File DJG/4/1 - Tentitive Translation of the Thūpavaṃsa (transcribed)

The manuscript is a tentative Gogerly translation of the Thūpavaṃsa chronicle. Written in the middle of the 19th century in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Transcribed by an unknown author. Translated from Pāli or Sinhalese. 37 loose sheets (pages 25-62); the other 12 sheets are missing. The text is written on one side; black ink. The translation is full of corrections and notes. The Thūpavaṃsa narrates the history of the relics of Śākyamuni Buddha, and contains a rich depiction of the institutionalisation of the Buddha-Śāsana in Ceylon during the reigns of kings Aśoka and Devanampiyatissa, as well as the construction of relic monuments by the later king Duṭṭhagāmaṇī. The central focus of this work concerns the variety of relics associated with the historical Buddha, particularly how the relics were acquired and the presumed benefits of venerating them. 32cmX20cm.