Complete edition of the Old Turkic cycle of legends Dasakarmapathavadanamala

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Jens Peter Laut
• Subject Area: Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies ; General and Comparative Literature and Cultural Studies
• Term: from 2010 to 2015
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 182761681

Many works of Old Ugyhur literature are extant only in fragmentary form, but some are much better preserved. These materials are of paramount importance for linguistic and cultural studies. One of these works is a cycle of stories bearing the title Dasakarmapathavadanamala (Garland of legends which pertain to the ten courses of action, abbreviated as DKPAM in the following). It is the most important narrative work in preislamic Central Asia. Its Old Uyghur version was translated from a version in Tocharian A, which in turn goes back to a Tocharian B original. Interestingly, a Sogdian translation represented by one leaf was identified as well. A Tumshuqese version of one story (Hamsasvara Avadana), which has a parallel in Old Uyghur and in Tocharian B, was recently introduced to the public by DIETER MAUE during the conference Tocharian Texts in Context (Vienna). A parallel version is not found in Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan literature, which enhances the importance of the Central Asian fragments. Very few fragments in Tocharian A and B of the DKPAM are extant. An interesting fragment in Tocharian B was recently identified by Dr. WILKENS. Even though the Old Uyghur translation is completely preserved in this passage, its interpretation and translation could be improved by comparing the Tocharian fragment in cooperation with Dr. PEYROT. It turned out that a Tocharian B parallel of the Mahendrasena Avadana, which had been recently identified by Dr. PEYROT, was even more helpful for the work on the Mahendrasena Avadana in Old Uyghur. Additionally, Dr. WILKENS was informed by HIROTOSHI OGIHARA that a small fragment in Tocharian B, in which the proper name Kancanasara is mentioned, has been identified. Thus, fragments of the Kancanasara Avadana are extant in three languages: Old Uyghur, Sogdian and Tocharian B (the latter being presumably the model of the Sogdian version).While from the other versions in Central Asian languages only small fragments survive, the Old Uyghur version is one of the four most substantial works of Uyghur Buddhist literature, the other three being the Sutra of Golden Light, the Biography of Xuanzang, and the Maitrisimit. Despite its importance, the DKPAM is heretofore known only in parts. The edition of the DKPAM, which is under preparation, will make this work accessible for the first time in all its testimonies. Numerous new fragments were identified and located by Dr. WILKENS. Content and structure of the DKPAM were reconstructed in large parts. The most important narrative work of preislamic Central Asia will be accessible to the scholarly world in an edition and in a translation into German, accompanied by a detailed commentary and a long glossary.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants