PK NS 30

Known as:	PK NS 30; Pelliot Koutchéen Nouvelle Série 30
Cite this page as:	Georges-Jean Pinault; Melanie Malzahn (collaborator). "PK NS 30". 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-pkns30 (accessed 27 Jul. 2024).
Edition
Editor:	Georges-Jean Pinault; Melanie Malzahn (collaborator)
Provenience
Main find spot:	Duldur-akur
Collection:	Bibliothèque nationale de France, fonds Pelliot Koutchéen (Paris)
Language and Script
Language:	TB
Linguistic stage:	classical
Add. linguistic characteristics:	archaic
Script:	classical
Text contents
Passage:	Combat of the Bodhisattva with Māra
Text genre:	Literary
Text subgenre:	Buddhastotra
Verse/Prose:	prose
Object
Manuscript:	PK NS 30
Material:	ink on paper
Form:	Poṭhī
Size (h × w):	13.6 × 16.3 cm
Number of lines:	8
Interline spacing:	1.8 cm

Images

Images from gallica.bnf.fr by courtesy of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Département des Manuscrits, Pelliot koutchéen.

Transliteration

a1	/// [ma] ske tr[a] mt(·) pre ra • wa stsya rṣa kla¯ – ///
a2	/// rn[a] ywā rcä wa lkwi ra¯ ¯mt wī yä skeṃ m(·) [cu] ///
a3	/// [ñ](·) kte mā rñä kte śco¯ ¯mp pā lka pā lka cwi po ñ(·) ///
a4	/// ha nma • vi dyu su me ra gā ṅgä sa mu dtra br[a] ///
a5	/// mñcu ṣke nne neṃ ma kte śai ṣṣe kau n[m]e ñne 20 7 mā rñä kte t(·) ///
a6	/// [sa] ktsi po śai ṣṣe ke ni pre ra ṣe po sa lpa mā s̝a ptā ka – ///
a7	/// – rska ykā ssa ññe mñcu [ṣ]ke ntse tsai ntsa ma hī śva ri tsai ntsa ra ///
a8	/// – (·)ā – (·)e (– –) ce [p]o śai ṣṣe tā kā rṣa kla nt[s]a wä nto w·a ///
b1	/// y(·) ta rṣa kl[a] n(·) (–) rntsa • mā rñ[ä] kte ca rka mo haṃ ñe mā stra – ///
b2	/// ñe mka klā wau nā ge ā ñma myā ska te • mñcu ṣke ntwe ca rka tsai ///
b3	/// [ke]ṃ a māṃ ṣṣe bra hma śī ra ñe ma a stra o ṅko lmā ñ[k]a ///
b4	/// (·)[ṣ](·) o ṅko lmaṃ 30 mā rñä kte ca rka ā stra wai ke [ṣ](·)e ///
b5	/// (·)s(·) tsai nwa mā rñä kte ntse ṣa le ā ñma me mi ///
b6	/// [c](·) rka ri lle ṣṣe ā stra lyka śke swe se ta rka ///
b7	/// ca rka pi śkrau pe ṣṣe stra ye nte a ñma me ///
b8	/// ntwe [e] m(·)eṃ [p]i lko ṣṣe ca rka tsai na kau ///

Transcription

a1	/// mäsketr= amt (i)prerä • wastsy arṣakla(ñ) ///
a2	n1 /// …rna ywārcä walkwi ramt wīyäskeṃ m(ñ)cu(ṣke) ///
a3	n2 /// ñ(a)kte mār-ñäkteśc omp pālka pālka cwi po ñ(akti) ///
a4	n2 /// (gra)hanma • vidyu sumerä gāṅgä samudträ bra(hmalok) ///
a5	n3 /// mñcuṣkenn eneṃ makte śaiṣṣe kaun meñne 20-7 mār-ñäkte t· ///
a6	n4 /// (t)säktsi po śaiṣṣe ken iprerä ṣe po sälpa mā ṣäp tāka – ///
a7	n5 n6 /// (pä)rska ykāssäññe mñcuṣkentse tsaintsa mahīśvari tsaintsa ra ///
a8	/// – ·ā – ·e – – ce po śaiṣṣe tāk= ārṣaklantsa wäntow (r)a ///
b1	n7 /// ·y·t arṣaklan· – rntsa • mār-ñäkte carka mohaṃ ñem āsträ – ///
b2	/// ñem kaklāwau nāge āñmä myāskate • mñcuṣk= entwe carka tsai(n) ///
b3	n8 /// keṃ amāṃṣṣe brahmaśīrä ñemä asträ oṅkolmāñ ka… ///
b4	n9 /// (-ṣ)ṣ(eṃ) oṅkolmaṃ 30 mār-ñäkte carka āsträ waikeṣ(ṣ)e ///
b5	/// (ñemt)s(a) tsainwa mār-ñäktentse ṣale āñmä memi(skoṣepi) ///
b6	n10 /// c(a)rka rilleṣṣe āsträ lykaśke swese tärkä(namane) ///
b7	/// carka piś kraupeṣṣe =strä yente añmä me(misku) ///
b8	/// (e)ntwe em(pr)eṃ pilkoṣṣe carka tsainä kau(ṣeñcai) ///

