Within the Manichaean tradition, the heart of the scriptural corpus lies in the works attributed directly to Mani. Central among these are the Living Gospel (often simply called the Gospel or Evangelion), regarded as his principal religious text, and the Treasure of Life, a theological treatise that elaborates the nature of salvation and the cosmic struggle between Light and Darkness. Alongside these stand the Pragmateia, a collection of doctrinal writings, and the Book of Mysteries, which preserves more esoteric teachings. The Book of Giants, with its mythological narratives about primordial giants, extends this cosmological vision into a vivid mythic register. Mani also composed Letters, epistles addressed to communities and disciples, which guided practice and clarified doctrine in concrete situations.

Another foundational work is the Shabuhragan (Shābuhragān), written for the Sasanian king Shapur I and tailored to a Persian audience. This text presents a concise summary of Mani’s religion and shows how his message was articulated in an Iranian, Zoroastrian-influenced environment. Together with the other major books, it reflects a deliberate effort to express a single revelatory vision across different cultural and intellectual horizons. In this way, the scriptural corpus does not merely preserve teachings; it also bears witness to the movement’s self-understanding as a universal religion of Light.

Beyond Mani’s own compositions, several important collections transmit and interpret his teaching. The Kephalaia (“Chapters”) gathers doctrinal discourses and explanations attributed to Mani, likely compiled by disciples who sought to systematize his thought. Psalm books, containing hymns and prayers, and various Homilies served the liturgical and pastoral life of the community, shaping the inner atmosphere of devotion as much as formal doctrine. The Cologne Mani Codex, though biographical in character, stands as a significant text for understanding Mani’s early life and the spiritual matrix from which his scriptures emerged.

These writings circulated in a wide range of languages—Middle Persian, Parthian, Sogdian, Coptic, Latin, and Chinese—reflecting the remarkable geographical spread of the Manichaean communities. Most of the original texts have survived only in fragments, discovered primarily in regions such as Central Asia and Egypt, yet even in this fragmentary state they preserve the outlines of a grand dualistic cosmology. Through this dispersed and multilingual scriptural heritage, the Manichaean vision of a universe divided between Light and Darkness, and of the soul’s journey toward liberation, continues to be discernible to those who seek to understand it.