Gergely HIDAS (DPhil. University of Oxford, 2009) held teaching and research positions at Eötvös Loránd University in Budapest and at The British Museum. He is currently associate professor at Dharma Gate Buddhist College, Budapest.
While the Uṣṇīṣavijayā tradition received considerable scholarly attention regarding its Central and East Asian aspects, examinations of native South Asian evidence have been sparse. This paper offers now the first critical edition and translation of the Uṣṇīṣavijayā-dhāraṇī as it survives in Sanskrit manuscripts. Using ten Nepalese witnesses, the text with the nidāna, dhāraṇī and kalpa sections is presented, which throws light on key ritual practices involving caitya deposits of various materials to provide longevity.
