The article is devoted to the first Russian Orientalist-Indologist Gerasim Lebedev, who made a trip to India in the late 18th century. During his 13-year stay in India, he collected a wealth of material on Indian culture, religion, philosophy and science. However, of all his indological works, only two were published, the content and principle of compilation of which is discussed in the article. One of them, dedicated to the description of the Calcutta colloquial dialect of Hindustani, was published in English in London in 1801, and the second - "An impartial contemplation of the systems of Eastern India of the Brahmins, their sacred rites and folk customs, dedicated to the most famous monarch" - was published in 1805 in the author's personal printing house in St. Petersburg. Lebedev was particularly interested in numerous Indian languages: during his stay in India, he studied Hindustani, Bengali, Sanskrit, etc., and compiled (in whole or in part)the following works: grammars of these languages, dictionaries, and phrasebooks. Some manuscripts (for example, the grammar of Bengali) were fully prepared for publication, but were never published. The paper uses unpublished materials from the archive of Gerasim Lebedev, stored in RGALI.

Keywords: Gerasim Lebedev, Russian traveler, Indian culture, languages of the peoples of India.

Written literary sources and folk tales testify, on the one hand, to the great interest of Russians in distant India, and on the other hand, to the fragmentary lack of knowledge about it. The lack of ties between Russia and India undoubtedly contributed to the fact that instead of real information about the peoples of India, their culture, religion and literature, for a long time in Russian society there were fantastic images of the mysterious country.

For a long time, all projects to establish trade and diplomatic relations with India, despite numerous attempts on the part of the Russians, did not succeed. Rare trips to India continued on a private initiative.¹ One of these enterprises was the journey of the Russian musician Gerasim Stepanovich Lebedev (1749-1817) to India at the end of the XVIII century.

Gerasim Lebedev was born in 1749 in Yaroslavl ² , a significant commercial center of Russia, which was visited by overseas merchants (including Indian ones). Possible,

¹ It is worth taking revenge, for example, on the famous "Walking across the Three Seas" by Afanasy Nikitin in the XV century, Philip Yefremov's journey to Tibet and India in the XVIII century, etc. Upon returning to their homeland, both travelers described their acquaintance with distant India, and their memories immediately became widely known, which indicates an interest in India in Russian society.

² Lebedev's place of birth is not exactly established. Based on the fact that Lebedev in his letters calls Yaroslavl resident Fyodor Sovkov a fellow countryman, researchers suggest that Yaroslavl should be considered a homeland

Lebedev's interest in traveling to eastern countries began in his youth. It was very difficult for Lebedev, the son of a priest who did not receive a special education (he was taught only literacy and music), to make a trip to the East. However, the musical abilities of the gifted young man (a fine cellist) were appreciated by the famous music lover - Count Andrey Kirillovich Razumovsky, ³ who in 1777 was appointed Minister plenipotentiary and envoy extraordinary to Naples and went to Europe, inviting a talented young man with him. Lebedev visited Naples, Vienna, Paris, and London, and studied European languages and music, which at the end of the eighteenth century was experiencing one of the most brilliant periods of its development. In his autobiography, he says that it was precisely because of his musical abilities that he was able to travel freely in European cities.

However, Lebedev's dream remained to travel to the East, and when the opportunity presented itself on February 12, 1785, he went to India. Lebedev sought to get acquainted with the original culture of India, but his most cherished desire was to study numerous Indian languages unknown in Europe and Russia. It is no exaggeration to say that the purpose of the trip was purely scientific - actually linguistic. Lebedev rightly considered the study of local languages to be an indispensable condition for getting acquainted with Indian culture, history, and religion, i.e., a kind of key to Indian civilization:

"Not to amuse only human friends, but more for the benefit of young men growing up in a vast and flourishing Russia... I tried... learn Bengali... Hindustani languages and as much as possible Shanskrit [Sanskrit]⁴... In order to remind you and assure you that without knowledge of these, a traveler like me in different states of the Hindustan land will never know much about many things, and about the peoples who settled in them at different times about the true news... it cannot be found "[cit. by: Gamayunov, 1956, p. 91].

