Maitreya and the Religious Situation According to Two Old Uyghur Poems of Yuan Dynasty. Edition of SI 4485 and SI 4958

This paper offers the edition of SI 4485 and SI 4958, two manuscripts of the Old Uighur section of the Serindia Collection of the IOM written in alliterating verses. Their contents are praises on Maitreya, the future Buddha. The author tries to show why praises on Maitreya like the two presented here were written. He argues that it was to advocate the preservation of Buddhism through proving the superiority of the Maitreya cult over other religions in the current viral times of the Yuan.