Bhaik?uk? Manuscript of the Candr?la?k?ra

This volume discusses the Bhaik?uk? manuscript of the Candr?la?k?ra ("Ornament of the Moon"), a commentary of the twelfth century based on the C?ndravy?kara?a, Candragomin's seminal Buddhist grammar of Sanskrit. The discovery of the Bhaik?uk? script and of all available written sources are described. The detailed study of this codex unicus of the Candr?la?k?ra is accompanied by a facsimile edition and extensive tables of the script, a long-felt desideratum in the field of palaeography. The Buddhist author of the commentary has been identified for the first time, and the nature of his treatise and its position in the C?ndra school of grammar have been expounded. The history of the manuscript and newly discovered traces of the Bhaik?uk? script in Tibet are discussed. This publication will serve as a prolegomenon necessary for the preparation of a critical edition of the Candr?la?k?ra, which until now was believed to have been lost irretrievably. The Bhaik?uk? Manuscript of the Candr?la?k?ra will appeal to specialists with interests in a variety of fields such as Indian palaeography, grammar, Buddhism, history, and Indo-Tibetan studies.