Work in progress

A 215

Known as:	A 215; THT 848
Cite this page as:	Gerd Carling. "A 215". 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-a215 (accessed 06 Jun. 2026).
Edition
Editor:	Gerd Carling
Provenience
Main find spot:	Shorchuk
Specific find spot:	Stadthöhle
Expedition code:	T III Š 69.15
Collection:	Berlin Turfan Collection
Language and Script
Language:	TA
Script:	classical
Text contents
Title of the work:	Maitreyasamiti-Nāṭaka
Passage:	Act 1
Text genre:	Literary
Text subgenre:	Drama
Verse/Prose:	prose; verse
Meter:	4343 (4x); 5555 (1x), 444343 (1x), 55 (1x), 4443 (1x)
Object
Manuscript:	M-α
Material:	ink on paper
Form:	Poṭhī
Number of lines:	7

Transliteration

a1	/// ·y· mu • śä kwe pi puka¯ ¯l sa rva pā ṣā ṇḍi¯ ¯k ño m· ///
a2	/// ·[w]· pi pku¯ ¯l wsā e la¯ ¯nt ā ra rñi pu kni ṣpa lntu : ni ///
a3	/// kucä s̝pa ñka¯ ¯nt tñā yi mti nā ra¯ ¯s : 1 || yu tko¯ ¯nt a ///
a4	/// ra u [pā] – – – ·ñ· tā lo ntā p·· – l· ta ssi pa ñka¯ ¯nt ti nā ra¯ ¯s • lo¯ ¯k tka nä ṣṣu ṣo ///
a5	/// ne tu mā – – – wtā kṣa kka¯ ¯ts dha ni (–) pr[o] tkaṃ pru tkā ṣñi • || ta rmmāṃ wa śe nyo bā dha ri tra ṅka[¯] [¯s̝] ///
a6	/// śkaṃ sma le tra ṅka¯ ¯m saṃ o kā kti nā rmā śkaṃ na ṣñi • ku[¯] [¯cä] śkaṃ pa ñka¯ ¯nt tā ke ñi || ra skra a rū ni rdha ne tra ///
a7	/// pre ne e tñi kā su śā waṃ ā kā la ntu knā sa mci • ku – – [n]u mā e tñi • || sa ma kko rre naṃ || s̝pa tkoṃ saṃ ywā [rckā] ///
b1	/// [¯ñcä] wā ka laṃ : s̝a pta ñcäṃ koṃ śla klo¯ ¯p wra s̝a¯ ¯l s̝pa tpā – – – pwā kña mci o ka mpa tstsā rsne ki pmo¯ ¯k : śä kwe ///
b2	/// ṣo¯ ¯m nṣā tuka ryä¯ ¯t kuya lmā pra kte ka lpi tā¯ ¯r : 1 || – [pr]· we wñu ra¯ ¯s̝ ra ska ryo pre yä¯ ¯s̝ : || tma¯ ¯s̝ ku m[s]e ///
b3	/// śśi mā [ṇi] – – – ṅka ṣpra ca¯ ¯r pu rṇa – [dr]e : kuya lla śśi ta ṣwa svai śra vaṃ wä¯ ¯l ptā ñka tka ṣyā¯ ¯p ///
b4	/// śä rsa s·i – – || pu rṇa bha dre tra – – klyo ma¯ ¯nt me tra kyā¯ ¯p ptā ñka tka ṣṣi na cwa s̝ta s̝la ///
b5	/// ss[i] mā wo tka¯ ¯m || pu rṇa bha dre tra ṅka¯ ¯s̝ śā we sñä ///
b6	/// ¯m ñka¯ ¯t śkaṃ wlā ñka¯ ¯t śa śä¯ ¯rs • wlā ñka¯ ¯t śkaṃ vai ///
b7	/// ne wä tkā[¯] [¯]l[ts] kra sa¯ ¯s̝ sma kṣa kka tsta mne ///

Transcription

a1	/// ·y· mu • śäk we pi pukäl sarvapāṣāṇḍik ñom(ā) ///
a2

1a	/// (śäk) w(e) pi pkul ; wsā elant ; ārar-ñi puk ; niṣpalntu :
1b	ni /// 13σ
1c	a3/// 14σ
1d	6σ /// kucäṣ ; päñ känt tñ= āyim ; tināräs : 1 ॥

*	yutkont a ///
a4	/// r{†ä} upā – – – · ñ· tālontāp·· – l· tässi päñ känt tināräs • lok tkanäṣ ṣu ṣo ///
a5	/// ne tu mā – – – wtā-k ṣakk ats dhani – protkaṃ prutkāṣ-ñi • ॥ tärmmāṃ waśenyo bādhari träṅkäṣ ///
a6	/// śkaṃ smale träṅkäm säṃ okāk tinār mā śkaṃ naṣ-ñi • kuc śkaṃ päñ känt tāke-ñi ॥ räskrä arū nirdhane trä ///
a7	/// (ku)pre ne et-ñi kāsu śāwaṃ ākāläntu knāsam-ci • ku(pre) (ne) nu mā et-ñi • ॥ samakkorrenaṃ ॥

1a	ṣpät koṃsaṃ ywārckā ; /// b1 12σ /// ñc wākaläṃ :
1b	ṣäptäñcäṃ koṃ ; śla klop wraṣäl ; ṣpät pā(k) (ats) (la)p ; wākñam-ci ; okäm pätstsār ; sne kip mok :
1c	śäk we /// 8σ
1d	b2 4σ /// ; ṣom nṣā tukär yät ; kuyal mā prakte ; kälpitār : 1 ॥

