Indian Antiquary Vol 58

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Charles E A W Oldham, S Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarka
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 163

August, 1929)
NOTES ON KHOTAN AND LADAKH
149
As regards the site of Gospinga, Sir Aurel Stein believes that it was built at the place where is now found the Muhammadan shrine of Kohmari on the left bank of the Yurung-Kash river, where it leaves the hills. Sir Aurel Stein is certainly right in his identification. I should like to add, however, that about ten miles higher up, on the same river, there is situated a place, which is marked on the map as Lang-ruh. Here the ancient Tibetan name has survived, for the Tibetan glan-ru, pronounced lang-ru, means "ox-horn," just as does Goś. ringa. I do not mean by this, however, that the site of the old famous monastery of Gośținga would have to be moved upstream by this discovery of its Tibetan name. I merely wish to observe that, according to my observations, Tibetan monasteries often comprise a lot of ground. Their territories stretch up in a valley for miles. At certain distances from the chief buildings, there are found hermitages or houses of small brotherhoods, perhaps of different nationalities. Therefore, I consider it quite possible, that several miles distant from the chief buildings of Gośpinge, there was found a smaller establishment, peopled by Tibetan Buddhists and named in the Tibetan language, and it is just the latter name that has survived till now.
As regards relics of the Chinese times of Turkestan, Chinese coins of the T'ang dynasty are very common, especially at Yotkan. My collection was examined by Fräulein von Gabain, and a list was drawn up, which contained even specimens which had not yet been found by Sir Aurel Stein. (See Plate, opposite.)
With regard to Chinese documents, fragments of Buddhist writings are very common among them. They are practically in all cases portions of the Buddhist canon, which has remained unaltered down to the present time, and are therefore not received with great enthusiasm by scholars. For more welcome are documents on wood and paper, which were issued by Chinese officials and often dated in the reigns of various emperors. Several of these documents have been published in Appendix A of Ancient Khotan. My own collection also contains several similar documents.
The time of the Chinese régime was a period of high Buddhist culture. Sanskrit Buddhist works were studied in the original, and translations undertaken into Sakian, the language of Khotan, and into Tokharian. A certain kind of character was used both for Sak'an and Sanskrit, which has now become known by the name of Kashgar-Brahmi. Sanskrit works, which have been found in the sands of Turkestan, are the Prajnapdramitas, in particular Vajracchedikd; Saddharmapuridarska, Buddhacarita, Gunaparyantastotra. A Buddhist work translated into Sakian, was at first believed to be a version of the Maitreyasamiti, but does not quite answer to that title.
During the time of the Chinese, also other forms of religion entered Turkestan from the west. The Nestorian form of Christianity was introduced into Kashgar, Yarkand and the cases of the north, and Manicheism followed it closely. Both these forms of religion availed themselves of the Syriac form of writing, and Syriac characters were soon learned by the Uigurs, who used them for their translations of Buddhist, Christian and Manichean books. Later on the Syriac characters were even introduced into Mongolia.
As regards Turkestan art work, sculptures and stucco works were apparently continued in the Gandhára style ; but here we may observe that, as the demand was great, moulds were often made and the same figure reproduced many times. For the art of painting, Persian methods were partly adopted.
It is noteworthy that the excavations at Yotkan and other places bring to light also any amount of glass beads, very artistically made, like those of modern Venetian work. It is very difficult to say what country they came from. But it ought to be added, that exactly the same type of glass-beads were excavated also at Balu-mkhar in Ladakh : (see Indian Antiquary, 1905, p. 203 ff.)
5 As also noticed by F. W. Thomas: see his article 4 The language of Ancient Khotan," Asia Major, vol. II, p. 202.