The Phrase debisker-tür baγulγabai in Mongolian Colophons
A number of colophons of Buddhist sutras translated from Tibetan into Mongolian contain the phrase de-bisker-tür baγulγabai (lit. «put down on a mat»). This Mongolian phrase renders the Tibetan expression gtan la phab - a cliché used in colophons of Buddhist texts translated from Sanskrit to designate the accomplishment of the translator's or editor's work. The unusual Mongolian translation of this term is probably based on a simple mistake that comes from the visual similarity of the Tibetan words gtan («completely») and gdan («mat, cushion»). The occurrence of the phrase debisker-tür baγulγabai in Mongolian translations of Tibetan colophons reflects a certain trend in the practice of the Mongolian translators of the 17th-18th centuries - the tendency to follow the Tibetan text word by word.