Doniger O'Flaherty's translations
Francois Quiviger
francois at sas.ac.uk
Mon Nov 20 15:19:45 UTC 1995
As a newcomer to the field I have followed with interest the
discussion on Doniger O'Flaherty's translation of the *Rig-Veda* which has
been for me a basic means of access to this important text. I cannot judge
the accuracy of the translation but I do not see why the standards of
scholarly editions should not apply to so-called popular versions. A good
translation can be read intensively and slowly, or simply browsed quickly.
But more importantly while a scholarly edition is likely to be read and
scrutinised by informed specialists - and inspire at worse nasty
reviews in the scholarly press - a popular paperback edition can spread
mistaken views to a wide audience, with sometimes disastrous results.
Thus the latter involves a far greater responsability which makes any
excuse for inaccurracy and sloppiness sound very shallow indeed.
Francois Quiviger
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