Overview

Historical and descriptive catalog of the Degé Kangyur by its 18th century editor Situ Paṇchen Chökyi Jungné (Toh 4568).

Most of the final, 103rd volume of the Degé Kangyur is taken up by this historical and descriptive catalog, written by the 18th century editor responsible for compiling and arranging the Degé edition, Situ Paṇchen Chökyi Jungné (while the last 230 pages or so of the volume contain the fifth and final chapter of the Vimalaprabhā‍—see the Wheel of Time Commentary section).

The first three chapters, well over half of the work, provide a detailed history of the scriptures, from their first teaching and the manner in which they were preserved and spread in India, their translation into Tibetan, and how they were collected, edited and compiled as the Kangyur.

The catalog and index itself comes in the fourth chapter. Situ Paṇchen lists the content of each section and volume, recording the Tibetan title of each work, its length measured in ślokas (units of 32 syllables) and fascicles (kalāpa, bam po, bound bundles of palm leaf or birch bark folios), the number of chapters (if any), and its translators and editors. For some texts, he adds notes on their origin or on known variants, and in some sections he explains how and why he has chosen to present the texts in a particular order.

The fifth and final chapter explains the needs that are met by the publication of the canonical texts, and concludes with a long dedication in verse.