed in the right direction about the possible origin and content of this manuscript.

Now what I need to focus on is what I do with it. One respondent said that ASU has a renowned collection. Can anyone put in context how 'rare' this manuscript is? Such as - are there dozens extant or more like thousands? Would this manuscript have a monetary value that can be estimated? Is a university library a better recipient for a donation, if we go that route, than a museum or directly to a religious organization like a temple?

Thank you for any thoughts that you all care to provide.

Bruce Simpson

On Fri, Dec 30, 2016 at 9:47 AM, petra kieffer-pülz kiepue@... [palistudy] <palistudy@yahoogroups.com> wrote:

Dear Bruce,

this does not suffice. One needs a photo of the whole first and whole last folio that allows to read the entire lines. IOnly then can one read an eventually present introduction or colophon with information on the text.

Best,
Petra
Am 30.12.2016 um 16:40 schrieb Bruce Simpson brucejsimpson@... [palistudy]:

Someone from the group had suggested that I forward pictures of the first and last pages of the manuscript that I asked about the other day, as a means of better identifying it. Those are attached. If this allows anyone more depth that they can share with me about the content or origins of the manuscript, i would appreciate your input!

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Bruce Simpson

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Bruce Simpson <brucejsimpson@...>
Date: Fri, Dec 30, 2016 at 9:37 AM
Subject: Sinhalese manuscript 1st and last pages
To: Bruce Simpson <brucejsimpson@...>

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