Korea Journal of Buddhist Studies ISSN:1598-0642(Print) 불교학연구

‘Siddhavastu’ refers to the formative framework that explains the basic Sanskrit vowels [Mātṛkā], consonants [vyañjana] and the composition principle of them to create a character. The Record of Siddhaṃ Characters is composed of 18 chapters, unlike 12 chapters of Siddhavastu by Huiyuan from Jinyinsi Temple or by Xuanzang. Each chapter divides into two parts, upper and lower, which is the noteworthy feature of this book. The upper part provides the comprehensive explanation of the basic Sanskrit vowels [Mātṛkā], consonants [vyañjana] and the theoretical composition principle of them, while the lower part presents more detailed information and the examples of characters created by the information. Chapters from 1 to 17 give the number of characters that can be created by relatively general principles. On the contrary, Chapter 18 shows the exceptional combination of the vowels and consonants, hence it is called Chapter of Solitary Union. This chapter includes 15 articles for exceptional cases from ｢1. Examples of the pronunciation of the duplicate letters｣ and to ｢15. Examples of a deformed shape of half-characters｣. Among these, ｢8. Examples of the pronunciation of the duplicate vowels｣ and ｢14. Usages of legal seal [ṣṛī] are especially important. Article 8 describes the pronunciation of characters which have duplicate vowels, such as [bhrūṃ]· [chrūṃ], and Article 14 presents the origin and correct representation of [ṣrī]. With these two articles along with the others, The Record of Siddhaṃ Characters seems to be a valuable resource in understanding the exact formation of Siddhaṃ Characters now used in the mantras.