Jatakamala II 17

Added to library: September 2, 2025

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First page of Jatakamala II 17

Summary

Here's a comprehensive summary of the provided Jain text from "Jatakamala II 17" by J. W. De Jong, focusing on the academic discussion of a specific verse:

This brief communication by J. W. De Jong focuses on Jataka II.17 of the Jatakamala, which recounts the famous story of the King of the Sibis. The central theme of the Jataka is the king's decision to offer his eyes to a beggar, a selfless act that his ministers try to dissuade him from.

The core of De Jong's analysis lies in the critical examination of verse 17c as presented in Kern's edition of the Jatakamala. The verse reads: "rathan vinitasca yujah prayaccha."

De Jong meticulously explores the interpretations and textual variations of this verse by various scholars:

  • Speyer's Translation: Speyer translated the verse as "carriages and trained beasts of draught." De Jong notes that Speyer likely emended "vinitasi" to "vinitams" without explicitly stating this correction.
  • Dictionary Meanings: De Jong points out that the meaning "beast of draught" for "yuj-" is not found in dictionaries of classical Sanskrit. He references the Petersburg dictionary, which defines "yuj-" in Vedic texts as "verbunden, zusammengespannt, das an demselben Wagen mitziehenden Thier" (connected, yoked together, the animal pulling the same chariot).
  • Vaidya's Correction: P. L. Vaidya, in his edition of the Jatakamala, corrected "vinitas" to "vinitams."
  • Gnoli's Translation: Raniero Gnoli, in his Italian translation, follows Speyer's interpretation of "yuj-" as "carri e ben ammaestrate bestie da tiro" (chariots and well-trained beasts of draught).
  • Barannikov and Volkova's Translation: The Russian translation by Barannikov and Volkova renders "yuj-" as "team of horses," suggesting the meaning "give him chariots with teams of trained horses." This interpretation is linked to the Petersburg dictionary's definition of "Paar, Zweizahl" (pair, two) in relation to a specific passage.

De Jong's Central Argument and Proposed Correction:

De Jong argues that Kern's text is not correct and that only a small change is required for a more accurate reading. He proposes the emendation: "vinitasvayujah." This reading, meaning "chariots yoked with trained horses," is strongly supported by the Tibetan translation. The Tibetan rendering translates to: "dul-ba'i rta dan sbyar-ba'i sin-rta stsal" which means "give chariots yoked with trained horses."

Significance of the Tibetan Translation:

De Jong emphasizes the critical importance of the Tibetan translation for accurate textual studies of the Jatakamala. He states that, to his knowledge, his proposed correction of "vinitasvayujah" has not been previously suggested in other scholarly works, including corrigenda, Speyer's notes, or Gawronski's critical notes.

Future Research:

The communication concludes by highlighting the ongoing preparation of an edition of the Tibetan translation of the Jatakamala by De Jong's colleague, Dr. T. Rajapatirana, based on various Kanjur editions. This suggests that further critical insights into the Jatakamala are anticipated.

In essence, De Jong's contribution is a scholarly intervention to correct a specific textual ambiguity in the Jatakamala by leveraging comparative philology, particularly the crucial evidence from the Tibetan translation, to achieve a more accurate understanding of the verse and its intended meaning.