Microfiche edition of the Shel Dkar Manuscript bKa''gyur

One of the earliest extant manuscript bKa''gyurs of Tibet, this is one of the most valuable manuscripts of the Tibetan collection of the British Library. Copied at Shel dkar chos sde in the La stod region of Southern Tibet in 1712, it belongs to the Thems spangs ma lineage of bKa''gyur transmission, and is regarded as an important witness for the study of the history and formation of Tibetan nka''gyur. Recent research has shown that the Shel dkar bKa''gyur possesses a number of distinct features which render it of importance to scholars of Mahayan sutra literature. It contains a considerable number of variant readings not found in any other editions, which might suggest that it represents an independent line of transmission. It therefore plays a key role in current research into the history of the Tibetan canon.