the Sanskrit Agamas, found at Turfan, Tun-huang, and in the Khotan
district: fragments of the dramas and poems of Asvaghosha from
Turfan: the Pratimoksha of the Sarvastivadins from Kucha and numerous
versions of the anthology called Dharmapada or Udana. The most
interesting of these is the Prakrit version found in the neighbourhood
of Khotan, but fragments in Tokharian and Sanskrit have also been
discovered. All this literature probably represents the canon as
it existed in the epoch of Kanishka and of the Gandharan sculptures,
or at least the older stratum in that canon.

The newer stratum is composed of Mahayanist sutras of which there is a
great abundance, though no complete list has been published.[526] The
popularity of the Prajna-paramita, the Lotus and the Suvarna-prabhasa is
attested. The last was translated into both Uigur (from the Chinese) and
into "Iranien Oriental." To a still later epoch[527] belong the Dharanis
or magical formulae which have been discovered in considerable
quantities.

Sylvain Levi has shown that some Mahayanist sutras were either written
or re-edited in Central Asia.[528] Not only do they contain lists of
Central Asian place-names but these receive an importance which can be
explained only by the local patriotism of the writer or the public
which he addressed. Thus the Suryagarbha sutra praises the mountain of
Gosringa near Khotan much as the Puranas celebrate in special
chapters called Mahatmyas the merits of some holy place. Even more
remarkable is a list in the Chandragarbha sutra. The Buddha in one of
the great transformation scenes common in these works sends forth rays
of light which produce innumerable manifestations of Buddhas. India
(together with what is called the western region) has a total of 813
manifestations, whereas Central Asia and China have 971. Of these the
whole Chinese Empire has 255, the kingdoms of Khotan and Kucha have
180 and 99 respectively, but only 60 are given to Benares and 30 to
Magadha. Clearly Central Asia was a very important place for the
author of this list.[529]

One of the Turkish sutras discovered at Turfan contains a discourse of
the Buddha to the merchants Trapusha and Bhallika who are described as
Turks and Indra is called Kormusta, that is Hormuzd. In another
Brahma is called Asrua, identified as the Iranian deity
Zervan.[530] In these instances no innovation of doctrine is implied
but when the world of spirits and men becomes Central Asia