The Indian land met the traveler hospitably: as soon as he landed in Madras, he received an offer from the local mayor - a great lover of music-to arrange musical performances. Lebedev signed a contract, got the opportunity to earn a living in a foreign country, and immediately began to study the local language - "Malabar" or, as Lebedev called it, "Malbar folk language"⁵. In the shortest possible time, he mastered this language, and decided to start studying Sanskrit - the" spiritual language " of India. In Madras, however, Lebedev was unable to find anyone with any knowledge of the sacred Hindu language: "In Madras, I could not decide on the recognition of the Bramgen sciences because none of the Indians were able to interpret the foundations of them, written in their spiritual language, to me in English" [Lebedev, 1805, p. III]. Lebedev was interested in Sanskrit as

Lebedev. In general, Lebedev's life and work, as well as his manuscript heritage, are insufficiently studied. Biographical information about Lebedev is very sparse, and the time of his stay in India was best reflected, because Lebedev himself described this period of his life in detail. The main source of information about Lebedev's life and work is the preface ("Forewarning") to his work "An Unbiased contemplation of the systems of Eastern India of the Brahmins, their sacred rites and folk customs", published in St. Petersburg in 1805 upon his return to his homeland. In this preface, Lebedev describes his stay in India, gives some details about himself. In 2001, a study by A. M. Kulikova "Russian Oriental Studies of the XIX century in faces" appeared, where in the chapter dedicated to Lebedev, the author, based on archival materials, clarifies some events in the life of the great traveler and certain controversial dates (the year of Lebedev's birth and the year of his departure to Europe from Russia were clarified). [Kulikova, 2001, p. 13-14].

³ It is known that A. K. Razumovsky was personally acquainted with Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven (the latter dedicated three quartets to Razumovsky).

⁴ I note that Lebedev's Sanskrit words, according to Bulich, "bear the imprint of native (Bengali) traditional pronunciation" [Bulich, 2011, p. 622]. Thus, Sanskrit is called "Shomskrit" or "Shanskrit". with your tongue.

⁵ It is difficult to reliably determine what kind of language it was. Bulich believes it was Malayalam, while other researchers believe it could have been Tamil , one of the local Dravidian languages.

the basis of a great ancient culture, the language of centuries-old Indian literature and science, which unites the diverse languages of India.

After the contract expired, Lebedev moved to Calcutta, where he tried hard to find teachers who could teach him Sanskrit to familiarize him with the "book learning of the Brahmins". For two years, he studied independently, using the available works on Indian languages. Lebedev wrote about the extraordinary difficulties faced by a European who set out to learn Sanskrit:

"This enterprise is difficult, however, because with all the attempts of curious researchers at different times, not only about the Bramgen Systems, but also about the property of their oldest Shomskrit [Sanskrit] language, Europe did not yet have accurate information at this time. And even in India itself, these objects cannot be borrowed from anyone, except the Brahmins, who regard the Europeans arriving there in no other way than as inhuman persecutors, or as their most contemptuous pariahs, who are used by them to take out and remove all kinds of uncleanness from their homes and yards" [Lebedev, 1805, S. I-II].

Finally, Lebedev's search was successful: he met a Bengali named Golok-nath Das, who knew Sanskrit, Bengali, and the Calcutta form of Hindustani. The Hindu agreed to teach Lebedev the Indian languages he knew in exchange for European music classes. The very next day, under the guidance of a teacher, Lebedev managed to "master the Sanskrit alphabet", which he was extremely happy about, as he received "the key to the invaluable treasures of Eastern sciences and knowledge." As a result of an enthusiastic study of Sanskrit, Lebedev " under the guidance of venerable Brahmins and learned pandits understood... Bramgen Alphabet ⁶, Dictionary, Grammar, Arithmetic, Calendar". From these words, it is clear that Lebedev was interested in the whole set of cultural heritage of India: literature and religion, astronomy and mathematics, etc., although, as already mentioned, his interests were mainly concentrated in the field of linguistics.

Golok-nath Das taught Lebedev the basics of Sanskrit grammar and vocabulary in Bengali pronunciation, but Lebedev never fully mastered Sanskrit. The Brahmans, among whom Lebedev's teacher also belonged, considered it a grave sin to teach foreigners the sacred language ^of Hindus7. It is significant in this respect that when the Vivadarnavasetu code of Indian traditional law "Bridge over the Ocean of Disputes" was compiled by Indian brahmans in the 70s of the XVII century, there was no such thing as a bridge over the Ocean of Disputes in the whole of India. a person who is familiar with Sanskrit and can translate this text into English. The Indians had to translate the code of laws into Persian, and N. B. Khalkhad ⁸ translated it from Persian into English.

Lebedev noted with bitterness that the English do not speak the local languages and do not seek to study them: "very few Europeans understand Bengali for their hard work", they "do not fully understand the alphabet's clear brilliance; the beak-eaters cannot even understand these verbal Hindustan linguistic pearls" (Gamayunov, 1956, p.101). It is fair to say that not all Englishmen were so indifferent to languages and culture

⁶ About this alphabet Lebedev wrote: "The alphabet, called Shomskrito, or prankrito and otherwise Dsb nakbor, that is, God-written" [Lebedev, 1805, p. V] has "great similarity and convergence in the number of letters" with the Slavic-Russian Alphabet [Lebedev, 1805, p. IX].

