new Sanskrit and Pali texts available
ucgadkw at ucl.ac.uk
ucgadkw at ucl.ac.uk
Thu Jun 2 15:14:37 UTC 1994
Thanks to the generosity of John H. Richards, four new files are
shortly to be available in the Indology archives. The files are
The Astavakragita (Sanskrit and English)
The Bhagavadgita ( ditto )
The Prajnaparamitahrdayasutra ( ditto )
The Dhammapada (Pali and English).
The texts are in CSX coding. (See IASS.ZIP for details of CSX.)
The translations are John's, and have been donated, with the texts,
to the public domain.
Many thanks indeed for these, John. (And apologies for the delay in
making them available.)
I append the four reame files accompanying the texts.
Dominik
=====================================================================
The Ashtavakra Gita, or the Ashtavakra Samhita as it is sometimes
called, is a very ancient Sanskrit text. Nothing seems to be known about
the author, though tradition ascribes it to the Sage Ashtavakra - hence
the name.
There is little doubt though that it is very old, probably dating back
to the days of the classic Vedanta period. The Sanskrit style and the
doctrine expressed would seem to warrant this assessment.
The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple
Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi, while Radhakrishnan always
refers to it with great respect. Apart from that the work speaks for itself.
It presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity
and power very rarely matched.
The translation here is by John Richards, and is presented to the public
domain with his affection. The work has been a constant inspiration in
his life for many years. May it be so for many others.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Richards Stackpole Elidor (UK)
jhr at elidor.demon.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Bhagavad Gita needs little introduction. It is one of the most well
known and popular religious works of Indian thought, and deservedly so.
It is to be found traditionally as part of the great Indian Epic poem
the Mahabharata, though it is, of course, very often printed separately.
It is presented in the form of a dialogue between Krishna and his human
friend and companion Arjuna, who is faced with the dilemma of finding it
his duty to take part in a war against many of his own best friends and
teachers. Krishna's resolution of his distress is one of the supreme
presentations of classic Vedanta philosophy.
The translation here is the old one of Sir Edwin Arnold, which still has
many attactive features - though it is high time a more modern one was
made available to the Internet. How about it, all you Sanskrit
scholars?!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Richards Stackpole Elidor (UK)
jhr at elidor.demon.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Heart Sutra is one of the most popular short Buddhist Sanskrit
texts, frequently recited in a large variety of circumstances by devout
Buddhists. At the same time it is one of the most profound presentations
of the classic Mahayana idea of "emptiness".
The Sanskrit text here is the shorter recension.
The accompanying translation is by John Richards - and presented without
reservations to the public domain.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Richards Stackpole Elidor (UK)
jhr at elidor.demon.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Dhammapada is one of the most popular parts of the Theravada
Buddhist Pali Canon of Scriptures, comprising part of that section of
the Scriptures known as the Khuddaka Nikaya - ie. Collection of Shorter
works.
It is an anthology, not a Sutra, for a Sutra is always in the form of a
Discourse of the Buddha. Approximately one third of the verses in the
Dhammapada are found elsewhere in the Pali Scriptures. The name itself
is a pun on the idea of "The Path of the Dhamma (Teaching)" and "Dhamma
Stanzas".
There are several Sanskrit works related, distantly, to the Dhammapada,
notably the Udana Varga, but these seem to be anthologies in their own
right, and quite independent. Similarly the Gandhari Dhammapada,
although it shares quite a number of the verses (often with radical
variations), does not follow the same order, and again seems to be an
independent anthology.
There are said to be three Chinese versions of the Dhammapada. One of
these has been translated by S. Beal, and in this case there seems no
doubt that the basis of the work is a translation of the Pali - with
some extra verses tagged onto the end, as is often done with
anthologies. One detail which makes it almost certain that the
translation is made from the Pali is a curious mistranslation of the
verse equivalent to 146 in the Pali. The Chinese reads "remembering the
everlasting burnings", having mistaken the "sati" of "niccam pajjalite
sati" for the noun "sati", ie. memory, whereas it is in fact the
shortened form of the present participle of the verb "to be". This
ambiguity could only occur in Pali.