Translation

a1	... the heaven somehow remains ... . The serpents (were like) a cover ...
a2	... amidst ... they frighten like wolves. The prince ...
a3	... the lord (says) to lord Māra: "Look, look here! All the g(ods) of this [world] (are witness) ...
a4	... the (pla)nets. Lightning, mount Sumeru, the Gaṅgā, the ocean, the Bra(hmā world) ...
a5	... inside the prince (light shone) like the world [shines] under the sun [and] the moon. 27. Lord Māra ...
a6	... in order to burn. The whole world together with earth [and] heaven entirely glowed and there was no ...
a7	... (the world?) was (afr)aid of the bolt of Prince Kāma [lit. sexual desire] like of the bolt of Mahīśvara [the earth lord] ...
a8	... the whole world was somehow covered by serpents ...
b1	... with ... [and] serpents. Lord Māra threw [his] arrow called "Delusion" [Skt. mohana-] ...
b2	... he changes himself into the Nāga called ... . Then the prince threw a bolt ...
b3	... [his] arrow called the Brahmaśiras [lit. Brahmā's head] of Arrogance. The elephants ...
b4	... the elephants of ... . 30. Lord Māra threw [his] arrow (called the) ... of Deceit ...
b5	... the bolts (call)ed ... (were thrown) by lord Māra who had changed himself into a mountain. ...
b6	... he [= Bodhisattva] threw the arrow of Renunciation [Skt. tyāga-], [which is] emitting a sweet rain. ...
b7	... he [= Māra] threw the arrow [consisting] of the five sensorial aggregates [Skt. pañcaskandha-] having changed himself into wind. ...
b8	... then [the Bodhisattva] threw the bolt of the True View [Skt. samyagdṛṣṭi-] [which] kill(s all passions). ...

Other

b1	Gott Māra entließ den Pfeil namens mohana ["Blendwerk, Täuschung"]. (Schmidt 1974: 508, fn. 2)

Commentary

Linguistic commentary

	The text is basically classical TB, but is has many archaic spellings including several instances of word-final -ä. It is likely that it has been copied from an archaic manuscript precisely like PK NS 39. This is proven by the hypercorrect spelling makte for mäkte in a3.
	ramt\ (a2) and omp\ (a3) have virāma writing of the akālk-type. This type is also often attested on the leaf PK NS 39, which belongs to the same manuscript.
n10	tärkä(namane) stands for standard tärkanamane, which has the expected longer ana-suffix of a prose form without syncope.

Remarks

	A fragment from the same manuscript as PK NS 39, but a different leaf.

Philological commentary

n1	This description of fierce animals belongs to the stereotype of Māra's army. Even though this host of beasts is supposed to be frightening by itself, the Boddhisattva is actually not afraid. In addition, since this seems to be a prose text, the finite verb wīyäskeṃ should close the sentence, so that the next word cannot be its direct object but should start a new sentence. Note that wolves are mentioned as part of the standard list of beasts belonging to Māra's host.
n2	The first sentence is part of the dialgue between Māra and the Bodhisattva, during which the latter invokes the earth goddess as witness.This testimony of the whole earth including all gods immediately causes all the parts of the world to shake six times.
n3	Since in the traditional account this assault of Māra failed, he has recourse to his daughters whom he sents to seduce the Bodhisattva. In our text it appears that Māra is instead himself represented by god Kāma [= desire], who has five arrows according to Indian tradition. These arrows have different names and correspond to various components of love. One of them is precisely Skt. mohana- 'delusion' occurring here in line b3.
n4	The damaged sign at the end of the line can be ‹wa›, ‹la›, or ‹o›.
n5	The remains of the damaged sign does not allow for the correct form parska, so we have here again an archaic spelling pärska.
n6	The adversaries use two different missile weapons: tsain and āsträ. Pace Couvreur 1964: 246, n. 55, tsain is not exclusively used by the Bodhisattva just like āsträ is not exclusively used by Māra. tsain is a loan from Iranian and has originally a broader meaning 'weapon' while Skt. astra- is a missile weapon, usually 'arrow, bolt'.
n7	The best reading is rntsa; before that we seem to have a ligatura that may end in ‹ya› or include a u-vowel. Therefore it is likely that we have the end of a nominal clause with perlative plural with serpent as first member.
n8	Brahmaśiras is the name of a mythical weapon [lit. Brahmā's head], which is used here as metaphor for excessive arrogance. The clause would correspond to a Sanskrit comparative compound *māna-brahmaśiras- of the type strī-ratna- 'jewel of a woman' = 'jewel-like woman'.
n9	It is impossible to read and restore waike (ñ)e(m).