The Seal of Daichin Shasa-Byuja Khan

Abstract

Introduction. The seal of Daichin Shasa-Byuja Khan holds a special place among those once owned by Kalmyk rulers and landlords. The seal was granted to the Kalmyk Khan Tseren-Donduk by the 7th Dalai Lama. It is uniquely distinguished by that this is the only royal seal to bear the title of its owner. Goals. The article aims to introduce sigillographic data from the seal of Tseren-Donduk into scientific circulation, reveal the meaning of the title ‘Daichin Shasa-Byuja Khan’, and propose a hypothesis of its origin. Materials and methods. The study analyzes letters of Tseren-Donduk to Saratov Voivode V. P. Beklemishev and Astrakhan Governor I. P. Izmailov stored at the National Archive of Kalmykia. The employed research methods are the comparative historical one and that of literary investigation. Results. The work introduces a translation of this title supplemented with a hypothesis of its origin. The former is exemplified by another monument of Tibetan sphragistics which has a legend in Sanskrit written in the ʼPhags-pa script . The paper clarifies the meaning of the title ‘Daichin Shasa-Byuja Khan’, articulates the legend on Tseren-Donduk’s seal, gives an example of a similar Tibetan seal, and also delivers a hypothesis on origins of the title.

Keywords

• kalmykia
• seal
• sphragistics
• kalmyk sphragistics
• daichin shasa-byuja khan
• ʼphags-pa script
• tibet
• sanskrit