File DJG/4/2 - Translation of the Thūpavaṃsa (original)

The manuscript is an original Gogerly translation of the Thūpavaṃsa chronicle. Written in July of 1850, in Sri Lanka (Ceylon). It contains 16 bound pages, and seems to be only a small piece of a full document, which was attempted for publication. Translated from Pāli or Sinhalese to English. Written on both sides in brown ink. Slightly fragile. 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. Approx. 31.7cmX21.7cm.