Mythology of Buddhism in Tibet and Mongolia (Guide to Lamaist Collection of Prince Ukhtomsky)

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The German work Mythologie des Buddhismus in Tibet und der Mongolei by the great Buddhologist Albert Grünwedel (Leipzig, 1900) has been translated into English for the first time by Dr. Mrs. Sushama Lohia who did her doctorate under the iconic Mongolist Prof. Walther Heissig. The book traces the development of the Buddhist pantheon in India, its dissemination to Tibet in the first period, Indian and Tibetan masters, and the conversion of the Mongols to the Gelukpa denomination who inherited the rich iconography of Lamaism. The major part is devoted to the iconics of the tutelary deities (yi.dam), Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, goddesses, dākinīs, Dharmapālas and local deities. Detailed end-notes are followed by an index. It is a foundational work on Lamaist iconography of Tibet and Mongolia, and a sine qua non for historians of Buddhist art in India and its evolution in the Lamaist world.

Dr. Mrs. Sushama Lohia did her Masters in Sanskrit from the University of Delhi, studied Mongolian under Prof. Walther Heissig, got her doctorate from the University of Bonn in 1968 on the translation and annotations on "Mongol Tales of the 32 Wooden Men" in the 1746 (1686) version (publ. Otto Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden). She wrote on "Lalitavajra's Manual of Buddhist Iconography" known as Sku.brñan sum.brgya in Tibetan or "300 Icons" with a preface by Lcan.skya Hutuktu (1717-86). Daughter of Prof. Raghuvira and sister of Prof. Lokesh Chandra.

Transbaikalia is the key to the heart of Asia, the forepost of Russian civilisation at the frontiers of the 'Yellow Orient' which even in our days, lives under a prehistoric regime. It is the principal link between the Buryats and the treasures of ancient Hindu wisdom. One cannot help taking it into account.

Among us, in Russia, there exists a world of religious phenomena, about which nothing has been written uptil now, and to which one has paid very little attention in general. I am speaking about [VIII] Tibetan Buddhism, practised in our empire by some hundreds of thousands of nomads.