A 62
| Known as: | A 62; THT 695 |
|---|---|
| Cite this page as: | Gerd Carling (text); Fanny Meunier (translation commentary); Michaël Peyrot (translation commentary); Adrian Musitz (translation). "A 62". 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-a62 (accessed 12 Jul. 2025). |
Edition | |
| Editor: | Gerd Carling (text); Fanny Meunier (translation commentary); Michaël Peyrot (translation commentary); Adrian Musitz (translation) |
| Date of online publication: | 2014-05-30 |
Provenience | |
| Main find spot: | Shorchuk |
| Specific find spot: | Stadthöhle |
| Expedition code: | T III Š 85.8 |
| Collection: | Berlin Turfan Collection |
Language and Script | |
| Language: | TA |
| Script: | classical |
Text contents | |
| Title of the work: | Avadāna |
| Text genre: | Literary |
| Meter: | 4343 (4x) |
Object | |
| Manuscript: | A 55-88 |
| Material: | ink on paper |
| Form: | Poṭhī |
| Number of lines: | 6 |
Images
Images from titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de by courtesy of the Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien (TITUS).
Transliteration
| a1 | /// m· śpā lmeṃ ma rka m(·)a¯ ¯l• : yma [tu]¯ ¯nt• mi [ṣ]ā pi ssa ṅkṣiṃ wi nā sa ma¯ ¯s• mrā¯ ¯cä (– – – –) – tāṃ (–) – (–) |
|---|---|
| a2 | /// – ¯s• jā ta ka¯ ¯·• kā pñe śo l[n]tu – wä sne¯ ¯s̝• : 1 kā pñe sse wā¯ ¯s• ā nti ṣpu¯ ¯r[•] sne – ·ä ri sā¯ ¯t• ni ṣpa lntu |
| a3 | /// w·¯ ¯[s]• mā pā śo ñcä¯ ¯[s] – – – ·[ā] lṣ· pta ntwā yä· s·¯ ¯t• ne¯ ¯s̝• ma rka mpa lntu ā ṣā ni¯ ¯k• : pu¯ ¯k ta¯ ¯m• wa¯ ¯s• ṣru |
| a4 | /// ¯t saṃ sā raṃ – – [t]· ··[ṃ] klo – ¯ – [pa] ls[k]·¯ ¯cä wtā¯ – ṣñi klo ptā kaṃ ā la śī : trye saṃ khe saṃ ka¯ ¯nt• ka lpsaṃ kro pa¯ ¯t ka |
| a5 | /// [¯]ñcä ptā ñka¯ ¯t• pa lskā¯ ¯t• ke ne¯ ¯s̝• yä¯ ¯rk yā ·[i]¯ ¯m• : mā ka lpā¯ ¯t• caṃ yä¯ ¯rk yā mlaṃ ku cne yä rkā yā ma lṣe¯ ¯s̝• : 3 ma rka mpa |
| a6 | /// [pa]¯ ¯ñä cmo lwā ṣni¯ ¯s• se wā ssā¯ ¯k• o pyā¯ ¯cä ka llā¯ ¯t• pa ttā ñka¯ ¯t• : maṃ tne pā ca¯ ¯r• ni ṣpa lntu wla [l]· (–) – (–) |
| b1 | /// – lṣā¯ ¯s• ni ṣpa lntu : 4 lye pa¯ ¯s• wa saṃ tṣaṃ spā rtwe¯ ¯ñcä ka lke¯ ¯ñcä ñä kta sna peṃ saṃ : sne ka¯ ¯śä s[u]ku (–) – (–) |
| b2 | /// pi ktra ma rka mpa¯ ¯l• kri tāṃ ya¯ ¯s̝• sa¯ ¯m• ptā ñä kte¯ ¯s• : ko sne po stkaṃ a kṣa ri tpre nä¯ ¯k• wyā ra¯ ¯s• sa¯ ¯s• yā mtra : 5 w[ä] ·ū |
| b3 | /// mā¯ ¯k• [p]ñi [ma] [s]ka ta¯ ¯r• : [a] – khe syo cmo la [nt]waṃ ka ṣṣi kro pa¯ ¯t• ma rka mpa¯ ¯l• : ā¯ ¯rs̝ krā¯ ¯nt• ṣo¯ ¯m• ṣlyo¯ ¯k pe ka tra |
| b4 | /// ¯m• pñi ntu (–) ma skaṃ tra – (– –) [y]ā[¯] [¯p]• ta nne we [w]·· ka ṣṣ[i] śśi : 6 wū we ptā ñka¯ ¯t• mṣa pa ntni¯ ¯s• ā¯ ¯nt• ra tkaṃ |
| b5 | /// [ln]tu mṣa pa ntni[¯] [¯s̝] sa¯ ¯m• mṣa pa ntiṃ – [ṣu] kṣe ñi ā pṣā tri kā¯ ¯ñä sne e¯ ¯ts• ri sā¯ ¯nt• ni – lce¯ ¯m• : ā kā¯ ¯l• |
| b6 | /// [7] keṃ pa lkā saṃ – ¯r• cmi m[t](·)· ma¯ ¯r• wi¯ ¯·• wrā ṣi ma¯ ¯s ca¯ ¯m• sī ddhāṃ : ma rka mpa [l]·[ā] (– – –) ntwaṃ sa[¯] [¯m]• (–) |
Transcription
Translation
| a1 | ... the excellent Law. The ymatu assembly of the community of monks we revere (with) the head [and] (front of the head). |
