[INDOLOGY] Fwd: Udānavarga verses from the Tibetan

Christophe Vielle christophe.vielle at uclouvain.be
Wed Apr 24 15:16:39 UTC 2019


For those interested in the Udānavarga.
Note the iuxta displaying of the different versions on the Bibliotheca Polyglotta
https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php :

https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&view=fulltext&vid=71&cid=110504&level=2

(The English translation is Rockhill's one)

Début du message réexpédié :

De: Dylan Esler <jampalde at yahoo.co.uk<mailto:jampalde at yahoo.co.uk>>
Objet: Udānavarga verses from the Tibetan
Date: 24 avril 2019 à 15:57:47 UTC+2
À: "vjroebuck at btinternet.com<mailto:vjroebuck at btinternet.com>" <vjroebuck at btinternet.com<mailto:vjroebuck at btinternet.com>>
Répondre à: Dylan Esler <jampalde at yahoo.co.uk<mailto:jampalde at yahoo.co.uk>>

Dear Dr Roebuck,

Following your enquiry sent through the Indology list, please allow me to send you below my translation of the two Udānavarga verses from the Tibetan. As you surmised, there is no mention of a spider!

With best wishes,

Dylan Esler
Institut Orientaliste, Université catholique de Louvain
CERES, Ruhr-Universität Bochum

*********************************

Udānavarga (Ched-du brjod-pa’i tshoms), in bKa’-’gyur, sDe-dge edition, vol.72 (mdo-sde, vol.sa), pp.417-505.
Chapter 1, vv.13-14 (p.418.1-2)
dper na thags ni brkyang ba la/ spun ni gang dang gang bcug pa’i/ spun gyis rting la gtugs pa ltar/ mi rnams srog kyang de bzhin no/
Translation:
For instance, just as when a fabric is stretched out,
Whatever yarn has been inserted (i.e. woven)
Must later be sewn together,
Such is human life.

dper na nges par bsad pa dag/ gom pa gang dang gang bor bas/ gsad sa’i drung du bsnyen pa ltar/ mi rnams srog kyang de bzhin no/
Translation:
For instance, just as one who is surely to be killed,
Wherever he takes a step,
Will approach the vicinity of the place of execution,
Such is human life.

**************************************



De: James Hegarty via INDOLOGY <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
Objet: [INDOLOGY] Sent on behalf of Valerie Roebuck
Date: 24 avril 2019 à 13:27:03 UTC+2
À: indology <indology at list.indology.info<mailto:indology at list.indology.info>>
Cc: Valerie J Roebuck <vjroebuck at btinternet.com<mailto:vjroebuck at btinternet.com>>
Répondre à: James Hegarty <hegartyjm at googlemail.com<mailto:hegartyjm at googlemail.com>>

Dear Colleagues,

I would appreciate it if you sent responses to the query below to vjroebuck at btinternet.com<mailto:vjroebuck at btinternet.com>.

Best Wishes,

James Hegarty

Dear Colleagues

Can anyone kindly provide a translation of two verses from the Tibetan Udānavarga (Ched dubrjod pa’i tshoms), Chapter 1 vv 13-14?

Part of v. 14 is missing from the Sanskrit Udānavarga, but it appears to exist in the Tibetan version. However, from Rockhill’s 1883 translation (the only one currently available to me) it looks as though the Tibetan departs quite drastically from the Sanskrit. It’s part of a sequence on the impermanence of human existence.

The Sanskrit, as edited by Bernhard:

Uv_1.13ab: yathāpi tantre vitate yad yad utaṃ samupyate /
Uv_1.13cd: alpaṃ bhavati vātavyam evaṃ martyasya jīvitam //
Uv_1.14ab: yathāpi va - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /
Uv_1.14cd: - - - ghatano bhavati evaṃ martyasya jīvitam //

My (tentative) translation:

13. Just as, when yarn is stretched out,
Whatever was woven is sheared
And soon must be sewn up,
Such is the life of a mortal.

14. Just as ... [section missing]
…
….destruction,
Such is the life of a mortal.

Rockhill has:

13 (347) It is with the life of mortal man as with the spider, who, stretching hither and thither its web, is enclosed in it.

14. It is with the life of mortal man as with (the spider), who, though it would free itself from its trap, finds, whichever way it takes a step, the abode of death before it.

There is definitely no spider (usually ūrṇanābha) in the Sanskrit as we have it: verse 13 appears to be about a (human) weaver, not an (arachnid) spinner. So is Rockhill drastically over-translating, or has the spider somehow crept in between the Sanskrit and Tibetan versions of the Udānavarga?

Many thanks -


Dr Valerie J Roebuck
Manchester, UK
–––––––––––––––––––
Christophe Vielle<https://uclouvain.be/en/directories/christophe.vielle>
Louvain-la-Neuve





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