On the Sogdian Prątihārya-sūtra and the Related Problems
On the Sogdian Prątihārya-sūtra and the Related Problems

One Aspect of the Buddhist Sogdian texts from Turfan

Summary/Abstract: In this paper three Buddhist Sogdian texts discovered from Turfan are identified and edited. These are unique among the Buddhist Sogdian texts in that they are not translated from the Chinese prototypes, but are dependent on, if not translated from, the originals which were popular among the Buddhists resident in Kucha, Karashahr or Turfan, i.e. the area along the Northern Silk Road, whereas most Buddhist Sogdian texts are shown to have been translated from Chinese originals. The three are the Sogdian versions of (1) the Karmavibhaṅga, (2) the so-called Prātihārya-sūtra or chapter twelve of the Divyāvadāna, and (3) the legend of King Kāñcanasāra. The last one constitutes the fifth chapter of the Daśakarmapathavadānamālā, of which the Tocharian and Uighur versions have been discovered.

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