国立情報学研究所 - ディジタル・シルクロード・プロジェクト
『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

2. A MS. Dr. K. Marx says with regard to it, 'A MS. is a small book in
16mo, bound in leather and well kept. It contains, on 109 leaves, 1st, a cosmogony
and cosmology in outline; 2nd, the genealogy of the Śākyas; 3rd, a history of the
kings of Tibet (Yar-lung); 4th, a history of the kings of Ladakh down to King
Seṅ-ge-rnam-rgyal. Throughout it is most neatly written, with comparatively few
mistakes. As it was not originally written for an outsider, but for the private
use of its owner, its text may safely be supposed not to have been altered
on purpose. The history of the kings of Ladakh down to Seṅ-ge-rnam-rgyal
fills twenty leaves.' It forms the basis of the Tibetan text of K. Marx's 'first
document'.

3. B MS. Dr. K. Marx says, 'B MS. is four loose leaves in folio, very
old-looking, very much worn at the edges and corners, and torn in some places.
It commences with the history of the second (Rnam-rgyal) dynasty of Ladakh
kings, and gives a comparatively full account of the history of Ladakh down to
the Dogra invasion. This MS. is very badly written, so much so that even
Ladakhis find it difficult to read; still, in point of evidence it ranks next to
A, and the information which it contains regarding the decline of the Ladakh
empire (since Bde-ldan-rnam-rgyal) is especially valuable.' When Dr. Marx died
in 1891, it appears that the owner of this MS. claimed his property, and took it
to his home. As Dr. Marx does not give any hints with regard to the owner's
personality, it was rather difficult to recover the MS. As already stated, Joseph
Tshe-brtan found it in the possession of Tsandan Munshi at Leh. He prepared
a copy of it, which he sent me.

4. C MS. Dr. K. Marx says, 'C MS. consists of two parts. The first part
was specially prepared by command of the wazir of Ladakh. Consequently all the
vices inherent in such MSS., as hinted at above, are manifest in it. It consists of
twenty-three folio leaves. It is very carelessly written, and the text is very
incomplete. It is much inferior to either A or B. It is obvious in several
places that alterations were introduced on purpose, and the principle underlying
this practice can easily be discovered: it is to avoid, in the first place, the
miraculous; secondly, anything that may be offensive to the Dogra reader; and
thirdly, all that may throw an unfavourable light on the royal family. Still, there
are preserved in it a few passages that are new, and they will be found introduced
in their proper places, and specially marked A and B. This MS. covers the
entire history of the kings of Tibet (Yar-lung) and of Ladakh till close upon the
Dogra invasion. It also contains an interlinear translation into Urdu, but written
in Tibetan (dbu-med) characters.'

'The second part of C MS. was prepared for me, at my special request, by the
writer of the first part, who is the head of one of the ancient families that presided
over important functions under the old régime. As I am not an official personage,
I think I need not apprehend that he withheld the truth from me. In this
portion he relates almost exclusively the events of the Dogra wars and the fall