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| a2 | ... jātakas ... he entered dear lives previously. 1. |
| a2+ | Beloved ones, sons, harem[s] and possessions he has abandoned without (greed). |
| a3 | ... not begging ... ... he has honoured the Laws previously, the honourable one. |
| a3+ | All that (you have done?) for our sake ... in the saṃsāra. |
| a4 | 2. These sufferings he put onto his mind, [but] his own suffering has been indifferent to him. |
| a4+ | In three asaṃkhyeyas [and] hundred kalpas the teacher has assembled (the Law) ... |
| a5 | (Thus) the Buddha thought (by himself), «to whom shall I first make reverence?», [but] he found no one worthy of reverence he could have made reverence to. 3. |
| a5+ | The Law ... |
| a6 | You, o Buddha, remember the sons of the five births in the end. |
| a6+ | Like a father (who leaves) [his] possessions (to his sons) when dying, (thus the teacher) has left the possessions of (the Law) to us. |
| b1 | [4.] Here they (= the possessions of the Law) will turn round [and] go among men [and] gods; |
| b1+ | countless pleasures ...; |
| b2 | he who writes down the Law shows his gratitude to the Buddha; as many akṣaras as there are in a book, so many monasteries will the first make. 5. |
| b2+ | ... will be great merit. |
| b3 | Through asaṃkhyeyas in the births the teacher has assembled the Law. |
| b3+ | [Even] if he writes one single stanza as holy text ... merits will have the teacher. |
| b4 | Thus [it] has been said by the teachers. |
| b4+ | Two the Buddha has called leaders in the front army... |
| b5 | ... possessions ... from the leader he [is] the leader. These citizens of the villages [and] of the boroughs delivered the possession without greed. |
| b5+ | The wish ... |
| b6 | 7. May we not be born among heretics, may we not practice [any] magical saying [as] the right doctrine! ... of the Law ... |
Other
| a2 | Liebe Söhne, Harem [und] Besitztümer hat er [scil. der Buddha] ohne (Geiz) aufgegeben. (Schmidt 1974: 416) |
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| a3 | ... hat zuerst die Gesetze verehrt der Würdige. (Schmidt 1974: 143) |
| a5 | (Thus) the Buddha thought (by himself), «to whom shall I first make reverence?», [but] he found no one worthy of reverence he could have made reverence to. (Peyrot 2013b: 274) |
| a5 | (So) hat der Buddha in (seinem) Herzen gedacht: "Wen soll ich zuerst verehren?" [Aber] er fand keinen Verehrungswürdigen, den er hätte verehren können. (Schmidt 1974: 197) |
| a5 | Wem könnte ich [wohl] Verehrung erweisen? (Schmidt 1974: 80) |
| a6 | Die Söhne der fünf Geburtsklassen erinnerst du, o Buddha, an das Ende [d.h. an den Tod]. (Schmidt 1974: 374) |
| b1+ | Here they (= the possessions of the law) will turn round and go among men and gods; countless pleasures …; he who writes down the law, shows his gratitude to the Buddha; as many akṣaras as there are in a book, so many monasteries will the first make. (Peyrot 2013b: 260) |
| b2 | Wieviel Akṣaras in einem Buche [sind], so [viele] Klöster wird der eine bauen. (Schmidt 1974: 461-2) |