The translation here is by John Richards, and presented with affection
to the public domain.
This work holds a particular place in my affections! As a Buddhist monk
in Burma I learned the whole text off by heart in Pali, and used to
recite a chapter each day to myself while out on the alms round!
May all beings be happy!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
John Richards Stackpole Elidor (UK)
jhr at elidor.demon.co.uk
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
> From THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV 02 1994 Jun GMT 16:45:16
Date: 02 Jun 1994 16:45:16 GMT
From: "MAIL.LIBPERL" <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
Subject: MINORITY LIBRARIAN EDUCATION A
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From: Gladys Smiley Bell <GBELL%KENTVM.KENT.EDU at KSUVM.KSU.EDU>
Subject: Minority Librarian Education and Training Development Opportunity
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To: Multiple recipients of list LIBPER-L <LIBPER-L at KSUVM.BITNET>
MINORITY LIBRARIAN EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITY
The University of California, Berkeley has received a federal grant to
fund a nine month resident Institute for the Recruitment, Education,
and (Re) Training of Minorities in Academic Libraries. The Institute
objectives are (1) to provide education and training for minority
librarians so that they will be prepared to consider the academic
library environment for their continuing career; and (2) to enable
participants, regardless of library background, to become immediately
competitive as experienced, accomplished research librarians,
particularly in the sciences.
Through a combination of academic study and consultation; practical
research opportunities; individual mentoring by library school faculty
and successful professional research librarians; and actual research
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Institute Dates: September 1, 1994 through May 31, 1995
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Candidates should submit with their resume a detailed cover letter
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May 26, 1994
> From THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV 02 1994 Jun GMT 19:22:19
Date: 02 Jun 1994 19:22:19 GMT
From: ALLEN W THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
Subject: SRI CAKRA-SRI VIDYA AGAIN
Re: Construction of the Sricakra
Library of Congress has a pamphlet, not yet cataloged, apparently
concerning the coordination of the triangles in the Sricakra with
the bijas in the mantra. If it deals also with how the yantra is
erected geometrically it has no diagrams. The work is:
Caturvedi, Candrasekhara.
Tantrika varga se nirnaya ki manga : Sri Vidya mantra ka visuddha
svarupa
Mathura : Rajesvari Presa, 4 p.
In Hindi.
If anyone is interested I would be glad to send a free photocopy,
since it is so short.
Allen W. Thrasher
Senior Reference Librarian
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4744
tel. (202) 707-5600
fax (202) 707-1724
Internet: thrasher at mail.loc.gov
Any opinions expressed are mine and not those of the Library of
Congress or its management.
> From THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV 02 1994 Jun GMT 19:32:19
Date: 02 Jun 1994 19:32:19 GMT
From: ALLEN W THRASHER <THRASHER at MAIL.LOC.GOV>
Subject: TAMIL POETESS NANI AMMAL
Could anyone tell me anything about a Tamil poetess whose name is
informally Englished as Nani Ammal? I have not been able to find
anything in LC's names authority or in standard reference books.
The question occurs in reference to the following uncataloged
book at Library of Congress:
Isvaran, Manjeri S.
Song of the Gipsymaiden (sic).
Madras-Madura : Shakti Karyalaya, 1945.
In the introduction the translator says the poem came to him
orally, that the author lived "a couple of centuries ago," that
she was widowed young, and that her father in law wrote down her
songs. The songs are of an Advaitic tendency.
Allen W. Thrasher
Senior Reference Librarian
Library of Congress
Washington, DC 20540-4744
tel. (202) 707-5600
fax (202) 707-1724
Internet: thrasher at mail.loc.gov
Any opinions expressed are mine and not those of the Library of
Congress or its management.
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