Introduction, translated from Russian and commented by M. O. SMIRNOVA The origin of traditional Tibetan linguistics is attributed by the Tibetans themselves to the creation of two grammatical treatises, Sum cu pa and Tagkijugpa, whose authorship is attributed to Thon mi sambho ta. It is believed that King Songtsen Gampo (Tib. Srong btsan sgam po) sent Thonmi Sambhota to India in 632 to invent the Tibetan alphabet. After returning to Tibet, Thonmi Sambhota created the Tibetan alphabet, and in 635 he compiled a Tibetan grammar consisting of eight treatises [Introduction to the Study of Ganchur and Danchur..., 1989, p. 26]. The first mention of Thonmi treatises is found in the History of Buddhism (Tib. Chos 'byung) by the Tibetan historian Bu ston rin chen grab. As Roy Andrew Miller points out, this essay says: yi ge dang sgra 'i bstan bcos brgyad mdzad de"having compiled eight treatises on letters and [grammatical] indicators" [Miller, 1976, p.2]. However, neither the names of the treatises, nor detailed information about their author and the time of his journey to India are given in this work. Later sources contain only brief information about the first grammatical treatises and their author [Thubten Kunga Chashab..., 2008, p. 20]. Since Thonmi Sambhot is not mentioned in early Tibetan sources, its authorship remains unproven. Thus, it is impossible to determine the time when the monument was created. According to the researchers, the structure of the text indicates that different parts of the grammar were compiled at different times and, possibly, by different authors. The earliest fragments of the grammar date back to the seventh century, while some of the most recent fragments date back to the ninth century (Ivanov, 1981, p. 195). The treatise "Sumchupa" is composed in seven-syllable verses united in slokas (Skt. sloka, tib. sho kla)1. Some researchers believe that the name refers to the number of slokas in the treatise and translates as "[Containing] thirty [slok ... Read more