123

Striving for Perfection: On the Various Ways of Translating Sanskrit into Tibetan

Michael HahnPhilipus Universität, Marburg

IN 1976 OR 1977 I HAPPENED to meet the Swiss Indologist Heinz Zimmermann in his home in Basel, Switzerland. In 1975 he had published his doctoral thesis bearing the ornate title Die

Utilizing Tibetan Translations”)1

review.2

. The

,3 and no

124

.4

mentions that he consulted its Tibetan translation; however, he came

5

outside Tibet. It was particu

Tibetan

|

|| 161 ||

6

|| ||

|| ||

|| ||

125

Tibetan

things to be mentioned. First, the relative construction was not maintained. Both the relative pronoun ,

one. Both words would then be included in the agent (“he who

. This

and is the agent and which is the instru has

126

at

based on the assumption that the translators might have understood

; however, I am sure that not even an educated Tibetan

points to an interesting variant reading that is worth consideration

in line

in the Tibetan -

127

|

|| 161 ||

|| ||

|| ||*

7 two

, in a section called , which

.8

unsolved riddle to me how the translators could assume that their

|yat ke cid eva

That just some

|| ||

||

128

gang dag lha ’dra’i || ||

||

(“in

sensical rendering (“

o , o , and

gang dag lha ’dra’i

od eva in

9

.

10

4

129

with, since this is the usual case when a modern scholar (or amateur)

ruption did I became able to restore what I believe the translator origi

11

bogs med tshong dang ’khor ldan dag la ’tshe ||||

|| ||

(47a) bogs ( med tshong dang ’khor ldan dag la ’tshe

130Fi

gure

1. I

nte

rfer

ence

an

d th

e T

ran

smis

sion

of

Tex

ts

Orig

inal

mes

sage

of t

he au

thor

(Lan

guag

e: S

ansk

rit)

: Tra

nsm

issio

n of

the o

rigin

al te

xt (S

ansk

rit m

anus

crip

t)

Corr

ect (

C)

Inc

orre

ct (I

)

: Tra

nsla

tion

into

Tib

etan

Corr

ect (

CC) I

ncor

rect

(CI)

Cor

rect

(IC)

Inco

rrec

t (II)

: Tra

nsm

issio

n of

the T

ibet

an tr

ansla

tion

Corr

ect I

ncor

rect

Co

rrec

t Inc

orre

ct

Corr

ect I

ncor

rect

Co

rrec

t Inc

orre

ct

: Tra

nsla

tion

into

mod

ern

lang

uage

s

CCCC

CCC

I C

CIC

CCII

CI

CC C

ICI

CIIC

CIII

IC

CC IC

CI

ICIC

ICII

IIC

C IIC

I I

IIC II

II

131

he who begs and is proud,

897, which 8.14 (as edited in ), and it is

also 1.115.16 and 65. 12 1

| a b c ||

(a)

A careless tradesman and an arrogant servant,

we have to read or

we have to read where renders and .

we have to read . This seems to be a bold and and dis

all we have to assume is that * we have

to read . The term where it renders

65 represents

132

“courtesan,” and (“to a

had the variant reading

65 where we read

to 14

, the

One has to decide what one is going to establish, to translate, or to

in the

criticism.

133

15

the

)

where

134

,16

17

the

curs again, this time as

be given in Tibetan transliteration. In that particular scene two tribal

are 18

|| |

135

| |

|

Ha, ha,

me that

ter over and over again I realized that

word,

that the two words *

(“little

136

sages the whole scene becomes logical and coherent and we see that

20

(11) | | |

|

be achieved ( ), then one

»good language« ( ) within one stanza (

| ).21

(12) |

thing to be achieved ( ), however one

137

).22

(20) | | | |

| | |

|

are particle (), the method ( ) to achieve correspondence with the

meaning (

or

add ( ), to the meaning (

one should translate ( ) according to the meaning ().

spread” (

and the

(entitled ( ); the three oldest epis

(“Letter to a Disciple,”

138

beginning.24

the

25

, “to honor,

Tibetan , (or ), (“to please”),

,

139

ing tog 6.27+)

yul 9.0, 9.16+, 9.21+)

rin po che (“topaz”) 14.17+).

, which was

tions missed the point while the Tibetan rendering is correct. In stanza

|

S26

27 Both interpret in 2.12a

||

|

28

zas29 In the other 60 percent we

; , and ; ;

ten the principle is used, that is, using two Tibetan words

140

(“being used”),

belonging to the old language (

, , or

and or and .

|

|| ||

||

, which, as a rule, represent an older and more authentic

141

.

|

|| ||

||

-

, “to

as ( ) 35

in translated

(“

nice linguistic not clear whether

142

|

|| 2.42 ||

However, he who is reluctant

and being aware that man will have to bear

under no circumstances he will commit a bad deed

| |

| | 2.42 |

deeds

) 38 and

, “under no cir,

143

ence or readership, that he wished to write Tibetan, not translationese.

ignored. Among the

, and the

meters.

144

and the isolation particle . translated he

or double entendres.

incompatible parts. Nevertheless, as a whole his translations are to 95

the are ob

Tibetan translations as a whole.

39 |

| | | 40

| | 41

| | (vol.

145

brocade that has been turned and then does not appear on its re

146

NOTES

1. Heinz Zimmerman, , Freiburger Beiträge

, ed.

4. Michael Hahn,

’

7. Siglinde Dietz,

1984).

ibid 67 and 65.

147

10.

, vol. 1, Bibliotheca ori

is now lost.

is to be

.

1974), 192; and Michael Hahn, trans.,

21. Nils Simonsson,

22. Ibid , 249.

148

,”

25. Albrecht Hanisch, , Indica et Tibetica Philologische

28. The incomplete

-

(e.g., and ).”

to

|| | | in the

,

instead . In line

, and in line (d) we have emended the transmitted readings and as and . The emendation *

149

o

reading *

i

.