Vol 20, No 1 (2023)

The article presents a part of a Russian translation (with an introduction and commentaries) of the important treatise: Dalil al-mutahayyirin (“A Guide for the Perplexed”) by Sayyid Kazim Rashti, one of the founders of the Shaykhi school. The work is dated 1842. The translation is made from the Arabic original and two Persian translations of the treatise.

The similarity between the contents of the “Vajrasūcika-upaniṣad” and the “Āpta-vajrasūcī-upaniṣad” (both ascribed to Śaṃkara, 9th century) and that of the “Vajrasūcī” (ascribed to the Buddhist thinker Aśvaghoṣa, 2nd century) demonstrates that the dividing line between the Buddhist and Brāhmaṇic written cultures were not entirely impermeable. These texts describe what makes one a true brāhmaṇa. Aśvaghoṣa’s authorship of the “Vajrasūcī” is proved by three facts: (1) tradition unambiguously ascribing its authorship to him, (2) the worship formula in the maṅgala-śloka is addressed to Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and (3) some stylistic features bring this treatise together with the style of early Mahāyāna texts (Madhyamaka school). At the same time, the treatise is composed within pure Brāhmaṇic conceptual field, it contains neither mentions nor allusions to Buddhist notions, but its main thesis is that the concept of brahminhood is internally contradictory. Besides, different authoritative texts give conflicting expositions of qualities that make one a brāhmaṇa. Nevertheless, this text was accepted by Brāhmaṇic school of Advaita Vedānta and ascribed to Śaṃkara, and its main thesis was reformulated as the idea that it is only knowledge of Ātman that makes one a true brāhmaṇa.

Evgeny I. Kychanov was well known in Chinese academic circles since 1980s, and his translations of the ancient Tangut manuscripts into Russian are often used by Chinese scholars as reference material. This article is based on the example of “The Revised and Newly Endorsed Code of the ‘Celestial Prosperity’ Reign” (1149–1168) translated by the scholar from Tangut into Russian; it analyzes some features of his translation work, his chosen strategies and methods, as well as gives comments of the Chinese specialists’ attitude to E.I. Kychanov’s translation of the Tangut written source.

This article presents an analysis of the introductory section of Varāhārya’s Māṅgalavāda, based on the MS housed in the collection of IOM, RAS. The title maṅgalavāda is also a common name for a number of works that belong to the Navya-nyāya tradition. The works of this genre discuss and justify the practice of maṅgala, i.e. auspicious verses at the beginning of a literary or philosophical work. Varāhārya’s Māṅgalavāda can be provisionally dated to the 17th century. So far, no references to the works of this author have been discovered, so the MS can be considered unique. The introductory section provides a brief discussion on the effectiveness of the maṅgala practice, and on the cause-and-effect relationship between the maṅgala and its result. Varāhārya makes use of Nyāya terminology, but at the same time considers maṅgala a kind of ritual. Due to its ritual context, the work can be also attributed to the tradition of Navya-mīmāṃṣā. The article provides transliteration and translation of the introductory section, and a facsimile reproduction of the corresponding sheets of the MS.

This article presents a collection of photographs from the personal archive of A.M. Pozdneev that have been housed as a separate item (fund 44, inventory no. 3, file 15). These are both professional and amateur photographs that tell the story of the scholarly and public life of Aleksey Matveevich Pozdneev. There are also a few photographs of places he visited officially. The most remarkable achievements of the researcher were expeditions to Mongolia that he undertook in 1876–1878 and in 1892–1893. Pozdneev’s amateur photographs of Mongolian landscapes, local landmarks and people prove that the trips were carefully and meticulously organized. The documents from the Pozdneev’s archive contain a few fragments of the travel journals which he kept during his expeditions to Mongolia and which were helpful in identifying some of the photographs.

The article is dedicated to the memory of A.N. Boldyrev (1909–1993) — an outstanding Iranologist of the 20th century, a subtle connoisseur of the Persian language, a talented philologist and a brilliant translator. On June 4, 2023, 30 years will have passed after his death. His name remains important for many Iranologists both in Russia and abroad. The study of Persian literature became a part and meaning of Boldyrev’s life. Until now, his scholarly works, published in the second half of the 20th century, remain in demand and use by modern researchers. The article is based on the materials of the Archive of Orientalists of the Institute of the Oriental Manuscripts, RAS, and on A.N. Boldyrev’s Leningrad siege (1941–1944) recordings. The facts of his life once again emphasize the significance of Boldyrev’s personality and his dedication to science.