Many thanks to all who replied offline. The references to Hindu tantra and kūṭākṣara were particular useful!
Best regards, Bill > On 13 May 2022, at 23:05, Bill Mak <[email protected]> wrote: > > Dear colleagues, > > A colleague working on Yunnan Sanskrit inscription showed me an ink rubbing > recently (15th century?) and I noted the impossible character āṃḥ (middle of > the three bīja letters in the attached image). This character is well known > in the Japanese esoteric tradition and there are some scanty references to it > in works by Ōna > <https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/jeb1947/1968/85/1968_85_16/_pdf/-char/ja> > and recently Rambelli and Dolce > <https://brill.com/view/book/edcoll/9789004306523/B9789004306523_009.xml>. > When I asked Prof. Kojima Giryū who specialises in Siddham characters some > years ago, I was given the impression that this might have been a Japanese > innovation. So it is interesting to find this in the Yunnan corpus as well. I > am curious if anyone knows of any discussion about this impossible character > in Sanskrit literature, especially in non-Buddhist Indian sources. > > I also wonder if anyone knows anything about the “sthrīṃ” letter (first one > from left). Someone in China collected a variety of specimens using this > character, suggesting that it may have some significance in the Esoteric > Buddhist tradition in Yunnan: > https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/FIkJktzIBIxXWf7swCL2QA > <https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/FIkJktzIBIxXWf7swCL2QA> > > Best regards, > > Bill > > > <Figure 2 peg.jpeg> > > -- > Bill M. Mak, PhD > > Fellow > Jao Tsung-I Petite Ecole 饒宗頤學術館 > Tang Chi Ngong Building > The University of Hong Kong > Pokfulam, Hong Kong > > Tel: +852-39174384 > Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > Research Associate > Needham Research Institute > 8 Sylvester Road > Cambridge, CB3 9AF > United Kingdom > > > Tel:+44-1223768229 > Email: [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > > copies of my publications may be found at: > http://www.billmak.com <http://www.billmak.com/> > https://needham.academia.edu/BillMak <https://needham.academia.edu/BillMak>
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