Buddhist Monastic Life in Central Asia — A Bilingual Text in Sanskrit and Old Uyghur Relating to The Pravāraṇā Ceremony

Year 2020, Volume: 2 Issue: 2, 137 - 152, 31.12.2020

Jens Wilkens

https://doi.org/10.46614/ijous.833152

Cited By: 2

Abstract

Bilingual texts in Old Uyghur and Sanskrit in Brāhmī script are essential for the understanding of how the Indian Buddhist tradition came to be appropriated by the Uyghurs in general, but especially during the Yuan Dynasty (1279–1368 CE). Some manuscripts represent Vinaya related materials which are missing altogether in monolingual Old Uyghur texts. The article introduces a bilingual fragment (Sanskrit and Old Uyghur) in Uyghur script housed in the Turfan Collection in Berlin which belongs to the Karmavācanā literature and deals with the pravāraṇā ceremony. This monastic ritual was celebrated after the annual retreat of three months during the rainy season (Skt. varṣā). In the Sanskrit part the fragment corresponds well with the Sanskrit Karmavācanā literature from Central Asia, whereas the Uyghur instructions on the recto are quite unique.

Keywords

Old Uyghur, Sanskrit, bilingual texts, Central Asian Buddhism, festivals, pravāraṇā, karmavācanā

Supporting Institution

Academy of Sciences and Humanities (Göttingen)

Thanks

I would like to thank the following two institutions for giving me the permission to publish the fragment discussed below: Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften and Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Orientabteilung. Hans Nugteren, Hirotoshi Ogihara, and Peter Zieme have read a draft of the article. I would like to express my thanks for their remarks and suggestions.

Orta Asya'da Budist Manastır Hayatı - Pravāraṇā Kutlaması Üzerine Sanskritçe ve Eski Uygurca Çift Dilli bir Metin

Abstract

Brāhmī harfli Sanskritçe ve Eski Uygurca çift dilli metinler, Hint Budist geleneğinin genel olarak Uygurlarda ⸻ fakat özellikle de Yuan Hanedanlığı döneminde (MS 1279–1368) ⸻ nasıl sahiplenildiğinin anlaşılması için gereklidir. Bu yazmaların bazıları, tek dilli Eski Uygurca metinlerde tamamen kayıp olan Vinaya ile ilişkili materyalleri sunmaktadır. Bu çalışma, karmavācanā edebiyatına ait olan ve Berlin Turfan Koleksiyonu’nda korunan Uygur harfli çift dilli bir fragmanı (Sanskritçe ve Eski Uygurca) tanıtmakta ve pravāraṇā törenini ele almaktadır. Bu manastır töreni, yağmur mevsiminde (Skt. varṣā) üç ay süren yıllık geri çekilmeden sonra kutlanırdı. Ön sayfadaki Uygurca talimatlar oldukça özgünken, Sanskritçe bölümde, fragman Orta Asya’daki Sanskritçe Karmavācanā edebiyatına bir hayli uyumludur.

Keywords

Eski Uygurca, Sanskritçe, çift dilli metinler, Orta Asya’da Budizm, kutlamalar, pravāraṇā, karmavācanā

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