An Oirat Fragment of the Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra in the Collection of the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts

The Mongolian collection of IOM RAS preserves one folio of a manuscript in Clear Script that contains the Oirat translation of the Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā Sutra. Before 2023, the folio was stored among mixed manuscript fragments that were delivered to the Imperial Academy of Sciences in the 18^th c. This fact, along with the characteristics of its paper and ductus, allows to conjecture that the manuscript was produced in the 18^th c. The left and right margins of the folio are neatly cut off, which suggests that the manuscript was handled by collectors in the same period (similar traces were left on other Tibetan and Mongolian pothi manuscripts that were delivered to Russia and Europe in the 18^th c.). The folio preserved at IOM RAS is the only specimen of the Oirat translation of the Śatasāhasrikā described today. The translation style is similar to that of the Oirat Zaya Pandita (1599–1662), although his authorship remains to be confirmed. In the paper, the facsimile of the folio is presented along with the transliteration of the Oirat text (in collation with the Tibetan source), and its translation into Russian.