| b2 | (Wer) das Gesetz [auf]schreibt, der tut [nach] dem Willen des Buddha. (Schmidt 1974: 456) |
| b3 | Durch Asaṃkhyeyas [hindurch] hat der Meister in [seinen] Geburten das Gesetz gesammelt. (Schmidt 1974: 401) |
| b6 | Unter Irrlehrern möchten wir nicht [wieder]geboren werden, nicht möchten wir einen [beliebigen] Spruch(?) für die rechte Lehre(?) halten. (Schmidt 1974: 350) |
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. | |
| The fragment is currently missing. On the photo in the plates volume (Sieg and Siegling 1921: II, 17; photos 8a and 8b), a small fragment is not included. This fragment must have contained a1 ssaṅkṣiṃ wi and b6 ṣimäs ca. |
Philological commentary
| [a1] – – – – – – – ¦ – m· śpālmeṃ märkam(p)al : [1a] ymatunt miṣā pissaṅkṣiṃ ¦ wināsamäs mrāc (śpālyo :) [1b] – – – tāṃ – – – [a2] – – – – – – – [1c] – – – – s jātakä(s) ¦ kāpñe śolntu (yo)wäs neṣ : 1 kāpñes sewās āntiṣpur ¦ sne (ets) risāt niṣpalntu [a3] (:) [2a] – – – – – w· – ¦ mā pāśoñcäs – – – [2b] – l ṣ ·ptäntwā yä·· s·t neṣ ¦ märkampalntu āṣānik : [2c] puk täm was ṣru [a4] (maṣ) – – – ¦ – – – – t saṃsāraṃ ( : 2) t(osä)ṃ klo(pant) pälsk(a)c wtā(k) ¦ ṣñi klop tākaṃ ālaśī : [3a] try esaṃkhesaṃ känt kalpsaṃ ¦ kropat kä [a5] (ṣṣi märkampal :) [3b] – – – – – ñc ptāñkät ¦ pälskāt ke neṣ yärk yā(m)im : [3c] mā kälpāt caṃ yärk yāmläṃ ¦ kuc ne yärkā yāmäl ṣeṣ : 3 märkampa [a6] – – – – ¦ – – – – – – – (:) [4a] päñ-cmolwāṣnis sewāss āk ¦ opyāc källāt pättāñkät : [4b] mäṃt ne pācar niṣpalntu ¦ wlal(uneyaṃ se) [b1] (wāśśi :) [4c] lipäṣ tämnek säm käṣṣi ¦ märkampa)lṣās niṣpalntu : 4 lyepäs wasäṃ tṣaṃ spārtweñc ¦ kälkeñc ñäktas napeṃsaṃ : [5a] sne kaś suku(ntu) – – [b2] – ¦ – – – – – – – (:) [5b] (kus) (ne) pikträ märkampal ¦ kritāṃ yaṣ säm ptāñäktes : [5c] kos ne postkaṃ akṣari ¦ tpren-äk wyāräs sas yāmträ : 5 wä·· ū [b3] – – – – – ¦ – – māk pñi mäskatär : [6a] a(saṃ)khesyo cmoläntwaṃ ¦ käṣṣi kropat märkampal : [6b] ārṣkrānt ṣom ṣlyok pekaträ ¦ [b4] – – – – – m pñintu : [6c] mäskaṃträ (cam käṣṣi)yāp ¦ tanne wew(ñu) käṣṣiśśi : 6 wū we ptāñkät mṣapantnis ¦ ānt ratkaṃ [b5] – – – – [7a] – – – – (niṣpa)lntu ¦ mṣapantniṣ säm mṣapantiṃ (:) [7b] (ṣu)kṣeñi āpṣātrikāñ ¦ sne ets risānt ni(ṣpa)l cem : [7c] ākāl [b6] – – – – – ¦ – – – – – – – (:) 7 keṃ pälkāsaṃ (ma)r cmimt(rä) ¦ mar wi(c) wrāṣimäs cam sīddhāṃ : [8a] märkampal(ṣ)ā(s) – – ntwaṃ ¦ sam – – – – – – [8b] | |
| n1 | yä(rk)s(ā)t: This restoration of Thomas 1957: 153 makes sense in the context, but this stem of the verb yärk- is not attested otherwise (cf. e.g. Peyrot 2013b: 467). The reading is in fact not very likely to be correct: the last consonantal element of the second akṣara is certainly s, but it cannot have been only k, since it is too low and too far to the right. It is more likely to be the third consonantal element of a heavier ligature. |
| n2 | Thomas 1957: 153 restores puk täm was ṣru(maṣ yāmtsāt klopant kropa)t saṃsāraṃ "Alles das hat er unseretwegen getan. Leiden hat er gesammelt im Saṃsāra.". If correct, ṣru(maṣ) would violate the metre. |
