The article focuses on a masterfully illuminated manuscript from early 17th-century Nepal preserved in the Cambridge University Library (Add.864), which was possibly produced by a thriving atelier in Bhaktapur. This accordion book consists of one hundred and forty-four polychrome miniatures of extremely vivid grace and exuberant character, accompanied by Sanskrit captions. Among its many themes, it depicts several narratives of both sacred and secular nature —mostly taken from Brahmanical sources such as the Bhāgavatapurāṇa, the Mahābhārata, the Rāmāyaṇa and the Vetālapañcaviṃśati, but also including scenes from the Buddhist story of Sudhana and the Kinnarī. The article examines the iconographic programme of Add.864, suggesting that it may have been conceived as a didactic visual tool for the elites that partook in the high culture of early modern Nepal.