The Old Tibetan translation of the Rāmāyaṇa discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts represents one of the earliest known translations of the Indian epic into Tibetan language and stands as a landmark in the history of Tibetan literary culture.

The translation dates to approximately the 8th–9th century CE, corresponding to the period of Tibetan imperial occupation of Dunhuang (c. 786–848 CE). The manuscripts were recovered from the Mogao Caves in the early twentieth century, with six fragmentary manuscripts now distributed between the British Library (Stein collection) and the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris (Pelliot collection). Key Pelliot manuscripts include PT 981 (a 276-line verse narrative) and PT 983 (a 44-line episode), along with the unique PT 982, which uses Rāma and Sītā's names within the framework of a formal Tibetan petition or betrothal document.

The Dunhuang Tibetan Rāmāyaṇa belongs to Tibet's earliest literary translation and is recognized as the earliest known translation category of the Rāmāyaṇa. The text is characterized by a simple, rigorous style and refined, beautiful language, exhibiting strong artistic appeal. It is composed in a mixture of prose and verse, a common feature of early Tibetan narrative literature. Recent linguistic research has revealed sophisticated literary effects in the text, including the nuanced use of first-person pronouns to mark changes in rhetorical stance and social dynamics—evidence that the translation was crafted with deliberate stylistic attention.

The Dunhuang Tibetan version diverges significantly from the Vālmīki Sanskrit original in both content and narrative structure. It contains many plots and episodes that differ from the canonical Indian version. Most notably, it shows no overt Buddhist reinterpretation of the narrative—the characters are not presented as bodhisattvas or divine manifestations, and the story is told as a secular narrative of heroic adventure and moral conflict. This absence of Buddhist overlay indicates that the Dunhuang version represents an early stage in the Tibetan reception of the Rāma story, before the narrative was absorbed into Buddhist literary frameworks. The text belongs to the "royal" genre of Rāmāyaṇa retellings, emphasizing themes of kingship, legitimate succession, and just rule, rather than the later "bhakti" devotional tradition.

The Dunhuang translation established a precedent for the ongoing Tibetan engagement with the Rāma story that would continue for centuries. Recent scholarship has identified significant intertextual connections between the Dunhuang Rāmāyaṇa and later Tibetan historical works such as the Pillar Testament (bka' chems ka khol ma), suggesting that the Rāma narrative provided a literary template for articulating Tibetan ideals of kingship, heroism, and moral order. Scholars have proposed possible character mappings between the two works: Songtsen Gampo corresponding to Rāma, Princess Wencheng to Sītā, and Princess Bhrikuti to the figure of Purpala. Four major Tibetan Rāmāyaṇa versions are known, with the Dunhuang translation standing at the head of this tradition as the earliest and most foundational.

The Dunhuang Tibetan Rāmāyaṇa thus stands as a testament to the vitality and creativity of early Tibetan literary culture, demonstrating how Indian narrative literature was not merely translated but creatively adapted to suit Tibetan cultural sensibilities.