ALEXANDER CSOMA DE KŐRÖS AS FOUNDER OF EUROPEAN TIBETAN STUDIES: LEGACY AND CONTEMPORARY INTERPRETATIONS

Abstract

This article analyzes the scholarly legacy of Alexander Csoma de Kőrös and examines its significance for the emergence of European Tibetan studies and the formation of European academic knowledge about Tibetan Buddhism. The relevance of the study lies in the fact that, despite the established recognition of Csoma de Kőrös as one of the founders of Tibetan studies, his scholarly contribution has not yet become the subject of a comprehensive study in Ukrainian religious studies and Oriental scholarship. The research is based on historical-religious, historiographical, and comparative analysis of Csoma de Kőrös’s works, biographical sources, and contemporary studies on the history of Tibetan and Buddhist studies. Particular attention is paid to his Grammar of the Tibetan Language, the Tibetan–English Dictionary, his studies of the Kangyur and Tengyur, and contemporary interpretations of his scholarly legacy. The study demonstrates that Csoma de Kőrös’s initial interest in the origins of the Hungarian people gradually evolved into a systematic investigation of the Tibetan language, literature, and Buddhist tradition during his travels through Central Asia. His work in Zanskar and Kanum, together with his research on the Tibetan Buddhist canonical collections and the publication of his grammar and dictionary in 1834, laid the foundation for the systematic study of Tibetan sources by European scholars. The article also shows that contemporary historiography increasingly interprets his contribution within the broader context of the development of European Oriental studies, Tibetan studies, and Buddhist studies. Alexander Csoma de Kőrös’s scholarly legacy became an important component in integrating Tibetan Buddhism into European academic discourse. His grammar, dictionary, and textual descriptions established the linguistic, lexicographical, and textological tools that enabled the emergence of a professional tradition of studying Tibetan texts in European scholarship.