⁷ C. Wilkins (1750-1833) - the first Englishman who managed to learn Sanskrit, was able to find a teacher in the Bsnrsss for a lot of money. This was such an unusual phenomenon at the end of the eighteenth century, that U. Jones wrote to him in 1787: "You are the first European who ever understood Sanskrit, and you may be the last." by: Vorobyov-Desyatovsky, 1956, p. 45].

⁸ N. B. Halhad is the author of the first grammar of the Bengali language in Europs: Halhcd N. B. A Grammar of the Bengali Language. Bodhaprakasan: Printed at Hoogly in Bengal, 1778.

the conquered country: the first works about India, its culture and local languages belonged to them ⁹.

It is likely that Lebedev was familiar with the report of U. Jones, ¹⁰, read in 1786 at a meeting of the Asiatic Society in Calcutta, on the kinship relations between Sanskrit and European languages. In his speech, as you know, Jones pointed out the connection of Sanskrit with Greek, Latin, Celtic, Gothic and Old Persian languages, and regular coincidences between different forms of these languages.

Lebedev fully supported this idea, he also drew attention to the similarity of European languages with Sanskrit, tried to compare the languages he studied: "The national Shomskrit language, not only with many Asian languages, but also with European languages, has a very noticeable convergence in rules" [Lebedev, 1805, p.I].

Acquaintance with Indian culture was also important for Lebedev because he considered India to be the ancestral homeland of mankind, the cradle of European culture. Consequently, Indian culture, in his opinion, was closest to the oldest form of human culture in general, and the ancient Indian language-Sanskrit - to the proto-language (i.e., the common ancestor) of all European languages. Lebedev explained that the study of India is important, "because Eastern India, in addition to its abundance and treasures, on which not only Europe, but perhaps the whole world looks with envious eyes: there is that first-class part of the world, from which, according to various writers of everyday life, the human race has settled on the face of this earthly circle" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 1]. Lebedev wrote these words three years before Friedrich Schlegel's (1772-1829) work On the Language and Wisdom of the Indians, in which India was proclaimed the cradle of European civilization11.

In the future, however, Lebedev did not develop these ideas, since his attention was completely absorbed in the practical study of Indian languages. He considered Sanskrit to be the ancestor of many Indian languages:"...As I gave them [the Brahmins] justice in their knowledge, I gratefully received from them information about the Shomskrit language... from which the Bengali language originated... and that national dialect... used not only in the whole of India, but also among the Gypsies scattered in the world, descended from Indian nephews "[Lebedev, 1805, p. IV]. Under the guidance of his mentor Golok Nath Das, Lebedev learned Bengali and the Bengali alphabet, which was used in Bengal and for Sanskrit, as well as colloquial Calcutta.

⁹ The first Governor-General of India, Warren Hastings (1772-1785), who was proficient in several Indian languages, took an active part in the founding of the Bsngalia Asiatic Society, which was intended to unite the efforts of scholars studying India. The Asian Society discussed a wide variety of works: history, biology, mathematics, astronomy, literature and languages of India. For example, the articles of U. were published. Jones '"A Discourse on Writing Asian words in Latin Letters"," On the Mystical Poetry of the Persians and Hindus", G. T. Colebrooke's "On Sanskrit and Prakrit", D. Richardson's "List of Gypsy and Hindustani Words", etc.

¹⁰ William Jones (1746-1794) is considered the true founder of scientific indology. He was a brilliantly gifted man with extraordinary linguistic abilities. He came to India already proficient in many languages: the main European (living and dead), as well as Hebrew, Arabic, Persian and Turkish.

Works by Yandex. Metrica. Jones Lebedev was known to bury. Lebedev, for example, critically examines Jones 'article" Reasoning on the Spelling of Asian words in Latin letters." Lebedev also recognized the shortcomings of the English alphabet when trying to convey the phonetic features of individual Indian languages, but the Russian traveler expressed a special opinion on this issue: he considered Russian to be the most suitable alphabet for transmitting Indian sounds in writing.

¹¹ Referring to the ideas of W. Jones, Fr. Shlsgsl believed that in the deepest antiquity in the center of Asia there should have been an exceptionally gifted and enlightened people who spread the foundations of civilization among other peoples. At the same time, Fr. Shlsgsl argued that "India was the most likely cradle of the human race", that the "sacred" ancient Indian language preserved the features of the ancestral language to the greatest extent, and that it is in India that the features of the oldest culture of mankind can be found.

