A Sanskrit Fragment of the Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti in Uyghur Script

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 1, 27 - 35, 30.06.2020

Jens Wilkens

https://doi.org/10.46614/ijous.743200

Cited By: 2

Abstract

The tantric Buddhist work Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī”) was very popular among the Uyghurs during the Yuan period (1279–1368 CE). The article identifies a manuscript in cursive writing from the St. Petersburg Collection as the Sanskrit text of the mantravinyāsa (“The arrangement of the mantra”) – the core ritual part of the work – in Uyghur script. This newly identified piece testifies once more to the importance of Sanskrit in the late phase of Uyghur Buddhism during Mongol rule.

Keywords

Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti, Old Uyghur, Sanskrit, tantric Buddhism, Central Asia

Supporting Institution

Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities

Uygur Alfabesiyle Yazılmış Sanskritçe Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti Fragmanı

Abstract

Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Mañjuśrī’nın adlarını zikretme”) adlı Tantra Budizmi eseri, Yuan döneminde (MS 1279–1368) Uygurlar arasında çok popülerdi. Bu çalışma, St. Petersburg Koleksiyonu’ndaki kursiv yazılı bir yazmayı, Uygur harfli mantravinyāsa’nın (“mantra’nın tertibi”) – eserin ana ritüel kısmı – Sanskritçe metni olarak tespit eder. Yeni tanımlanan bu parça, Moğol İmparatorluğu döneminde Uygur Budizminin geç evresinde Sanskritçenin önemine bir kez daha tanıklık eder.

The tantric Buddhist work Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti (“Chanting of the Names of Mañjuśrī”) was very popular among the Uyghurs during the Yuan period (1279–1368 CE). The article identifies a manuscript in cursive writing from the St. Petersburg Collection as the Sanskrit text of the mantravinyāsa (“The arrangement of the mantra”) – the core ritual part of the work – in Uyghur script. This newly identified piece testifies once more to the importance of Sanskrit in the late phase of Uyghur Buddhism during Mongol rule.

Keywords

Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgīti, Eski Uygurca, Sankritçe, Tantrik Budizm

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