梵册贝叶

Recorded in 龚自珍's Qing-dynasty essay 《正魏译》. The phrase literally describes the physical form of early Buddhist texts: 梵 = Sanskrit, 贝叶 = the dried, treated leaves of the Talipot palm (Corypha umbraculifera) on which monks in India inscribed sutras with iron styluses before paper reached the subcontinent.

Two pairs: 梵册 ('Sanskrit booklet') + 贝叶 ('palm leaf'). The 'palm-leaf' part is the key visual: these were strung together with cord through holes punched in the leaves, producing the characteristic loose-leaf shape of South Asian manuscripts.