GLOSSARY DROPLETS OF NECTAR BY THE BURYAT SCHOLAR RINCHEN NOMTOEV: UNKNOWN SOURCE IN CLASSICAL MONGOLIAN WRITING

Abstract

The article is devoted to Rinchen Nomtoev’s previously unexplored work in the Old Mongolian script — a small glossary to his own commentary on the nitishastra by the ancient Indian philosopher Nagarjuna A Drop That Feeds People. Rinchen Nomtoev was the abbot of a Buddhist temple and was engaged in enlightenment of the Buryat people, publishing dictionaries, commentaries on Buddhist texts. The glossary discussed in the article was intended for ordinary laymen and was written to clarify terms that are difficult to understand. R. Nomtoev transfers complex terms in tracing paper to the Buryat-Mongolian script from Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese.