Work in progress

A 13

Known as:A 13; THT 646
Cite this page as:Gerd Carling; Adrian Musitz (translation). "A 13". In A Comprehensive Edition of Tocharian Manuscripts (CEToM). Created and maintained by Melanie Malzahn, Martin Braun, Hannes A. Fellner, and Bernhard Koller. https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-a13 (accessed 12 May 2026).

Edition

Editor:Gerd Carling; Adrian Musitz (translation)

Provenience

Main find spot:Shorchuk
Specific find spot:Stadthöhle
Expedition code:T III Š 72.13
Collection:Berlin Turfan Collection

Language and Script

Language:TA
Script:classical

Text contents

Title of the work:Puṇyavantajātaka
Passage:m
Text genre:Literary
Text subgenre:Jātaka/Avadāna
Verse/Prose:prose; verse
Meter:43434 (4x); 665 (4x)

Object

Manuscript:A 1-54
Preceding fragment:A 12
Following fragment:A 14
Material: ink on paper
Form:Poṭhī
Number of lines:6

Transliteration

(continues from A 12)

a1tku ra¯ ¯s̝ ka śśi yo ka ñi pa lkā tce sa¯ ¯m a mo ktse¯ ¯s kā tse ka lymāṃ ce sma¯ ¯k pu¯ ¯k śtwa rśä lkā¯ ¯s po ke yo wa – –
a2¯s̝ po ñcä¯ ¯s ko sā¯ ¯m tā pa¯ ¯p śkaṃ lo || ylaṃ || kā su ce smi a mo kṣe¯ ¯s̝ wā we ku ñcä¯ ¯s ā yä ntwä¯ ¯s̝ śi – (–)
a3śmā n[ta] : śi śki¯ ¯s tā pa¯ ¯l mā pa lskā¯ ¯nt tā ka¯ ¯r śwā tsi ṣñi śi śki¯ ¯s sne knā nmu nyā : wā we [ku] –
a4¯s ā yä ntu kro paṃ¯ ¯t śi śki¯ ¯s a mo kyo pa pyu tkāṃ taṃ : ṣñi ā yä ntu śi śki na¯ ¯s ā yäṃ twā śśi –
a5– – k[a] la rna ka¯ ¯nt : 1 || ta myo knā nmu ne ā rki ṣyaṃ pukaṃ śpā lmeṃ ke ne knā nmu ne sa¯ ¯m o ñi cmo[¯] [¯l] –
a6– – vāṃ tra ṅka¯ ¯s̝ ku cne taṃ ya sle tkā¯ ¯r lkā tsi kā wä ltu ne yi¯ ¯s tsra ṣṣu ne yi¯ ¯s a mo ki[¯] [¯s] – –
lf70 7
b1– – – pa lo nā swe ñā¯ ¯s ñi nu pa lskaṃ pñi ntu kka¯ ¯ts ta naṃ pukaṃ śpā lmeṃ kya lte || ni ṣkra mā – – –
b2– – o ko yā lkā tsi kā wä ltu ne a tro ñci ta mpe tmaṃ s̝a¯ ¯l klyo ma¯ ¯nt cmo laṃ ko ṭi śva rśā tma [s]·
b3¯l yä¯ ¯s̝ kā su ño¯ ¯m klyu : ca kra va rtu ne ya cñä kci ā rki śo ṣya¯ ¯cä pñi ntu ytā rnāṃ –
b4¯nt : kra ñcsa śśä¯ ¯l śä mlu ne ne rvāṃ yo mnā lu ne yā ta¯ ¯s̝ sne ske pñi : 1 pñi ntu yo – –
b5wā¯ ¯ts yä ṣwä lca kra va rtti śla wa rtsye pre raṃ : śtwa rdvi pa ntwaṃ wra sa¯ ¯ñä pñi ntwā śśi o ko yā sa mse – –
b6na¯ ¯cä : pñi ntu yā mu wra so¯ ¯m mā yä ṣtā lo rñe yaṃ mā yä ṣñā tse yaṃ : pñi ṣi naṃ ra ta kyo yu – –

(continues on A 14)

Transcription

(continues from A 12)

lf70-7
*(kākä)¬
a1¬tkuräṣ kaśśi yokañi pälkāt cesäm amoktses kātse kälymāṃ cesm-äk puk śtwar śälkās pokeyo wa – –
a2n1 ṣ poñcäs kosā-m tāpa-{p→m} śkaṃ lo ॥ ylaṃ ॥
1akāsu cesmi ; amok ṣeṣ ; wāwekuñcäs ; āyäntwäṣ ; śi – (śa)a3śmānt{†a} :
1bśiśkis tāpal ; mā pälskānt ; tākar śwātsi ; ṣñi śiśkis ; sne-knānmunyā :
1cwāweku(ñcä)a4s ; āyäntu ; kropaṃt śiśkis ; amokyo ; papyutkāṃt-äṃ :
1dṣñi āyäntu ; śiśkinäs ; āyäṃtwāśśi ; – a5 – – ; kalar nakänt : 1 ॥
*tämyo knānmune ārki{śo}ṣyaṃ pukaṃ śpālmeṃ ke ne knānmune säm oñi cmol (॥)
a6(puṇya)vāṃ träṅkäṣ kuc ne taṃ yas letkār lkātsi kāwältuneyis tsraṣṣuneyis amokis – –
b1n2 – – – palonās weñās ñi nu pälskaṃ pñintu-kk ats tanaṃ pukaṃ śpālmeṃ kyalte ॥ niṣkramā(ntaṃ) (॥)
b2
1a(pñintwāśśi) okoyā ; lkātsi kāwältune ; atroñci tampe {:}
1btmäṃṣäl klyomänt cmolaṃ ; koṭiśvar śāt mäs(ka)b3l ; yäṣ kāsu ñom-klyu :
1ccakravartuneyac ; ñäkci ārkiśoṣyac ; pñintu ytār nāṃ(tsu)b4nt :
1dkrañcsaśśäl śämlune ; nervāṃ yomnālune ; yātäṣ sne ske pñi : 1
2apñintuyo (tampe)b5wāts ; yäṣ wäl cakravartti ; śla wartsy epreraṃ :
2bśtwar dvipäntwaṃ wrasañ ; pñintwāśśi okoyā ; sämse – – b6 nac :
2cpñintu yāmu wrasom ; mā yäṣ tālorñeyaṃ ; mā yäṣ ñātseyaṃ :
2dpñiṣinäṃ ratäkyo ; yu – –

