Terjék József: Collection of Tibetan MSS and Xylographs of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös.

Catalogue

40 rum-pa Sken-dhar-bhig-gi 'dod-pa-báin | Zans-dkar-gyi bcun-pa Sansrgyas phun-chogs-kyis sbyar-ba re-áig rjogs-so | Appendix (pp. 25-27): the table of the cycle of sixty years (rab-'byun): Sanskrit name in Tibetan letters, Tibetan equivalent, Chinese equivalent, identification with zodaic cycle of twelve years. The latter have figures above them, too. In the introduction Sans-rgyas phun-chogs mentions as the subject of his work the review of the "external", the "internal" and the "secret" Kalacakra. The treatise opens with a short historical account; then the study of astrology based on the Tibetan Kälacakra is summed up in accordance with the work entitled Gdan, Dus thun-mon-gi rcis-gzi of Suresamatibhadra (Lha-dban blo-gros bzan-po), a monk of the 'Brug-pa order and a pupil of Padma dkar-po lived in the second half of the 16th century. "The Lama" (Sans-rgyas phun-chogs) does not follow in his 13 chapter-compendium Suresamatibhadra's order of ideas: instead of systematically condensing them he gives a logical summary of these ideas. Csoma's small collection of books comprises not only Suresamatibhadra's original work (No. 31), but also his self-commentary on the work (No. 7) and several other works of his (No. 29, No. 30). In the colophon the Lama calls Csoma's attention to other important books: "The present work follows the arrangement of the reckoning system, the chronological study consisting of thirteen chapters and harmonizing the views of Rdo-rje gdan-bzi and Dus-kyi 'khor-lo written by Suresamatibhadra, the lama of the 'Brug-pa order, and the master of Gru-dan sa-ra in the Tibetan province of Gcan, If you wish again to study this subject in detail you must resort to the work entitled Bai-dürya dkar-po spyod-ldan snin-nor, which unifies all the calculation studies of India, China, Mongolia, Nepal and Tibet and suffers no lack of intellectual perfection, written by Dharmaräja Sans-rgyas rgya-mcho, regent of Tibet, on 633 sheets, divided into 35 chapters, or with small type letters on 473 sheets, divided into 200 parts." Cf. A. Csoma de Körös, Grammar, Appendix I; Tibetan Modes of Reckoning Time.