On Magic Letters and Magic Books: Mantras and Dhāraṇīs of Medieval Indic Buddhism and the Buddhist book cult

This article examines mantras and dhāraṇīs in medieval Indic Buddhism as potent textual forms believed to effect immediate change through their deployment—a function I analyze through the heuristic lens of “magic.” I demonstrate how these magic letters operate at visual and material levels beyond discursive meanings and explain how they are integral to the development of a unique manuscript culture in which a book is a potent object for veneration and magic power. A brief case study illuminates how a special type of metonymically illustrated dhāraṇī manuscript may have emerged among medieval Indic and Himalayan Buddhist communities in response to devotees’ practical needs and desire for magical benefits.