Indian Antiquary Vol 59

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

Page 81

APRIL, 1
NOTES ON KHOTAN AND LADAKH
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certain influence on the formation of the Tibetan script was exercised by Khotan; and the presence of a teacher in Kashmir called Li-byin might explain this fact.
To suit the requirements of the Tibetan language, Thon-mi had to invent several characters for his alphabet. These were called ran-gis-byas, selfmade.' At first there were six, then seven of them. In an old manuscript they are called rins, but this may be a mistake for ran-gis.13 It is remarkable that the Tibetan alphabet very soon spread over the whole country and became generally known. Thus in the eighth century, as proved by the Turkestan documents, it was used by officials, soldiers, monks, cooks and peasants, in short by everybody. As exact dates are, however, missing in those documents, it is very difficult to decide which is the oldest Tibetan document left to us. Among the famous inscription stones of Lhasa, five of which were published by Waddell (JRAS., 1909, II) the oldest seems to be his Potala pillar inscription B: for in it king Khri-sron-lde-btsan's father, Khri-lde-gtsug-btsan, is mentioned as king. This would take us back to the middle of the eighth century. Of the seventh century, no datable document of Tibetan script has as yet been found. With regard to the west, I am convinced that there also we have several documents of the eighth century. Let me refer to: (1) the Balu-mkhar inscription published in this journal (Ind. Ant., vol. XXXIV, p. 203 f.; (2) the old Balti inscription (Lho-nub-mnâ-mdzad-rgyal-po); and (3) an inscription of the Indus valley between Saspo-la and Snyun-la. This inscription was published by myself in ZDMG., vol. LXI, Tafel I, No. 7. As I could not translate it at the time of publication, I left the question open. Now that I have profited from my study of Turkestan documents, and seen the inscription again (October 1914) I venture to present the following reading of it: 'aphar-ma-'adi-la-lam-rdzeg-byun. "At this difficult (passage) the road was completed." This means that the road along the river was exceedingly difficult to construct, just in the place ('aphar-ma) where the inscription was carved. When this difficulty was overcome, the road could easily be completed. What hindered me at first from reading this short inscription, was the fact that I could not recognize the letter r contained in it. The letter r was written like an inverted . This strange form of r I have now met so often in documents from Turkestan that I can read it safely. Two other letters also of ancient type are found in this inscription, viz., the 'a-chun with stroke to the right hand side, and the letter dz, which is written like the present letter j. All this makes it certain that this inscription must be dated about the middle of the eighth or the beginning of the ninth century. It is of a certain historical interest, for from it we learn that the principal road along the Indus valley lay along the river in the eighth century, that is at a time when no powder for blasting was available to the people who constructed, it. But this extraordinary road seems to have lasted for a short time only. When it broke down, the so-called upperroad,' which passed by the villages Lte-ba-Tin-mo-sgan, He-mis-shug-pa-can and Li-kir, and avoided the river Indus from Khalatse to Bab-sgo, was constructed. It was only after the conquest of Ladakh by the Dogras that the ancient road along the Indus was built again with much blasting of rocks; and nowadays people travel once more as they did 1000 years ago, and the ancient inscription is seen again from the modern road.
a
Even after the early Indian times of Western Tibet, the west was distinguished by many brilliant names. The great teacher and translator Rinchen-bzan-po, the contemporary of Atîsa, belonged to the west, where many of his buildings are still extant; the philosopher Mar-pa, the teacher of Milaraspa, had his home in Zans-dkar. Other famous names are connected with Spyi-ti, Man-yul, Gu-ge, Mnâ-ris, Gun-than, even Baltistan (sBal-ti-dgra-bcom). But the west has not yet had an advocate, and it will probably still be some time before its importance is generally recognized. But we may be sure that this time will come! 12 As stated by Laufer,