Buddha Mani · The Moon God · Elias Thorn
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Buddha Mani · The Moon God

Bilingual hymn to Mani · Old Uyghur version · U99–U103, lines 245–280

1 […] [the radiant Sun God] […] the Moon God […].

2 Like [the crown of the god Hormuzt], like [the nectar of the god Azrua], shining to behold, my father, Mani Buddha. Therefore, for this reason, [I praise you and bow down].

3 Like the cintamani jewel, you are worthy to be [raised] to the very crown of the head. Yes, you are worthy.

4 Thus [you shine] with the holy splendour of keeping the commandments. Thus [you are] radiant among […], shining to behold, my father Mani. Therefore, for this reason, I praise you and bow down.

5 [You] remove greed and the other passions without obstruction, completely, leaving nothing. [You], whose nature is blessed nirvana(?). You are worthy to be carried on the crowns of the heads of all the ancient buddhas. Therefore, for this reason, [I praise you] and bow down.

6 [You] become manifest on the paths of [good thought] among living beings who are to be liberated. Supremely pure […] revealing […] jewels of the Teaching […]. Therefore [I praise you and bow down].

7 Commandments, teaching, concentration; jewels endowed with virtues […], like a river of pearls […].

8 Following the good […] worthy of wonder […] farmer […] of wealthy [donors] […] alms […].

9 From time to time […] wholeheartedly cultivating great reverence, increasing it […]. Before this holy jewel—the assembled community—I, aryaman frishtum khoshtyr(?), bow with deep respect and touch [the earth] with my forehead. Son […].

10 […] completed(?) […] god […] desir[…]. [End of the surviving sequence of leaves.]

Reading notes

The praise of Mani draws on images of radiance and precious objects: the Sun, Moon, crown and cintamani jewel. The repeated act of bowing joins these comparisons into one hymn.

In the closing section, reverence is also directed to the community, called a holy jewel. The passage speaks through praise and ritual address.

English rendering of the Russian working translation, with the same passage boundaries and uncertainties. The underlying working translation from the ancient text’s transliteration has not received independent philological review. […] marks damage or loss; ⟨…⟩ preserves an undeciphered passage in the edition’s transliteration, including internal editorial marks. Square brackets indicate supplied or conjecturally restored words; (?) marks an uncertain interpretation. The Russian working text follows the published Old Uyghur column of the bilingual hymn, including its marked restorations. A restoration is not a surviving manuscript reading; the dependence of each restoration on the Tocharian parallel has not been separately checked. Coverage: U99 verso to U103 recto, lines 245–280 of the Pothi-book. “Moon God” is an image within the hymn, not the title of a separate complete narrative. Cintamani is a wish-fulfilling jewel; Hormuzt and Azrua remain as names. The sequence of titles in line 278, the connection of the phrase about nirvana, and the damaged closing line remain uncertain. Sources: Anthologia Manichaica Orientalia IV, pp. 13–16; selected lexical comparisons with S. N. C. Lieu’s Manichaean Old Uyghur dictionary (2026.2).

Open source ↗ (https://www.manichaeism.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DB-Antholog.-4-Hymns.pdf#page=15)

Tocharian and Old Uyghur transliteration (https://www.manichaeism.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/DB-Antholog.-4-Hymns.pdf#page=15)