Dear friends, Is there any scholarship that you can recommend that addresses the use of charts and diagrams in Sanskrit manuscripts (and inscriptions) dealing with mathematics, astronomy/astrology, or divination? I would also of course be interested in any observations that you may have made concerning the history of such visual devices in the Indian sciences. An example of the sort of thing I have in mind might be the well-known magic square inscribed at the temple of Pārśvanātha in Khajuraho, which, if it dates to the period of the temple's foundation, would belong to the 10th c.
More generally, because we must assume that some such diagrams were used fairly early, in the case of horoscopes for instance, what can be said about the surfaces used for their preparation? Ephemeral charts inscribed in sand or ash, for instance, would be one type of example, but what of more durable materials? Are there examples on palm-leaf or birch bark that are more than just a few centuries old? (Of course, there are relevant mss., but without the sorts of visual devices that interest me, that are much earlier, the Bakhhshali ms. for instance.) My interest is primarily in materials dating to before the 14th c. with thanks for your learned guidance, Matthew Matthew T. Kapstein Professor emeritus Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, PSL Research University, Paris Associate The University of Chicago Divinity School Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences https://ephe.academia.edu/MatthewKapstein https://vajrabookshop.com/product/the-life-and-work-of-auleshi/ https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501716218/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-i/#bookTabs=1 https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501771255/tibetan-manuscripts-and-early-printed-books-volume-ii/#bookTabs=1 https://brill.com/edcollbook/title/60949 Sent with [Proton Mail](https://proton.me/mail/home) secure email.
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