Figure 1

a form of the Hindustani language. It is obvious that Lebedev did not miss a single opportunity to get acquainted with various Indian languages.

He began to collect material for a textbook of Bengali and Hindustani, to compile a phrasebook and various dictionaries (lists of individual words, phrases, proverbs, etc.) of the studied languages. At the same time, Lebedev developed his own system for providing lexical material for Indian languages. This is what the page of his manuscript looks like: in the first column, words and phrases are written in Hindustani, in the second - in Russian and English, in the third - in Bengali. It is significant that the list of phrases translated into Indian languages opens as follows:: "The Creator of heaven and earth and all things is God" (Figure 1).

During his stay in India, Lebedev not only studied Indian culture and languages, but also decided to introduce Hindus to European art, namely theater. Lebedev translated two comedies into Bengali for the first time: "Pretense" by V. P. Jordrell and "Love is the best doctor". Lebedev took a creative approach to translating European plays: he moved the action to the Indian cities of Calcutta and Lucknow, gave the characters Indian names, added farce and mimic scenes. After Lebedev's translation was approved by Golok-nath Das and other educated Bengalis, Lebedev enthusiastically set about organizing the theater and producing plays. He wrote about his work as follows: "In between numerous preoccupations, he also managed to teach comedy to wildly laughing Bengalis; three women and ten men. And the same number taught me to sing in Hindustani words and play music composed by me in the Russian language.

Figure 2

the case of their favorite instruments "[cit. by: Gamayunov, 1956, p. 97]. Lebedev himself drew up an invitation to the premiere in Bengali with a detailed description of the performance (Figure 2).

Subsequently, Lebedev used the text of the plays he translated as a training material for improving his translation skills in Bengali and intended to include this text in the corresponding manual (Figure 3).

The premiere took place on November 27, 1795 in a crowded theater with great success. Inspired by the victory, Lebedev expanded the theater's premises and invited new actors. Lebedev was warmly supported by the local population, but British officials opposed Lebedev's activities, the theater was closed,and its director was ruined. ¹² Lebedev's failures did not end there: the entire English society of Calcutta turned against him. Lebedev tried to fight, he asked for help

¹² For more information about this difficult period of Lebedev's life, see The Russian Indianist Gerasim Stepanovich Lebedev (Vorob'svadyatovsky, 1956).

Figure 3. The last page of the play's manuscript in English and Bengali

to the English officials and to the court, but all in vain. For the English, the idea of putting on a performance in Bengali was reprehensible. Lebedev was harassed, harassed by lawsuits, and eventually arrested on a false accusation. Lebedev showed a lot of courage and perseverance, managed to justify all the charges against him, but endless litigation drained his savings and undermined his health. Ruined, embittered, and forced to interrupt his academic studies, Lebedev left the country. He dreamed of returning to Russia to apply the knowledge gained in India for the benefit of the fatherland.

Lebedev's creative search has no analogues in either Russian or world indology: the Russian traveler studied modern Indian languages (compiled textbooks, grammars and dictionaries), ancient Indian mythology, religious philosophy, mathematics, astrology, Bengali literature, etc. ¹³

In 1797 Lebedev went to England, where in 1801 he published a grammar of "pure and mixed East Indian dialects collected and systematized in Calcutta according to the Bramgen system of Sanskrit" (Lebedeff, 1801) (Fig.

¹³ For example, he translated the poem-thanksgivings of the 18th-century Bengali writer Bharot Chondro Raya(the translation manuscript is kept in the Russian Sovereign!in the Russian historical archive). The text in Bengali is accompanied by a Russian transcription and word-by-word translation, as well as lists of words and comments on the realities of Indian culture.

Figure 4

This was the grammar of the Calcutta colloquial dialect of Hindustani , an inter-regional colloquial language formed as a result of the unification of some cities in northern India (including Calcutta, where Lebedev lived) under the rule of the Turkic, Afghan and Mongolian dynasties [Zograf, 1961, p.4]. Calcutta was a rapidly growing city at the time, attracting not only Bengalis, but also other residents of India, so the Calcutta colloquial Hindustani was constantly changing under the influence of the native language of the immigrants.

"This, on the one hand, caused the use of a huge number of unambiguous forms, on the other hand, it greatly simplified the grammatical structure of Hindustani. G. S. Lebedev's grammar reflects these linguistic phenomena better than any previous or subsequent grammar of this language. This is precisely the scientific significance that it retains to this day and will never lose" (Vorob'ev-Deeyatovsky, 1956, pp. 54-55).

