________________
Studies in Jainology, Prakrit
(40) That daughter of the great King. Steadfast in her restraint and vows, Protecting the honour of her clan And of family and virtue, spoke to him:
(41) Were you handsome like Vaisramana, Were you pleasing like Nalakūbara, And the very Purandara incarnate were you, I should have no desire for you.
Al times we have to adjust the translation to the genius of the English expression while choosing a word or a phrase for the corresponding Prakrit one in the original text. I was, a few days back, rendering the Gommatesa-lhudi" and could not be satisfied with the literal rendering of the last recurring line of the verses in the hymn, namely,
Tam Gommatesam panamāmi niccam.
by using 'bowor 'bow down' for 'panamāmi’, for it did not bring down the duc sense of the original Prakrt word, nor did it suit the English expression. After some serious thinking, the following translation struck to my mind and to my satisfaction:
Before that Gommatesa ever I kncel!"2
These are some of the problems, surely not exhaustive, of translating early Jaina works into English, discussed in general and also in the light of my own experiments. German scholars, as noted above, have been pioneers in translating into English the early Jaina texts, as also they have been so in Jaina studies in general. Then some other foreign and Indian scholars have tried their hands, now and then, at this work. It is high time that some more Indian scholars should come forward to take up this work on a systematized plan, so that it can encourage the Jaina studies among the Westerners as well as among those using English as medium in their higher learning.
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
