A 343

Known as:	A 343; THT 977
Cite this page as:	Gerd Carling. "A 343". 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-a343 (accessed 09 Jun. 2026).
Edition
Editor:	Gerd Carling
Provenience
Main find spot:	Shorchuk
Specific find spot:	Stadthöhle
Expedition code:	T III Š 92.46
Collection:	Berlin Turfan Collection
Language and Script
Language:	TA
Script:	classical
Text contents
Title of the work:	Araṇemijātaka
Passage:	b or c
Text genre:	Literary
Text subgenre:	Jātaka/Avadāna
Verse/Prose:	prose; verse
Meter:	43434 (4x)
Object
Manuscript:	Araṇemi
Material:	ink on paper
Form:	Poṭhī
Number of lines:	5

Transliteration

a1	– – – – nā¯ ¯s l· – – – wä¯ ¯l tra ṅka¯ ¯s̝ ku¯ ¯cä ypa¯ ¯m ///
a2	¯l – tñi e na ṣlu ne mā – – ra s̝a e¯ ¯l e ssi ka tsa sra ṅkā¯ – ///
a3	– – na¯ ¯s̝ ā la – ra e¯ ¯l e lū ne yä[¯] [¯s̝] ///
a4	ā kā lsa¯ ¯m kupre – – – – – ·m· laṃ nä tswa tsi kli nta¯ ¯r ñi [e] ///
a5	– sa¯ ¯m mā e sa¯ ¯m tra ṅksī : 1 \|\| sa ska¯ ¯r a ru pu ru hi[¯] [¯t] tra ṅ·· ///
b1	– [ṣ]ñi ā kā li ssmo saṃ ype ye¯ ¯s tā lo rñe mā śke ka ///
b2	ma we ñlu ne – – – – – – mā ā lu ra¯ ¯s̝ lā nta e rk[a] [t]· ///
b3	– – brā mna¯ ¯cä ·ra ṅki¯ ¯ñcä hai bra hma ///
b4	– – ma skeṃ wra so[¯] [¯m] – – [cä] mpa¯ ¯t e laṃ wa ñi yu¯ ¯m nā ///
b5	– mā – ci ka ry[a] [p]·ā – – – ṇā va ti ri • tu e nā¯ ¯k wra so ///

a1	– – – – nās l· – – – wäl träṅkäṣ kuc ypam /// (k_uya)¬
a2	¬l n1 (pa)t ñi enaṣlune mā (kaś) (to)räṣ{†ä} el essi-k ats{†ä} sräṅkā(t) ///
a3	– – naṣ ālä(ṣtā)r{†ä} el elūneyäṣ ///

1x	1σ a4n2 ākāl säm ; k_upre(ne) (nu) ; (caṣ-äk) (c)m(o)laṃ ; nätswatsi ; klintar-ñi e(l)
1d	/// 9σ (plācäṃ) a5 ; (to)säm mā ; esam träṅksī : 1 ॥

*	{s→r}äskär aru puruhit träṅ(käṣ) ///
b1	– ṣñi ākāliss mosaṃ ypey{e→i}s tālorñe mā śk{e→aṃ} ka(ś) (toräṣ) /// (ca)¬
b2	¬m{†ä} weñlune(yäṣ) – – – – mā āluräṣ lānt{†ä} erkat(une) ///
b3	– – brāmnac (t)räṅkiñc hai br{a→ā}hma(ṃ) ///
b4	– (o)mäskeṃ wrasom (mā) (tu) cämpät elaṃ wañiyum nā(täk) ///
b5	– mā (te) ci karya{p→ṣ} (s)ā(s) (aru)ṇāvati ri • tu enāk wraso(m) ///

a1	... The king speaks:
a1	“What shall I do?” ...
a1+	Or why do you prepare to give gifts ..., not paying attention to my command? ...
a2+	... is,
a3	you refrain from giving gifts ...
a3+	[is] the wish,
a4	even if I should starve to death already in this birth, a gift (?) ...
a4+	Such (speech) I do not offer to say.”
a5	1.
a5	Excited into bitterness, the Purohita says
a5+	and for the sake of [your] own desire not caring for the misery of the country ...
b1+	[since] he did not refrain ... (from such) speech [and] (did not care (?) about) the king’s anger...
b2+	... they speak to the Brahmin:
b3	“Fie, o Brahmin ...
b3+	as a bad person you are not able.
b4	The lord is finding pleasure in giving ...
b4+	(whether) this town (Aru)ṇāvatī does not deride you.
b5	You [are] a mean person ...

a1	What should I do? (Peyrot 2013b: 230)
a2	Or why do you prepare to give gifts …, not paying attention to my command? (Peyrot 2013b: 541)

*	Transcription and translation are based on Carling et al. 2009.
*	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).
*	This fragment must be placed after A 344 and, according to Sieg 1952: 35-6, before A 342. Schmidt 2001: 305, 308 places A 342 first.

*	THT 78

*	This text contains a conversation and argument between the king and Purohita [Brahmin], who does not share the king’s generosity towards supplicants. In THT 78 the argument between the king and the vidūṣaka [Brahmin] immediately follows the dialogue of the king and the queen, where the king emphasises the fact that he would even give his own life to a supplicant. Thus it makes sense that A 343 should follow THT 78.
*	In the story as related in this text and the continuing fragment THT 81, there is a gap of unknown length, which may comprise perhaps less than a leaf’s length, but no more than two or three leaves: King Araṇemi drives the Brahmin Rudramukha out of the country before the eyes of his followers – which amounts to a serious insult. Rudramukha betakes himself to a different country where he opens a Brahmin school. All his thoughts and desire are bent on taking revenge on king Araṇemi.
*	The translation follows Schmidt 2001: 308-9, Sieg 1952: 35 and Carling et al. 2009.
n2	This line seems to contain a verse of 4x18 syllables, rhythm 7/7/4.

n1	Translation as above Peyrot 2013b: 541. Schmidt 2001: 309, Sieg 1952: 35 and Couvreur 1954b: 261 have more or less “Or why do you not regard my order [and] get excited [about] giving gifts at all?”. Instead of 'you get excited', Couvreur (op. cit.) suggests as alternative 'you continue'.

Carling 2000: a4 (12); Hackstein 1995: a3 (214), b2 (214); Knoll 1996: a5 (144); Peyrot 2013b: a1 (230), a2 (541); Sieg 1952: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 (35); Thomas 1954: a4 (728)