The Calcutta version of Hindustani, described by Lebedev, was significantly influenced by the Bengali language, which was manifested in the peculiarities of phonetics and grammar. For example, unlike standard Hindustani, the Calcutta version, like the Bengali version, does not have a gender category. Lebedev in grammar names nevertheless three

However, he does not mean the grammatical gender, but the belonging of animate beings to the biological sex. Thus, he assigned all inanimate nouns to the neuter gender (Zograf, 1963, p. 146).

Having outstanding abilities, Lebedev was able to independently study and describe the Hindustani language, developed linguistic terminology: he gave Sanskrit grammatical terms, their variants in Hindustani, and sometimes he came up with names for grammatical phenomena (for example, verb tenses). So, Lebedev describes the special verb forms available in Hindustani, which he gives the following names::

* Completed or completed: I'm ready

* Hopefully fulfilled: I think I'm ready

* Exactly done: I'm definitely ready

• Transient: I tried to keep up

• I used to keep up with what I had done long ago, etc. [RGALI, f. 195, op. 1, No. 6081, p. 50].

"Not limited to European terminology, Lebedev in most cases also gives local names of grammatical forms, although he does not have a single consistent system. It is based on the Sanskrit terminology given in the Bengali pronunciation. Along with it, there are terms of Hindustani proper, as well as borrowed ones" [Zograf, 1961, p. 13].

It is interesting to note that Lebedev uses the developed linguistic terminology of ancient Indian grammarians, in particular, the carefully developed classification of consonant sounds by place and method of formation, reflected in the Sanskrit alphabet (Fig.

In an effort to convey the true Calcutta pronunciation to Europeans, Lebedev gives a transcription. As an advantage of his work, he points out that he adheres to the Indian pronunciation in transcription:

"All the Indian utterances in this book, I wrote not to the European, but to the Indian pronunciation following; due to the neglect of which, in many European editions of the most sacred antiquities, the real meaning of the native language of these utterances is so lost that their own signification must be sought with great difficulty" [Lebedev, 1805, p. IX].

In his work, Lebedev critically analyzed the grammars of J. R. R. Tolkien. Hadley and J. Fergusson [Hadley, 1772; Fergusson, 1773], accusing the authors of distorted, as it seemed to him, pronunciation. Later researchers drew attention to the fact that Lebedev's criticism was based on a misunderstanding: Lebedev studied with a Bengali, from whom he adopted the features of Bengali pronunciation and extended them to Hindustani and Sanskrit [Zograf, 1963, p.144].

Lebedev certainly lacked special training for theoretical understanding of a variety of language material, one should only be surprised that the brilliant self-taught person managed not to get lost in the ocean of linguistic material that flooded him.¹⁴ Lebedev's grammar contains a number of inaccuracies and errors, which, unfortunately, caused researchers to distrust the facts presented in the work. But Lebedev's grammar - the first work of a Russian author on Indian philology, based on direct observation and study of language material-is still a valuable source for the colloquial version of Hindustani at the end of the XVIII century. This language data allowed the researchers to describe a particular language.

¹⁴ "For me, however, this undertaking [learning languages and writing grammars] was all the more difficult because I was not sufficiently provided with my own national vocabulary manuals until the time of my journey" [Lsbsdsv, 1805, p.II].

Figure 5

the stage of development of one of the Indian languages and take into account the social factor in the formation of the languages of India.

Returning to Russia in 1801, Lebedev enthusiastically began publishing his works on India, trying to introduce his compatriots to the culture and languages of this distant country. During the nearly 14-year journey, Lebedev collected a lot of interesting material about India, which he intended to process, prepare for publication and publish in his homeland. In addition, Lebedev brought to Russia the first collection of Indian manuscripts: the famous dictionary of synonyms "Amarakosha", a collection of fables" Hitopadesa " and other valuable manuscripts ¹⁵.

Lebedev set about setting up a printing house with an Indian font, in which it was possible to publish works about India. He sent Alexander 1 a gift of a grammar published in London and a printing house project, and received money to set up a printing press-

¹⁵ After Lebedev's death, the manuscripts he brought were sent to the Asian Museum of the Academy of Sciences, and P. Ya.Petrov published the first description of this collection.

Figure 6

fii and a personal decree on awarding Lebedev the title of Professor of Oriental Languages at the Academy of Sciences. For unknown reasons, this appointment did not take place, Lebedev "in honor of the information he acquired in East Indian scripts" received the rank of collegiate assessor and was assigned to the Asian Department in the College of Foreign Affairs.

