INFORMATION ABOUT THE JOURNEY OF THE KALMYK БААЗА БАГШИ IN THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE 13TH DALAI LAMA

Abstract

This article investigates the presence of the Kalmyk Buddhist monk and pilgrim Baaza Bagshi (Baaza Menkezhuev) in the Tibetan language biography of the 13th Dalai Lama, Thubten Gyatso (Tib. thub bstan rgya mtsho;1876-1933), shedding new light on previously understudied aspects of Kalmyk Tibetan religious relations. While Baaza Bagshi’s own travel narrative - The Tale of the Journey to the Tibetan Landhas long served as a key source on his pilgrimage to Tibet from 1891 to 1893, until recently, no corroborating evidence had been found in Tibetan sources. Through a careful philological and historical examination of the Dalai Lama’s biography, A Necklace of Marvelous Jewels, authored by Phurbuchok Thubten Jampa Tsultrim Tendzin, this study identifies and analyzes detailed references to Baaza Bagshi’s visits, his ritual interactions with the Dalai Lama, and the honors he received, including long life initiations and official seals. The article offers a nuanced portrayal of Baaza Bagshi as both a religious representative and cultural emissary of the Kalmyk people. It documents the significant support he received from Kalmyk nobility, particularly the noyon of the Maloderbetovskii ulus, and explores his embeddedness in a longstanding family lineage of Buddhist clerics linked to the Dundu Khurul monastery one of the most prominent religious and artistic centers of Kalmykia at the time. The work also situates BaazaBagshi’s journey within the broader tradition of Buddhist pilgrimage and diplomacy, emphasizing the importance of first person narrative in prerevolutionary Kalmyk literature and the role of Tibetan biographical texts (Tib. rnam thar) as rich sources for reconstructing interregional historical networks. By bringing Tibetan and Kalmyk sources into dialogue, the article contributes to the growing body of research on the mobility of Buddhist practitioners across Inner Asia and the cultural flows that shaped the religious and political landscape of the late Qing and Russian imperial frontiers. It also underscores the need for interdisciplinary methodologies combining historical, textual, and linguistic expertise, particularly in cases involving multilingual and cross cultural documentation. Ultimately, this study deepens our understanding of the spiritual ties between Tibet and Kalmykia and highlights the role of pilgrimage as a vehicle for both personal religious fulfillment and transregional connectivity in the Buddhist world.