DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.36954#0169
LORE SANDER
REMARKS ON THE FORMAL BRAHMI OF GILGIT,
BAMIYAN, AND KHOTAN
with an Appendix of Selected Inscriptions from Thor North
(Pakistan)
In recent years O. von HINUBER has several times called atten-
tion to the close relationship between the Buddhist centres of
Gilgit and Khotan. This relationship is not only reflected by
Khotanese names and titles in colophons of Gilgit mss., as e.g.
the title /<?f% (v. HINUBER 1980a: 76, 78),
or the name of a donor's wife called (v. HIN-
UBER 1982: 59), but also by a common literary tradition, as to
be seen from the popularity of the Samghatasutra (v. HINUBER
1982: 51—53) andtheBhaisajyagurusutra(EMMERICK* 1979a:
20, 28) in both regions, to mention only two of them. Further-
more, Gidagitti occurs in an itinerary of a Buddhist, who de-
scribes his route from some unidentified places in Central Asia
to Kashmir (BAILEY 1936; 1968). He passed Gilgit and Chilas
on his way to the south-west. Even from this broad Outline of
cultural exchange one can assume that it may also have had some
influence on the Brahmi script, which was used in both regions.
The Khotanese Brahmi is attested in two main types, a formal
and a cursive one. The formal Brahmi script was exclusively used
for writing sacred Buddhist texts, and the cursive one more often
for secular subjects (already HOERNLE 1916/1970: XIV). Secular
1 My warmest thanks to Professor EMMERICK who provided me with
photos from Khotanese mss. Professor BECHERT contributed photos of
Sanskrit mss. from the German Turfan collection for which I am very
grateful.
107
REMARKS ON THE FORMAL BRAHMI OF GILGIT,
BAMIYAN, AND KHOTAN
with an Appendix of Selected Inscriptions from Thor North
(Pakistan)
In recent years O. von HINUBER has several times called atten-
tion to the close relationship between the Buddhist centres of
Gilgit and Khotan. This relationship is not only reflected by
Khotanese names and titles in colophons of Gilgit mss., as e.g.
the title /<?f% (v. HINUBER 1980a: 76, 78),
or the name of a donor's wife called (v. HIN-
UBER 1982: 59), but also by a common literary tradition, as to
be seen from the popularity of the Samghatasutra (v. HINUBER
1982: 51—53) andtheBhaisajyagurusutra(EMMERICK* 1979a:
20, 28) in both regions, to mention only two of them. Further-
more, Gidagitti occurs in an itinerary of a Buddhist, who de-
scribes his route from some unidentified places in Central Asia
to Kashmir (BAILEY 1936; 1968). He passed Gilgit and Chilas
on his way to the south-west. Even from this broad Outline of
cultural exchange one can assume that it may also have had some
influence on the Brahmi script, which was used in both regions.
The Khotanese Brahmi is attested in two main types, a formal
and a cursive one. The formal Brahmi script was exclusively used
for writing sacred Buddhist texts, and the cursive one more often
for secular subjects (already HOERNLE 1916/1970: XIV). Secular
1 My warmest thanks to Professor EMMERICK who provided me with
photos from Khotanese mss. Professor BECHERT contributed photos of
Sanskrit mss. from the German Turfan collection for which I am very
grateful.
107