The More Accessible Key to Knowledge by Ven. Nanzad-Agramba: On the Sutra of Grammar of Written Mongolian

Abstract

Introduction. Tibetan-language scriptures created by Mongolian monastic scholars and related studies are extremely few. To date, we are aware of a total of ten such scriptures. Goals. So, the article aims to introduce one such text into scientific circulation, the rest be examined in a series of subsequent works. Materials and methods. The study employs the historical comparative method and those of scientific identification, analysis and synthesis. Results. The paper reveals some errors and inaccuracies that contradict available historical and textual data. Comparative insights into classical works of the designated period identify certain lettering proper (some letters classified neither as vowels nor as consonants in the attempted grammar of written Mongolian) and letter-naming differences, as well as somewhat invariants for same grammatical terms. The analysis has also yielded data unavailable in other works on written Mongolian. Conclusions. The paper reveals evidence of existence of a Mongolian writing school in the fifteenth century, and shows the stylistic levels were distinguished by certain writing patterns.

Keywords

• mongolian clerics that wrote tibetan
• grammar of written mongolian
• nanzad-agramba
• unusual letters
• mongolian writing school
• kavyadarsha
• colophon
• xylograph