ཙ་ཀ་ལི། tsa ka li
Headword |
ཙ་ཀ་ལི། tsa ka li |
Translation |
miniature flash-cards with images symbolizing deities, Mantric configurations, auspicious signs and substances, and the like, used for Mantric rituals |
Description |
The Tibetan word tsa ka li has alluded to in several secondary souces. One such source is Martin 2003, which states “a miniature flash-card picture, often used in rituals. For a tsa ka li of the Mahābodhi of Bodhgaya, given by Pha-dam-pa to Gtsang-pa Rin-po-che, see BA 294. Rock, Nāga Cult I 63. sku tsha ka li la bzung ba. Zhi-byed Coll. III 77.3.” Also Tibetan dictionaries explain this term. See, for example, the Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. tsa ka li): “[the term] refers to small cards upon which images symbolizing deities, Mantric configurations, also auspicious signs and substances, and the like, have been depicted (lha dang | dkyil ’khor, gzhan yang bkra shis pa’i rtags rdzas sogs mtshon byed ri mo bris pa’i shog lhe chung ngu rnams la zer |). See also the Dag yig gsar bsgrigs (s.v. tsa ka li). The Tshig mdzod chen mo (s.v. tsa ka li) clearly indicates the word to be Sanskrit but Sanskrit dictionaries do not seem to document it except Sircar’s Indian Epigraphical Glossary, where we find cakalī having the meaning of “a small coin, smaller than the ṭaṃka regarded as (1/02) of a rupee.” That the Tibetan tsa ka li must have been derived from the Indic cakalī seems to be supported by The Molesworth Marathi and English Dictionary (s.v. cakalī), according to which it is supposed to mean “A flat piece of metal or metalleaf.” According to Tibetan sources, tsa ka li [= lī] is a piece of paper or paperleaf with images of deities, etc.” Perhaps the meaning of cakalī given by Sircar may imply that it is to be understood not merely as a “small coin” but as a “small coin with engravings/images.” |
Sources for Term |