Miscellanea in the Brāhmī Script from the Berezovsky and Krotkov Collections (IOM, RAS) with an appendix: ВФ-4190 (Part II)

Abstract

The main part of this article provides a complete edition (description, transliteration, transcription, preliminary translation, annotation as well as the reproduction of the photographs) of forty-two fragments in different literary languages, circulated along the northern Silk Road, today in the territory of modern Xinjiang (PR China) in pre-Mongolian times: Sanskrit, Tocharian A/B, Old Uyghur [hereafter: Uyghur]. Their common feature is the use of the standard North Turkestan Brāhmī and its Tocharian and Uyghur varieties. In terms of content, the fragments include extracts from Buddhist texts such as Abhidharmadīpavibhāaprabhāvtti, Prajāpāramitā, Prasādapratibhodbhava, Prātimokasūtra, Pravāraasūtra, Sayuktāgama, Suvarabhāsottamasūtra, Udānavarga. There are also some Tocharian B document fragments. Several of these texts are found on the back of Chinese scrolls. The Chinese texts have been identified. Where possible, a reconstruction of the relevant section of the scroll has been added. An introduction provides general background information. The lexis of the edited manuscripts is given in concordances.