In 1964, T. G. Mainkar’s translation of the Sāṃkhyakārikā with Gauḍapāda’s commentary replaced Har Dutt Sharma’s 1933 translation of the same in the Poona Oriental Series. But was this a new translation made independently by Mainkar? As comparison will show, Mainkar for the most part gives Sharma’s translation of Gauḍapāda’s commentary, making only minor changes to the wording and sometimes weaving in wording from the 1837 Colebrooke/Wilson translation, while for the verses he often adopts either the Colebrooke/Wilson translation or the 1930 Suryanarayana Sastri translation, again making only minor changes to the wording. One result of this is that the translation terminology used in the verses often does not match the translation terminology used in the commentary, making it hard to know what words and phrases of the verses are being explained in what sentences of the commentary. Mainkar does not state what he has done, and for fifty years now scholars have been citing and crediting Mainkar’s translation for what is largely the translation work of others.

Best regards,

David Reigle

Colorado, U.S.A.