The Karchag Phangthangma (dkar-chag 'Phang-thang-ma) is one of three historically attested Tibetan imperial catalogues listing

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s mainly of

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Buddhist texts Buddhist texts are those religious texts which belong to the Buddhist tradition. The earliest Buddhist texts were not committed to writing until some centuries after the death of Gautama Buddha. The oldest surviving Buddhist manuscripts a ...

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Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

. The title, in Tibetan ''dkar-chag 'phang-thang-ma'', simply means the catalogue/index (''karchag'') from Phangthang (a place in

Central Tibet Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

). The ''Karchag Phang-tangma'' (dkar-chag 'Phang-thang-ma) was sponsored by the

Tibetan emperors Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken diale ...

in the 9th century. Studies of the imperial catalogue from Denkar (dkar-chag lDan-dkar-ma) have been conducted by YOSHIMURA (1950); LALOU (1953); and HERRMANN-PFANDT (2008). For studies of the catalogue from 'Phang-thang see: HALKIAS (2004), EISHIN (2005a/2005b), and DOTSON (2007). The ''Karchag Chimpuma'' composed in

Samye Samye (, ), full name Samye Mighur Lhundrub Tsula Khang (Wylie: ''Bsam yas mi ’gyur lhun grub gtsug lag khang'') and Shrine of Unchanging Spontaneous Presence is the first Tibetan Buddhist and Nyingma monastery built in Tibet, during the reign ...

(dkar-chag bSam-yas mChims-phu-ma) has not been found. These imperial catalogues are considered historical documents and prototypes of the

Tibetan Buddhist canon The Tibetan Buddhist canon is a loosely defined list of sacred texts recognized by various sects of Tibetan Buddhism. In addition to sutrayana texts from Early Buddhist schools (mostly Sarvastivada) and Mahayana sources, the Tibetan canon incl ...

References

Yoshimura, Shyuki. 1950. ''The Denkar-ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons.'' Kyoto: Ryukoku University.
Lalou, Marcelle. 1953. “Les textes bouddhiques au temps du roi Khri-sroṅ-lde-bcan. Contribution à la bibliographie du Kanjur et du Tanjur.” ''Journal Asiatique'', 241: 313–53.
Halkias, Georgios. 2004. ‘Tibetan Buddhism Registered: An Imperial Catalogue from the Palace Temple of ’Phang-thang.’ ''Eastern Buddhist'', XXXVI, 1 & 2: 46–10

Kawagoe Eshin 川越英真 (2005a). “『パンタン目録』の研究 A Study of dKar chag 'Phang thang ma.” 日本西蔵学会会報 Japanese Association for Tibetan Studies 51: 115 – 131.
Kawagoe Eishin 川越英真 (2005b). Dkar chag ʼPhang thang ma. Sendai: 東北インド・チベット研究会Tōhoku Indo-Chibetto Kenkyūkai.

Dotson, Brandon. 2007. '‘Emperor’ Mu-rug-btsan and the `Phang thang ma Catalogue.' ''

Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies The ''Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies'' (''JIATS'') is a freely available online, peer-reviewed English language academic journal focusing on Tibetan studies. ''JIATS'' is an official publication of the Internationa ...

'', 3 . pp. 1–25.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. 2008. ''Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte''. Wien: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Tibetan culture Translation publications {{Buddhism-book-stub