See Also: Tocharian(dictionary)
torana(dictionary)
torana(encyclopedia)
Tocharian languages(encyclopedia)

Tocharian languages (sh) and torana (sh)


Tocharian languages (sh)




or Tokharian Languages

Two extinct Indo-European Languages, Tocharian A and Tocharian B, formerly spoken in the Tarim River Basin in China.

Documents date back to AD 500-700. Tocharian literature, written in a northern Indian syllabary derived from Brahmi (see Indic Writing systems), was preserved in Buddhist monasteries. Spoken at the eastern frontier of the Indo-European world, Tocharian shows the influence of Indo-Aryan and Iranian Languages but seems closer to western Indo-European Languages in vocabulary and grammar.


torana (sh)




Indian gateway, usually of stone, marking the entrance to a Buddhist shrine or stupa or to a Hindu temple.

Toranas typically consist of two pillars carrying two or three transverse beams that extend beyond the pillars on either side. Strongly reminiscent of wooden construction, toranas are often covered from top to bottom with exquisite sculpture. The four toranas of the Great Stupa at Sanchi (see Sanchi sculpture) are superb examples. See also torii.