| n3 | – – klo(pant): Thomas 1957: 153 restores (ālu) klo(pant), which does not seem possible. Parts of the large akṣara lu should still have been visible. |
| n4 | try esaṃkhesaṃ: For try asaṃkhesaṃ. |
| n5 | /// ñc ptāñkät: Thomas 1957: 153 restores (tämne ṣñi āri)ñc ptāñkät pälskāt "(So) hat der Buddha in (seinem) Herzen gedacht". If correct, (ṣñi āri)ñc would violate the metre. The metre would be all right if the original text had e.g. (tämne ṣñ= āri)ñc pättāñkät. |
| n6 | märkampa(l): Possibly märkampa(lṣās niṣpalntu), cf. b1. |
| n7 | päñ-cmolwāṣnis: For päñ-cmolwāṣinäs. See a comparable inversion of the vowels of the last two syllables in b4 mṣapantnis and b5 mṣapantniṣ. |
| n8 | lipäṣ: The restoration of this word and the rest of the lacuna follows Thomas 1957: 153. The present stem of läyp- s-tr. is so far unattested (cf. Malzahn 2010: 851; Peyrot 2013b: 810). |
| n9 | sas: Literally 'one', but here probably 'the first', cf. A 11 b4-6 sas 'one', wät 'second', trit 'third'. |
| n10 | mṣapantnis: For mṣapantinäs. See a comparable inversion of the vowels of the last two syllables in a6 päñ-cmolwāṣnis and b5 mṣapantniṣ. |
| n11 | ānt ratkaṃ: Apparently a compound 'front army'. |
| n12 | The beginning of the line is restored as pekäntāśśi 'of the writers' by Thomas 1957: 153. Indeed, it is likely that the expression mṣapantnis ānt ratkaṃ is part of a metaphor, but Thomas' restoration violates the metre. |
| n13 | mṣapantniṣ: For mṣapantinäṣ. See a comparable inversion of the vowels of the last two syllables in a6 päñ-cmolwāṣnis and b4 mṣapantnis. |
| n14 | ṣukṣeñi āpṣātrikāñ: The metre rather requires 4 + 3 syllables here. |
| n15 | : For the reading and the restoration, cf. Sieg et al. 1931: p. 316. Nevertheless, the metre is not regular: the first segment of mar wi(c) wrāṣimäs cam sīddhāṃ is 5 instead of the required 4 syllables. |
| n16 | märkampal(ṣ)ā(s) – – ntwaṃ: A restoration märkampal(ṣ)ā(s niṣpal)ntwaṃ, a frequent expression in this text, is excluded because the top of the akṣara ntwaṃ is preserved. Also a (metrically incorrect) spelling of the same as märkampal(ṣ)ā(s niṣpalä)ntwaṃ is impossible, because it would have taken more space. Theoretically, (cmolä)ntwaṃ would be possible. |
References
Online access
Edition
Sieg and Siegling 1921: 35-36; Sieg and Siegling 1921 p. 35, p. 36
Translations
Carling 2000: a2 (47, 48), a4 (312, 315), b1 (229), b3 (313); Carling et al. 2009: a4 (20), b5 (38b); Knoll 1996: b2 (132); Peyrot 2011: b6 (44); Peyrot 2013b: a5 (274), a6 b1 (260), b1 b2 (260); Pinault 2002a: b2 (273); Schmidt 1974: a2 (416), a3 (143), a5 (80, 197), a5 (197), a5 (80), a6 (374), b2 (456, 461f, 503 n.1), b2 (461-2), b2 (456), b3 (401), b6 (350); Thomas 1952: a5 (46), a5 (50); Thomas 1957: a2 (153), a3 a4 a5 (153), a4 (206), a6 b1 (153), b3 (206), b4 (153, 283), b5 (153); Thomas 1958: b6 (293); Thomas 1966a: b2 (178); Thomas 1968: a4 (220), a6 b1 (220); Thomas 1970a: a5 (469); Thomas 1983: a2 (19), b1 (22); Thomas 1995: b3 (67)
Bibliography
Carling, Gerd. 2000. Die Funktion der lokalen Kasus im Tocharischen. Berlin/New York: de Gruyter.