Lebedev began to implement his plans for publishing books about India: he bought a house for a printing house, cast a typeset Bengali font, which he used to print Indian words.¹⁶ Unfortunately, Lebedev's grandiose plans did not come to fruition ¹⁷. Lebedev's only work published in Russian in 1805 is "An Unbiased Contemplation of the systems of Eastern India of the Brahmins, their sacred Rites and folk Customs" ¹⁸ (Fig.

¹⁶ The opening of the Lebedev printing house in 1805, the first printing house in Europe with a typeset Indian font, is one of the glorious pages of Russian Oriental studies. C. Wilkins ' printing house in London published the first book with an Indian font only in 1808, but in his printing house there was another type of Indian font - dsvanagari.

¹⁷ At that time, there were no educational institutions in Russia that taught Eastern languages, so Lebedev did not have the opportunity to pass on his knowledge and educate students. Even the Bengali print shop he created was closed after his death, and most of Lebedev's manuscripts were lost.

¹⁸ After the publication of this book, Lebedev tirelessly prepared his works for publication. For example, the manuscript " East Indian Arithmetic Tables..."- a short guide for Russian students to learn the basics

This was a well-defined Indian model of the world: Lebedev was the first to formulate a system of Indian culture based on reliable information about India obtained during a long-term journey.

The book consists of a preface containing autobiographical information, and three voluminous parts.

In the first part, Lebedev talks in detail about the faith and religious rites of the Indians, the design and decoration of Indian temples, etc.He constantly compares the religion of the Hindus with Christianity, trying to find features that, in his opinion, would prove the common origin of religion. For example, he calls the famous Brahma-Vishnu-Shiva triad "The Holy Consubstantial and Undivided Trinity", and considers various deities of the Indian pantheon "angels recognized by Indians". Among other things, he describes the rite of anointing, which "is used by them instead of our baptism." "In place of the usual Christian communion of the body and blood of Christ, taught to them under the guise of bread and wine, the Indians distribute consecrated Sorochin millet, called in their language Chal. Whether they have a similar Christian confession, I failed to notice" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 137].

The book contains illustrations of the interior decoration of temples, while the author explains the symbolic images: "For the newcomers, their allegorical images seem strange, which they cannot delve into because they are ignorant of their original Shomskrit language: but the Indians have more right to mock these newcomers when they boast of their Orthodoxy and forget, apparently, that they are also Orthodox Christians. The Savior himself offered his teaching in parables" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 156].

According to Lebedev, each temple has an image of the goddess Durghi: "She is represented with 10 hands, denoting her all-acting strength and fortress, with ready tension for the outpouring of the fiercest anger. In the first right hand, she holds an axe to punish criminals; in the second, a scepter signifying the autocracy of the highest wisdom; in the third, a berdysh or shield to protect against ridicule; in the fourth, a ring or crown

Indian arithmetic. At the same time, he was preparing a manual on Bengali writing, which contained detailed explanations of simple syllabic signs and ligatures. Unfortunately, this manuscript has not been preserved. The dictionary "in Bengali and vernacular Indian languages with their translation into Russian and English", as well as Lebedev's Bengali grammar, which includes some rules of Sanskrit grammar, remained in the manuscript and, apparently, did not survive. Materials for this grammar have been preserved: paradigms of conjugation of the Bengali verb, declension of names, etc., as well as a small part of the Bengali-Russian dictionary [Kryuchkova, 2007, pp. 189-197].

Lebedev's unpublished materials (notebooks with diary entries, translations and travel notes, etc.) are kept in the Central State Archive of Literature and Art.

Until his death, Lebedev hoped that he would be able to publish his works and took various actions to do so. In a letter to Alexander 1, he explained the reasons that delayed the publication of his works: "my eyesight is damaged from many years of work, my health is weak, and I am poor...a state that barely serves for food" [cit. by: Vorobyov-Dssyatovsky, 1956, p. 70]. The publication of Lebedev's works would have enriched the Russian Oriental literature with textbooks on the Bengali language, especially since there were no such textbooks in Europe. However, a serious illness that soon occurred did not allow the scientist to carry out his plans. Lebedev died on July 15, 1817 and was buried in the St. George Cemetery on Bolshoy Okhta (now Bolyisokhtinskos cemetery) in St. Petersburg. Lebedev's grave and monument have not been preserved, but the Museum of urban sculpture in the tomb of Suvorov has a marble tombstone on which the words are stamped.:

 "This man with the name according to
 Three parts of the world flew by
 He hadn't flown in vain
 To the farthest limit
 He was the first of the sons of Russia
to enter East India
 And lists of morals by removing Indian ones
 The language brought them to Russia
 Vez of all types of formations
 Tolma made a flight
 The composition of the Indian wisdom
is not without success issued in the light of..."