*	(tä)pr(eṃ) wewñuräṣ räskäryo pre yäṣ : ॥ tmäṣ kumse ///
b3	/// śśi māṇi – – (trä)ṅkäṣ pracar purṇa(bha)dre : kuyall aśśi täṣ was vaiśravaṃ wäl ptāñkät käṣyāp ///
b4	/// śärsäs(s)i – – ॥ purṇabhadre trä(ṅkāṣ) klyomänt meträkyāp ptāñkät käṣṣinac waṣtäṣ lä(ñclune) (pälkoräṣ) ///
b5	/// ssi mā wotka-m ॥ purṇabhadre träṅkäṣ śāwes ñä ///
b6	/// m ñkät śkaṃ wlāñkät śaśärs • wlāñkät śkaṃ vai ///
b7	/// ne wätkālts krasaṣ sm-äk ṣakk ats tämne ///

Translation

a1+	... twelve year... named sarvapāṣāṇḍik...
a2	for twelve years I gave alms,
a2	all my possessions have come to an end
a3	... From where would I give you five hundred dinars?
a3+	Worried... poor... five hundred dinars.
a4	From far away... hither...
a4+	... you... not... the wealthy man will certainly lock me up in prison again.
a5	With trembling voice Bādhari says:
a5+	... and I (do not) tell a lie:
a6	I do not even have one dinar.
a6	How should I have five hundred?
a6	Very agitated, Nirdhane says:
a6+	If you give (the dinars) to me, good! I will make your great wishes come true.
a7	If you do not give them to me:
a7+	Within a week... (I will cause your heart) to break.
b1	... On the seventh day, with sorrow and pain, I will split your head into seven parts.
b1	Pay attention, you shameless old man!
b1	... twelve...
b1+	... you are miserly towards me alone -
b2	Why would you not receive punishment?
b2	Having spoken this much, he goes away intensely (?)
b2	Then come...
b2+	... says:
b3	Brother Purṇabhadre, why do we... the king Vaiśravaṇa... of Buddha the teacher...
b3+	... inform...
b4	Purṇabhadre says:
b4+	... Purṇabhadre says: (having seen) that the noble Metrak will leave his home in order to go to the Buddha-god the teacher
b5	Purṇabhadre says:
b5	Great (gods?)...
b5+	... informed the god Brahma and Indra.
b6	Indra... Vai(śravaṇa)...
b6+	... if he knows, he certainly...

Other

a3	[I] do not [even] have five copper coins—how could I now give you five hundred gold pieces? (cf 45) (Peyrot 2013b: 231)
a5	If you do not give me (the money), the rich man will surely have me shut up in prison again! (cf 45) (Peyrot 2013b: 246)
a6	I do not have a single gold piece—how am I going to have five hundred? (Peyrot 2013b: 231)
a7	If, however, you do not give it to me, … (Peyrot 2013b: 247, 633)
a7	If you give me (the money), then [it is] good [and] I will fulfil your great wishes! (cf 283; see also 45) (Peyrot 2013b: 247, 633)
a7	Wenn du [sie] mir gibst, [ist es] gut, [und] ich werde dir [deine] großen Wünsche erfüllen; wenn du [sie] mir aber nicht gibst, [dann] ... (Schmidt 1974: 134)
b1	Within one week … of your mind … I will cause [lit. bring] your heart to break. On the seventh day, with sorrow and pain, I will split your head into seven parts. (cf 45, 47) (Peyrot 2013b: 634)
b7	Make effort so that Bādhari the Brahmin of Dakṣiṇāpatha will fully understand the rising of the Buddha, the teacher, and that he [Bādhari] indeed in this (way) … (so that) the (noble) Maitreya will immediately come to the Buddha, the teacher. (cf 51) (Peyrot 2013b: 652)

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.

Parallel texts

*	YQ I.6-YQ I.7; MaitrHami 1, 12-13; MaitrSiŋgim

Philological commentary

*	This fragment contains part of the first act of the Maitreyasamitināṭaka; the text here correlates with YQ I.6 a8 - YQ I.7 a7. Uy. parallels are MaitrHami 1, 12a (end)-13a30 and MaitrSiŋgim, Taf. 117 (+10) v. 12f. (Tekin 1980: 47). See also Pinault 1999: 193-4.

References

Online access

IDP: THT 848; TITUS: THT 848

Edition

Sieg and Siegling 1921: 104; Ji et al. 1998: 44; Ji et al. 1998: 50; Sieg and Siegling 1921 p. 104

Translations

Carling 2000: a1 (308), a2 (308), a5 (165), a7 (301, 348), b1 (296, 298), b4 (234); Hackstein 1995: a7 (130), b1 (129); Ji et al. 1998: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 (44), a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 (51f); Knoll 1996: a6 (144), b7 (145); Kölver 1965: a5 (20, 108); Müller and Sieg 1916: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 a7 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7; Peyrot 2013b: a3 (231), a5 (246), a6 (231), a7 (247, 633), a7 (247, 633), b1 (634), b7 (652); Schmidt 1974: a7 (134); Thomas 1952: a2 (61); Thomas 1957: a2 (205, 210); Thomas 1967b: b2 (26); Thomas 1990: a2 (17), a3 (17), a4 (17), a5 (18), a5 (65), a6 (18), a6 (62), a7 (18), a7 (19), b1 (19), b2 (20), b2 (22), b2 (61), b2 (67), b3 (22), b4 (23), b7 (24), b7 (24); Thomas 1993: a5 (160)