Carling, Gerd, Georges-Jean Pinault, and Werner Winter. 2009. A dictionary and thesaurus of Tocharian A. Volume 1: Letters a-j. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
“The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.” n.d. http://idp.bl.uk.
Knoll, Gabriele. 1996. “Die Verwendungsweisen der Adjektive im Tocharischen.” PhD, Universität Frankfurt am Main.
Malzahn, Melanie. 2010. The Tocharian verbal system. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
Peyrot, Michaël. 2011. “Review of: A Dictionary and Thesaurus of Tocharian A. Volume 1: letters a-j.” Kratylos 56: 30–50.
Peyrot, Michaël. 2013b. The Tocharian subjunctive. A study in syntax and verbal stem formation. Vol. 8. Brill’s Studies in Indo-European Languages & Linguistics. Leiden/Boston: Brill.
Pinault, Georges-Jean. 2002a. “Tocharian and Indo-Iranian: relations between two linguistic areas.” In Indo-Iranian Languages and Peoples, edited by Nicholas Sims-Williams, 116:243–84. Proceedings of the British Academy. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press.
Schmidt, Klaus T. 1974. “Die Gebrauchsweisen des Mediums im Tocharischen.” PhD, Universität Göttingen.
Sieg, Emil, and Wilhelm Siegling. 1921. Tocharische Sprachreste, I. Band. Die Texte. A. Transcription. Berlin/Leipzig: de Gruyter.
Sieg, Emil, and Wilhelm Siegling. 1921. Tocharische Sprachreste, I. Band. Die Texte. A. Transcription. Personal annotated copy of Wilhelm Siegling. Scanned by Douglas Q. Adams with the technical assistance of Michael Tarabulski and Kevin Dobbins. Berlin/Leipzig: de Gruyter.
Sieg, Emil, Wilhelm Siegling, and Wilhelm Schulze. 1931. Tocharische Grammatik. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht.
Thomas, Werner. 1952. Die tocharischen Verbaladjektive auf -l. Deutsche Akad. der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, Institut für Orientforschung 9. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag.
Thomas, Werner. 1957. Der Gebrauch der Vergangenheitstempora im Tocharischen. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
Thomas, Werner. 1958. “Zum Gebrauch des prohibitiven mar bzw. mā im Tocharischen.” Central Asiatic Journal 3: 289–308.
Thomas, Werner. 1966a. “Tocharische Udānastotras der Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.” Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Sprachforschung 80: 163–81.
Thomas, Werner. 1968. “Zur Verwendung von toch. A oki/B ramt und A mäṃtne/B mäkte in Vergleichen.” Orbis 17: 198–231.
Thomas, Werner. 1970a. “Zu einigen Besonderheiten der tocharischen Syntax.” Orbis 19: 452–72.
Thomas, Werner. 1983. Der tocharische Obliquus im Sinne eines Akkusativs der Richtung. Abhandlungen d. Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaftlichen Klasse 6. Mainz: Verlag d. Akad. d. Wissenschaften und d. Literatur.
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Gippert, Jost, Katharina Kupfer, Christiane Schaefer, and Tatsushi Tamai. n.d. “Thesaurus Indogermanischer Text- und Sprachmaterialien (TITUS): Tocharian Manuscripts from the Berlin Turfan Collection.” http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/tocharic/thtframe.htm.
