Towards a Comparative Study of Diff erent-Time Oirat Translations of “The Sutra of the Wise and the Fool” (Based on the Material of a Parallel Corpus of Texts)

The creation of a parallel Tibetan-Oirat corpus with the inclusion of the Tibetan “Sutra the Wise and the Fool” (“Zanlundo”) and its Oirat translation made by Zaya-pandita Namkhai Jamtso (1599–1662) between 1650 and 1661, provides an opportunity to study the principles and rules of translation characteristic of the creative manner of the creator of “Clear Script”. The inclusion in the corpus as a second example of the translation of the sutra, the author of which is the Kalmyk Buddhist priest Tugmyud-gavdzhi (O.M. Dordzhiev) (1887–1980), seems very relevant. This is evidenced by examples taken from the texts of two translations concerning the selection of diverse vocabulary characterizing the greatness and wealth of the kings who once ruled on the Dzambutib continent, giving descriptions of palace life, the realities of ancient Indian society. Two translations of the Sutra, compiled at an interval of three centuries, allows us to form a certain idea of the principles and rules of translation that both translators adhered to. The diff erences are that the fi rst of them, Zaya-pandita, was the one who stood at the origins of the Oirat translations. In addition to creating a new script, he laid the foundations for the work of translating classical Buddhist texts into the Oirat language. The translation of Tugmyud-gavdji, in addition to being a clear evidence of the existence of the “todo bichig” script among the Kalmyks up until the 1960s, demonstrates the translator’s desire to convey the main ideas of the monument to his contemporaries, as well as his desire to pass on Buddhist values to future generations.