The Bhadrakarātrī-sūtra

This book examines the Bhadrakaratri-sutra, an important representative of early Buddhist raksa literature, and thereby contributes to the investigation of this literary genre. This work ultimately presents an edition, partial reconstruction, and translation of the two extant Sanskrit manuscripts found in Central Asia, as well as a critical edition and translation of the Tibetan version of this text. Special focus is also given to the Chinese and Tibetan variants of the mantras. Moreover, it highlights specific raksa elements, formal features, and linguistic and semantic patterns of the Bhadrakaratri-sutra. These are crucial for the understanding of the peculiarities of its language, as well as its textual development and classification among raksa literature.