Miscellanea in the Brāhmī script from the Berezovsky and Krotkov collections (IOM, RAS) with an appendix: ВФ-4190

Abstract

The main part of this article provides a complete edition (description, trans-literation, transcription, preliminary translation, annotation as well as the reproduction of the photographs) of forty-two fragments in different languages, circulated along the northern Silk Road, today in the territory of modern Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region (PR China) in pre-Mongolian times: Sanskrit, Tocharian A/B, Old Uyghur [hereaf-ter: 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 ex-tracts from Buddhist texts such as Abhidharmadīpavibhāṣaprabhāvr̥ tti, Prajñāpāramitā, Prasādapratibhodbhava, Prātimokṣasūtra, Pravāraṇasūtra, Saṃyuktāgama, Suvarṇa-bhāsottamasūtra, 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.