Figure 7

in the fifth hand is a spear, with which she strikes down a counter-fighter called Oshur, popularly called Moisasur or Moishashur. In her left hand she holds a black ball, signifying the obscuration of the dignity of the opponent; in the second-a rod to defeat him; in the third-a bell to summon the allies to this disgrace; in the fourth-a bow; in the fifth she lets go a snake, which binds the hands of Oshur " (Fig. 7).

Very cautiously Lebedev tries to compare Durgha with the Virgin. He repeatedly points out that the Indians cannot be counted among the pagans, and considers it admirable that "despite all the oppressions and tyrannies committed by them, despite all the temptations introduced to them, they maintain a worthy imitation of inflexibility in piety "(Lebedev, 1805, p. 156).

The second part of the book covers Indian cosmography, astronomy, and the Bengali calendar with commentary. Lebedev writes about the stars of heaven, about the "counting of times among the Indians", i.e., about the Indian calendar, giving Bengali names of months and days. In an effort to be precise, Lebedev warns readers that

the calendar proposed by him cannot be completely infallible, since " all calendar remarks among Indians are indicated by one letter or abbreviated words... abbreviations can be interpreted differently either by the similarity of one name belonging to many objects, or by the difference of many names appropriate to one object" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 132] Thus, the author notes a striking feature of the Indian language: on the one hand, the same word can be used to name different objects and phenomena, on the other hand, each item has many synonymous designations. It is clear that the phenomena of homonymy and synonymy occur in any language, but it is for Indian languages (in particular, Sanskrit) that this is especially characteristic.

In the third part of the book, Lebedev writes about rituals and major holidays, about the" ranks and ranks "of Indians, about folk customs, about the" abundance of Eastern India " and about trade. This chapter is most interesting because Lebedev describes what he saw in faraway India and shares his impressions.

For example, in a special chapter Lebedev writes about the caste structure of Indian society, emphasizes the caste isolation of the craft, the heredity of a certain type of occupation:

"It is not customary for the ranks of each class to pass from one kind of life to another; the Brahmins and all the clergy try to teach their children the most profound knowledge, such as the law of God, Grammar, Rhetoric, Philosophy, Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Astrology,and other important knowledge; and for this reason, in their kind, the more learned, the more learned, the more learned, the more learned, the more learned, the than in other classes you can find it... Military ranks of the ketri [kshatriyas]... according to an ancient custom, they also adapt their children to their own military exercises" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 157].

Lebedev notes that Indians live by strict laws, they are pious and obedient:

"Children do not dare to go out of the limits of obedience and respect for their parents, for fear of severe punishments... A similar order is observed between superiors and subordinates, between masters and employees, between seniors and juniors... And this very fact proves that the systems and customs of India are not governed by superstitious traditions, but by rules based on revelation and sound reason" (Lebedev, 1805, p. 157).

The author points to the strength of marriage unions, to the Indian marital fidelity: "The sanctity of marital commitment... strictly observed by the well-intentioned." Lebedev admires loyalty to the given word, to the oath taken: "they observe this oath very sacredly" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 156]. He notes that Hindus "have a very tender conscience" and "are not inclined to kidnap others, nor to envy them "(Lebedev, 1805, p. 162).

Numerous ethnographic data are interesting:" The Indians are so far removed from bloodshed that they consider it a sin to kill not only animals, but also reptiles and insects, and for this reason they never eat meat or fish, but are content with only terrestrial plants and fruits " (Lebedev, 1805, p.158). And then: "The Europeans are trying against the will of the Indians to identify them in the meat trade... however, it is not uncommon for this enterprise to generate more troubles and disturbances than the desired uniformity" [Lebedev, 1805, p. 159].

Lebedev notes that Hindus are not used to alcoholic beverages, and this is used by unscrupulous Europeans who get local residents drunk and persuade them to conclude unprofitable deals.

"The Indians are so disgusted with drunkenness that not only do they not drink simple wine or vodka, but also grape wines... Instead, they are content with the sap of the Norsleigh tree. This juice is not burdensome to the Indians as long as it is fresh, but as soon as it is corked for a day or more, it will get stronger and intoxicate them no less than wine and vodka" (Lebedev, 1805, p.161).

