Indian Society for Buddhist Studies

Author(s): Prachya Vidyapeeth
Publisher: Prachya Vidyapeeth

Page 56

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Sanskrit Buddhists Philosophical Text: A Journey
Through Retranslation
Jhumur Mallik, Kolkata
Buddhist Religion was spread from India not only to Southeast Asian Countries like Sinhala, Burma, Japan etc. but also northern countries like China, Tibet etc. But with the spread of the religion across many parts of the world, practice of the Buddhists religion in India seemed no value due to Brahmanical influences. Asoka's decenter Mahendra and Sanghamitra preached Dhamma (Tripitaka) to the Srilanka on 3rd /4" BCE in Pali language. Later Tripitaka did not found in India. It reconstructed in Pali from the Singhalese language.
Thus, the Tibetan people preserved many text mainly through translation of Indian origin written in Sanskrit language. Most of these texts were copied and translated in Tibetan language, hundred of years ago, roughly from the Seventh to the Twelfth Centuries CE. Unfortunately, these original Sanskrit texts as well as the commentary in Sanskrit are lost and could not yet be found in their entirely. These works are preserved now only in the Tibetan translations. Tibetan Mss and Xylographs were found on those matters, that help scholars to recover the original texts or reconstruct these Sanskrit texts by retranslating from Tibetan texts.
Sarat Chandra Das collected the manuscript which were mostly Sanskrit writing or the Tibetan translation of Sanskrit Scriptures. He brought more than 200 manuscripts from Tibet in India. He edited and published the whole “Bodhisatvāvadāna Kalpalatā” which was translated into Tibetan language.
The large number of works of Dīpankara preserved in Tibetan authorities consider the 'Bodhi-patha-pradīpa' to be most important. S.C. Das edited the Text. The Sanskrit Original of the work, cannot be easily traced today. Professor Mrinal Kanti Gangopadhyaya attempts a restoration of it. Acharya Shempa Dorji has restored the Nāgārjuna's writing "Isvarakartặkatva