(continues on A 14)

Translation

(continues from A 12)

a1(he rose), [and] hungry and thirsty he saw these artisans standing nearby,
a1+and crushing those very four, all together, with his paw he killed them
a2and ate them all up.
a2|| In the Y.-tune: ||
a2Their craftsmanship was good;
a2+from the broken bones they let grow the lion,
a3[But] the lion’s eating/hunger they had not considered,
a3[and] they became food for their lion because of their ignorance.
a3+The broken bones of the lion they had gathered,
a4with craftsmanship they had restored him,
a4+[but their] own bones they brought (in place of) the lion’s bones
a5[and] they perished.
a5Therefore wisdom is the very best in the world;
a5[only] the one who has knowledge, he is of human birth.
a5+Puṇyavān [“the Virtuous”] speaks:
a6+Whatever you each have said for yourselves as a praise of visual beauty, energy, skill (and wisdom), in my opinion virtue alone is the very best of all here.
b1For:
b1|| In the N.-tune: ||
b2visual beauty and a hero’s strength are the fruit of virtues;
b2if one is born into a noble incarnation,
b2+if one becomes a rich Koṭīśvara [“Lord over 10 000 000”],
b3a good reputation comes,
b3+virtues being the way to universal domination and the divine world.
b4The coming together with the good ones [and] the reaching of the Nirvāṇa, virtue facilitates [this] without labour.
b4+By virtue empowered the world-ruling king with [his] entourage walks to the airspace;
b5+the people on the four continents, as a fruit of virtue, submit to him.
b6A person that has practiced virtue, does not come into misery,
b6does not come into hardship.
b6With the army of virtue all enemies

(continues on A 14)

Other

a2+Gut war ihre Kunstfertigkeit. Aus den zerbrochenen Knochen ließen sie den Löwen erwachsen/stellten sie sich einen Löwen her, [aber] an die Möglichkeit, dass sie von dem Löwen gefressen werden könnten [wtl. das Gefressenwerdenkönnen] hatten sie nicht gedacht, [und so] wurden sie Nahrung ihres Löwen durch [ihre] Dummheit. (Schmidt 1974: 180, 440)
a3+Sie sammelten die zerbrochenen Knochen des Löwen und stellten ihn mit Kunstfertigkeit [wieder] her. / Die zerbrochenen Knochen des Löwen haben [hatten?] sie gesammelt, mit Kunstfertigkeit hatten sie ihn [wieder]hergestellt, [aber] die eigenen Knochen brachten sie (an die Stelle) der Löwenknochen [und] gingen zugrunde. (Schmidt 1974: 83, 127, 304-5, 388, 495)

Commentary

Remarks

*Transcription and references have been transferred from the "Text and Reference Database of the Tocharian A Language" (Gerd Carling Lund University) (funded by the Bank of Sweden Tercentenary Foundation and SCAS).
*Transcription and translation are based on Carling et al. 2009.

Philological commentary

*The translation is largely based on Sieg 1944: 16-17, and Carling et al. 2009.
n1The tune has 4x18 syllables, rhythm 7/7/4.
n2The tune has 4x17 syllables, rhythm 6/6/5.

References

Miscellaneous

Online access

IDP: THT 646; TITUS: THT 646

Edition

Sieg and Siegling 1921: 11; Sieg and Siegling 1921 p. 11

Translations

Adams 2012: a1 (12); Carling 2000: a5 (85), b2 (242), b3 (86), b5 (138), b6 (240); Hackstein 1995: a1 (54), a2 a3 (137), b5 b6 (68), b6 (99); Schmidt 1974: a2 a3 (180, 440), a3 a4 (83, 304f, 401, 495), a3 a4 a5 (127, 388), a3 a4 a5 (83, 127, 304-5, 388, 495); Sieg 1944: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 (16); Thomas 1952: a3 (57), b2 (54); Thomas 1954: a3 (758), b2 (748); Thomas 1957: a2 a3 a4 a5 (159), a6 b1 (221), b3 (99), b3 b4 (259), b3 b4 b5 (161); Thomas 1958a: a5 (151), a6 b1 (152); Thomas 1967: a2 (264); Thomas 1972: b6 (431); Thomas 1976a: a2 (78); Thomas 1979a: a2 (259); Thomas 1983: b6 (35); Thomas 1997: a1 a2 (103), a1 a2 (88)