Ogihara Hirotoshi. A Newly Identified Kuchean Fragment of the Hariścandrāvadāna
Housed in the Russian Collection // Written Monuments of the Orient. 1(7), 2018. P. 35–54.
This paper introduces one Kuchean (i.e. Tocharian B) fragment housed in the
Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, Russian Academy of Sciences. The fragment has been
identified as part of the Hariścandrāvadāna. This narrative is in the sixth chapter of the
Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā in Old Uyghur. The colophon of this compilation in Old
Uyghur states that it was translated from the Tocharian A translation, which itself had been
translated from the Tocharian B original. The comparison between this newly identified
Kuchean fragment of the Hariścandrāvadāna and the Old Uyghur version reveals that in
both, discrepancies and parallel parts are observable. Thus, whether this Kuchean
fragment belongs to the Kuchean version of the Daśakarmapathāvadānamālā or is part of
the compilation of Buddhist legends in Kuchean remains uncertain.
The Annual IOM Academic Session “The Written Heritage of the Orient as the Basis for Classical Tradition of Oriental Studies” will be held on December 1–3, 2025.
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