M. Vorobyova-Desyatovskaya, S. Shomakhmadov

Ajitasena-vyakarana-nirdesa‑nama-mahayana-sutra (“Mahayana Sutra called ‘The Explanation of Prophecy [for King] Ajitasena’”) of IOM RAS Manuscript Collection. Part I

Key words: Buddhism, manuscripts, Sanskrit, Brahmi script, palaeography, sutra, avadana, jataka, Serindia, Nikolay F. Petrovsky, Sergey F. Oldenburg, The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Abstract: The article is devoted to the problem of studying of the manuscript from Nikolay F. Petrovsky Manuscripts’ Collection which belongs to the Central Asian Manuscripts’ Fund of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the RussianAcademy of Sciences. It presents a brief outline of the history of the discovery and the study of two Ajitasena-vyakaran’s versions (Gilgit’s and Khotanese) as well as the manuscript paleographic description and the attempt of genre identification. Author shows the closeness the plot of Ajitasena-vyakaran with that of Ajitasena-vyakarana-nirdesha-nama-mahayana-sutra. Ajitasena-vyakaraõa is so-called ‘proto-Mahayana’ sutra which was found near Gilgit in 1931.