"They also have a great use for smoking tobacco mixed with opium, of which even the women themselves smoke so much that they faint and remain insensible for some time" [Lebedev, 1805, p.162].

In the chapter "On Abundance" (Lebedev, 1805, pp. 163-170), Lebedev notes:: "All land surveyors agree that East India is one of the richest countries in the world, and that hardly any other country can equal it." Then he describes in detail the natural resources of the country:

• there are a variety of trees, shrubs and flowers, including "white and red sandalwood trees (charul), date palms", etc.;

* there are tiger, leopard, buffalo, elephant, "various beautiful and amazing birds", etc.;

* there are precious stones, pearls, gold ores, etc.;

• different types of fabrics are produced: smooth and woven, sewn with gold and silver, muslin (for example, molmul), linen (balta and bafta), etc.

Lebedev for the first time provides detailed information about the trade of Europeans with India, noting that Russian goods come through English, Danish and Swedish merchants. Thus, it proves the need to establish direct sea trade between India and Russia.

Lebedev's composition was absolutely original. The book was the first description of India, its culture and languages in Russian and played a major role in introducing the Russian reader to the culture of distant and mysterious India. At the same time, Lebedev did not have a serious preparation for scientific research, as well as favorable conditions for classes that were available to English researchers. He complained in his diaries that he had difficulty finding teachers, had no access to valuable manuscripts, and was not allowed to publish in English journals. However, thanks to his sincere interest in the culture and languages of India, great diligence and observation, Lebedev became the first Russian explorer of India, and his life can serve as an example of selfless service to science. According to him, science "makes a union in the human race scattered over the face of the earth... it reinforces the mutual bond of friendship desired between peoples and unites the capacity to restore the universal and universal good "[cit. by: Vorobyov-Desyatovsky, 1956, p. 73]. Gerasim Lebedev , a natural scientist who devoted many years to the study of India, went down in history as the first Russian Orientalist, the founder of Russian Indology.

LIST OF LITERATURE COURSES

Vulich S. K. Essay on the history of linguistics in Russia of the XIII-XIX centuries. Moscow, URSS, 2011.

Vorob'svdsiatovskiy V. S. Russkiy indianist Gerasim Stepanovich Lebedev / / Ocherki po istorii russkogo vostokovedeniya [Essays on the History of Russian Oriental Studies], Moscow, 1956.

Gamayunov L. S. Iz istorii izucheniya Indii v Rossii (k voprosu o deyatel'nosti G. S. Lebedeva) [From the History of Studying India in Russia (on the question of G. S. Lebedev's activity)].

Gurov N. V., Brozalina E. K., Vasilkov Ya. V. U istokov rossiiskoi indologii: nauchnoe nasledie G. S. Lebedeva (1749-1817) [At the Origins of Russian Indology: the scientific heritage of G. S. Lebedev (1749-1817)]. Collection of articles dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Professor A. L. Grunberg (1930-1995) / Ed. by M. N. Bogolyubov, St. Petersburg: Nauka Publ., 2006.

Zograf G. A. Hindustani at the turn of the XVIII and XIX centuries. Moscow, 1961.

Zograf G. A. Kalkuttsky hindustani kontsa XVIII veka v osvetenii G. S. Lebedeva [Calcutta Hindustani of the late 18th century in the light of G. S. Lebedev]. Issue 61, Moscow, 1963.

Kryuchkova E. R. Unpublished grammar of the Bengali language by G. S. Lebedev // Indo-European linguistics and Classical Philology XI (readings in memory of I. M. Tronsky). St. Petersburg, 2007.

Kulikova A.M. Rossiiskoe vostokovedenie v XIX veka v litsakh [Russian Oriental Studies in the XIX century in persons]. 2001.

Lebedev G. Unbiased contemplation of the systems of Eastern India of the Brahmins, their sacred rites and folk customs, dedicated to the all-Russian monarch. St. Petersburg: Gerasim Lebedev Printing House. 1805.

Fcrgusson J. A Dictionary of the Hindostan Language, I - English and Hindostan. II - Hindostan and English. To Which is Prefixed a Grammar of the Hindostan Language. L., 1773.

Hadley G. A Compendious Grammar of the Current Corrupt Dialect of the Jargon of Hindostan. L., 1772.

Halhed N.B. A Grammar of the Bengali Language. Bodhaprakasan: Printed at Hoogly in Bengal, 1778.

Lebedeff H. A Grammar of the Pure and Mixed East Indian dialects..., Methodiacally aranged at Calcutta, according to the Brahmenian System, of the Shamscrit language ... L., 1801.

Permanent link to this publication: