Work in progress

A 9

Known as:	A 9; THT 642
Cite this page as:	Gerd Carling. "A 9". 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-a9 (accessed 13 Jun. 2026).
Edition
Editor:	Gerd Carling
Provenience
Main find spot:	Shorchuk
Specific find spot:	Stadthöhle
Expedition code:	T III Š 72.09
Collection:	Berlin Turfan Collection
Language and Script
Language:	TA
Script:	classical
Text contents
Title of the work:	Puṇyavantajātaka
Passage:	i
Text genre:	Literary
Text subgenre:	Jātaka/Avadāna
Verse/Prose:	prose; verse
Meter:	4343 (4x); 444 (4x)
Object
Manuscript:	A 1-54
Preceding fragment:	A 8
Following fragment:	A 10
Material:	ink on paper
Form:	Poṭhī
Number of lines:	6

Transliteration

(continues from A 8)

a1	ypā : tu ṅkyo śśi tsi¯ ¯«t» śo mi nāṃ we ka¯ ¯t yaṃ ta rca¯ ¯m ki pyo : sru ksā¯ ¯t ā ñcä¯ ¯m sa mpe ka¯ ¯nt la ṅka[¯] [¯s̝]
a2	ṣpi na¯ ¯cä pa lkā¯ ¯cä kraṃ¯ ¯śä : 1 || wra sa ñpe nu ca¯ ¯m pe ke pa lko ra¯ ¯s̝ yne śpa lskaṃ yā mu¯ ¯s̝ tra ṅki (–)
a3	hai wä ṣpā kā rya ptā¯ ¯k || tma¯ ¯s̝ yaṃ trā cā re ka ṣṣi lā¯ ¯nt cka¯ ¯lk ca¯ ¯m wra¯ ¯m lā¯ ¯nt ā (–)
a4	ññā nā ta¯ ¯k ā lu ype ṣi pe ka¯ ¯nt ye¯ ¯s̝ ñi wa ṣtā kā ka rpu ṣe¯ ¯s̝ sa mtā pa¯ ¯rk ki ps̝a –
a5	pi ṣñi ā ñcä¯ ¯m sa sru kā¯ ¯t ta ṣnā tki¯ ¯s ka rso rtā¯ ¯s̝ wä lpe nu pe rā¯ ¯k ā mā śā sca¯ ¯m wra¯ ¯m –
a6	– lyu tma¯ ¯s̝ ā mā śā¯ ¯ñä ype ṣi ñi wra sa ñku ssa tsne ca¯ ¯m pe ke pa lkā¯ ¯nt puki¯ ¯s yne ś[p]e – –
lf	70 3
b1	– – [t]ā¯ ¯k ta myo ce¯ ¯m pukā¯ ¯k tsā rta¯ ¯r tma¯ ¯s̝ yaṃ trā cā re wra ssa ctra ṅka¯ ¯s̝ ma śkaṃ śe rcä¯ ¯r pu pkā mā (– –)
b2	[po] [r]·[¯] [¯s] spa¯ ¯rp ka rṣto ra¯ ¯s̝ ca ṣpre lo pkā mā¯ ¯cä tma ṣyaṃ trā cā re po ra tyo sva¯ ¯rp ka rṣnā tsi pa knā ṣā¯ ¯t –
b3	ṣpe ka¯ ¯nt pā ka rla ntu yaṃ trā cā reṃ ka ṣṣi na¯ ¯cä tra ṅka¯ ¯s̝ || ku swaṃ || ma rya¯ ¯t ma rya¯ ¯t ma rslā
b4	[k]ka rna¯ ¯s̝t yaṃ trā «cā» re : ma rṣñi po ṣi ma rñi pe ke ka nya¯ ¯t sne ma¯ ¯ṅk : pa lkā rna rṣu ā ne (–)
b5	ne ṣṣo tre pyā mtsā¯ ¯r : ā la kpe ke ā la kpe ka¯ ¯nt kya lmā ka rsnā¯ ¯t : 1 || ta mpa lko ra¯ ¯s̝ pu¯ ¯k wra [s]· (–)
b6	a ñu mā ski nāṃ tsu ṣka rye¯ ¯ñcä || taṃ ne wka nyo o rṣi pe ke ṣi «pe» nu a ra mpā twra sa śśi tu ṅkā pñu ne (–)

(continues on A 10)

Transcription

(continues from A 8)

lf

70-3

1b	a1 ypā :
1c	tuṅkyo =śśi tsit ; śomināṃ ; wekat yaṃtär ; cam kipyo :
1d	sruksāt āñcäm ; säm pekant ; läṅkäṣ a2 ṣpinac ; pälkāc kraṃś : 1 ॥

*	wrasañ penu cam peke pälkoräṣ yneś pälskaṃ yāmuṣ träṅki(ñc)
a3	hai wäṣpā kāryap tāk ॥ tmäṣ yaṃtrācāre käṣṣi lānt{a}c kälk cam wram lānt ā(kṣi)¬
a4	¬ññā nātäk ālu ypeṣi pekant yeṣ ñi waṣtā kākärpu ṣeṣ säm tāpärk kip ṣä(rma)¬
a5	¬{p→ṣ}i ṣñi āñcäm sasrukāt täṣ nātkis kärsor tāṣ wäl penu perāk āmāśās cam wram (lkā)¬
a6	¬(tsi) lyu tmäṣ āmāśāñ ypeṣiñi wrasañ kuss ats ne cam peke pälkānt pukis yneś pe(kant)
b1	(käṣṣi) tāk tämyo cem pukā-k tsārtar tmäṣ yaṃtrācāre wrassac träṅkäṣ maśkaṃ śercär {p→ṣ}u pkāmā(c-ñi)
b2	por(a){s→t} sparp kärṣtoräṣ caṣ pre lo pkāmāc tmäṣ yaṃtrācāre poratyo svarp kärṣnātsi päknāṣāt (tmä)¬
b3	¬ṣn1 pekant pākär lantu yaṃtrācāreṃ käṣṣinac träṅkäṣ ॥ kuswaṃ ॥

1a	mar yat mar yat ; mar slāb4kkär naṣt ; yaṃtrācāre :
1b	mar ṣñi poṣi ; mar ñi peke ; ka{n→t} yat sne maṅk :
1c	pälkār nar ṣu ; āne(ñci) b5 neṣ ; ṣotre pyāmtsār :
1d	ālak peke ; ālak pekant ; kyal mā kärsnāt : ॥

*	täm pälkoräṣ puk wras(añ)
b6	añumāski nāṃtsuṣ karyeñc ॥ taṃne wkänyo orṣi pekeṣi penu arämpāt wrasaśśi tuṅ= kāpñune (a)¬
*	¬(räṣ)

(continues on A 10)

Translation

(continues from A 8)

a1	Presumably out of love he touched the girl
a1	and the mechanism broke down.
a1	Out of shame the painter killed himself:
a1+	he is hanging from the nail -
a2	look, o good ones!
a2	The people, too, who saw the painting and took it for real say:
a3	Alas!
a3	It was really a damage!
a3	Thereupon the master mechanic went to the king
a3+	and this matter to the king he told [saying]:
a4	Oh lord, there came a painter from another country
a4	[and] he came down to my house,
a4+	now because of shame he has killed himself!
a5	The lord should know this.
a5+	The king, however, who believed him, sent the minister to (look into) this [matter].
a6+	Thereupon the ministers and noblemen, whoever had seen the picture, for everybody it was really the master painter.
b1	Therefore they cried all together.
b1	Thereupon the mechanic says to the people:
b1+	Useless(?) is your crying, bring my axe!
b2	After having cut off the rope, carry this one away.
b2	Thereupon the mechanic wanted to cut off the rope with the axe.
b2+	Thereupon the painter stood forward and said to the master mechanic:
b3	|| In the K.-tune: ||
b3	Do not do it,
b3	do not do it,
b3+	do not be sad, oh mechanic,
b4	do not destroy your wall, do not destroy my painting without defect.
b4	Watch carefully, you fool/friend(?)
b4+	first observe the rule:
b5	one thing is the painting, another thing is the painter,
b5	why don’t you know that? 1. ||
b5+	All people that have seen this being amazed they laugh.
b6	Thus a figure of wood and painting, too, (calls forth) the love [and] affection of the living beings,

(continues on A 10)

Other

a1	er tötete sich selbst (Schmidt 1974: 309, fn. 2)
a1+	Presumably out of love he touched the girl and the mechanism broke down. Out of shame the painter killed himself: he is hanging from the nail—look, o good ones! (Peyrot 2013b: 279)
a4+	Es kam ein Maler eines anderen Landes, in meinem Haus war er abgestiegen. Der hat sich jetzt aus Scham selbst getötet. (Schmidt 1974: 316)
a5	The lord should know this. (cf 12; 261) (Peyrot 2013b: 223)
a5	er tötete sich selbst (Schmidt 1974: 309, fn. 2)
b1+	Deshalb weinten sie alle insgesamt. Darauf sagte der Mechaniker zu den Menschen: "Weinet doch nicht, holet (mir) eine Axt herbei: Nach Zerschneidung des Strickes tragt diesen fort!" (Schmidt 1974: 92-3)
b2	Darauf wollte der Mechaniker mit der Axt den Strick zerschneiden. (Schmidt 1974: 148)
b3+	Tu's nicht, tu's nicht, sei nicht traurig, o Mechaniker, [zerstöre] nicht deine Wand, zerstöre nicht mein makelloses Gemälde, sieh sorgfältig zu, [o] Freund, beachte zuvor die Regel: [Ein] anderes ist das Gemälde, [ein] anderes der Maler, warum weißt du [das] nicht? (Schmidt 1974: 190, 431)

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: 12-13, and Carling et al. 2009.
n1	The tune has 4x12 syllables, rhythm 4/4/4.

References

Online access

IDP: THT 642; TITUS: THT 642

Edition

Sieg and Siegling 1921: 8-9; Sieg and Siegling 1921 p. 8, p. 9

Translations

Carling 2000: a1 a2 (75), a3 (235), a4 (56, 147); Lane 1947: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 (33ff); Peyrot 2013b: a1 a2 (279), a5 (223); Schmidt 1974: a1 (309 n.2), a1 (309, fn. 2), a4 a5 (316), a5 (309 n.2), a5 (309, fn. 2), b1 b2 (92f), b1 b2 (92-3), b2 (148), b3 b4 b5 (431), b3 b4 b5 (190, 431), b4 b5 (190); Sieg 1944: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 (12); Thomas 1954: b2 (719); Thomas 1957: a1 (41), a2 a3 (216), a3 a4 (85), a4 (41), a4 a5 (41, 202, 301), a6 b1 (223); Thomas 1958: b3 b4 (298); Thomas 1963: a3 a4 (45), b1 (43), b2 (44), b3 b4 (44); Thomas 1969b: a4 (57); Thomas 1973: b3 b4 (88); Thomas 1975: b3 b4 (310); Thomas 1981: a5 (491), b3 b4 (494); Thomas 1983: a3 (27), a4 (29); Thomas 1997: b1 (103), b1 (95)