SI B 75

Known as:	SI B 75
Cite this page as:	Georges-Jean Pinault; Melanie Malzahn (collaborator). "SI B 75". 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-sib75 (accessed 12 Jul. 2025).
Edition
Editor:	Georges-Jean Pinault; Melanie Malzahn (collaborator)
Provenience
Main find spot:	Tajik
Specific find spot:	Main Temple
Expedition code:	Berezovsky 1905-1907
Collection:	Institute of Oriental Manuscripts (St. Petersburg)
Language and Script
Language:	Skt.; TB
Linguistic stage:	classical
Script:	classical
Text contents
Title of the work:	Udānavarga
Passage:	1.26b-34a
Text genre:	Literary
Text subgenre:	Doctrine
Verse/Prose:	prose
Object
Material:	ink on paper
Form:	Poṭhī
Size (h × w):	9 × 15.5 cm
Number of lines:	7
Interline spacing:	1.3 cm

Transliteration

a1	/// m· ke ktse ña • t· [s]· ·va h[ā] n· [k]u śa l[o] vi d[i] tv· • – [¯u]
a2	/// ṣ[i] 20 6 jī rna ñca dṛ ṣṭve ha ta thai va ro gi ṇa¯ ¯m^• ktsai ce s̝pa
a3	/// o rme· wai pte yku we s̝a pa lsko ja hau sa dhī ro g[ṛ] ha ba ndha
a4	/// no śai ṣṣe ntse mā o la¯ ¯ṅk wi ka ṣlyi 20 7 jī ryaṃ ti vai [r]ā
a5	/// tai kne sā¯ ¯k ke ktse ñe ra no ktsai tsaṃ ñe ya nmā s̝s̝aṃ • sa
a6	/// – ·[n]· [ce]¯ ¯u kre nta nne śa rsa skeṃ 20 8 dhi ktvā ma stu ja re grā mye • hi
a7	/// [n]o ra maṃ bi mba¯ ¯m^• tai kne sa pa lsko ntse wī na e re pa te • [ja]
b1	/// [p]· [m]ṛ ·[u] – rā ya na ḥ sū ra n· srū k· [ll]e ścä [ai] w·¯ ¯[l]
b2	/// ka ll«ñ»e ścä ai wo¯ ¯l a nu hye [na]ṃ ja rā haṃ ti • o [mp]o staṃ ce¯ ¯u
b3	/// ṣ[e] kya neṃ mā klau tko ma ne • [d]i vā ca rā trau ca [vi] lu jya mā na ḥ
b4	/// ne • du ḥ khe na jā tī [m]a ra ṇe na yu ktā ḥ la kle mpa cme
b5	/// thā • yne ma ne ntse klye ma ne ntse tai kne sā¯ ¯k • na dī nāṃ vā
b6	/// [ma] kceṃ tsa ya ṣi kau na ntso ka tko rne • ā yu ra lpa ta ra mbha ve¯ ¯t^•
b7	/// [no] wī na tā koṃ 30 3 pa ri jī rṇa mi daṃ rū pa¯ ¯m^• ai ks[n]a¯ ¯r k[ur]au

Transcription

///

a1	n1 /// m(eṃ) kektseñ{†ä} • t(āṃ) s(ar)vahān(iṃ) kuśalo viditv(ā) • – _u
a2	n2 /// (pāṣ)ṣi 20-6 jīrnañ ca dṛṣṭveha tathaiva rogiṇam ktsaice ṣpä
a3	n3 n4 /// ·orme(ṃ) waipte ykuweṣä palsko jahau sa dhīro gṛhabandha
a4	n5 /// no śaiṣṣentse mā olaṅk wikäṣlyi 20-7 jīryaṃti vai rā¬
a5	(jarathāḥ)n6 n7 /// taiknesā-k kektseñe rano ktsaitsäṃñe yanmāṣṣäṃ • sa
a6	n8 /// (kreñc) n(o) ce_u krentänne śarsäskeṃ 20-8 dhik tvām astu jare grāmye • hi¬
a7	(śt)n9 n10 /// noramaṃ bimbam taiknesa pälskontse wīna erepate • ja¬
b1	(ra)n11 /// p(i) mṛ(ty)u(pa)rāyanaḥ sū ran(o) srūk(a)lleścä aiw(o)l
b2	n12 /// kallñeścä aiwol anu hy enaṃ jarā haṃti • ompostäṃ ce_u
b3	/// ṣek yaneṃ mā klautkomane • divā ca rātrau ca vilujyamānaḥ
b4	n13 n14 /// ne • duḥkhena jātīmaraṇena yuktāḥ laklempa cme
b5	n15 /// thā • ynemanentse klyemanentse taiknesā-k • nadīnāṃ vā
b6	n16 n17 /// mäkceṃtsä yaṣi kaunantso kätkorne • āyur alpataram bhavet
b7	n18 /// no wīna tākoṃ 30-3 parijīrṇam idaṃ rūpam aiksnar k_urau

Translation

a1	After having abandoned the body. [26b] Sanskrit (After having seen) the destruction,
a2	(the virtuous one) ... shall observe (the observance). [26d] Sanskrit (Having seen) one old man and (also an ill man) [27a]
a3	And also having seen a dead one, (whose) spirit has gone apart, [27b] Sanskrit
a4	But (the desires) of the world (are) not easy to drive away. [27d] Sanskrit
a5	In the very same way the body also reaches decay. [28b] Sanskrit
a6	and (the good ones) let it know among the good ones. [28d] Sanskrit Pfui,
a7	Sanskrit In the same way this image (which is) a pleasure for the spirit, [29c] Sanskrit
b1	Sanskrit Even that one (is) directed towards death. [30b]
b2	(...) directed towards death. Sanskrit Successively (old age strikes) him, [30c]
b3	Permanently they go without turning back, [31a] Sanskrit
b4	[31c] Sanskrit (bound) with suffering, with birth (and death). [31d]
b5	Sanskrit (The life) of the going one (and) of the staying one in the very same way, [32b] Sanskrit
b6	Of which ones by the passing of night (and) day, [33a] Sanskrit
b7	(how then for them) pleasure should arise? [33d] Sanskrit (This image) completely decayed [34a]

Commentary

Linguistic commentary

*	In general, this text seems to have been copied from an archaic manuscript. It is usually very close to the Sanskrit original, often simply offering a word-by-word rendering without clear syntax.
n1	According to G.-J. Pinault, "Skt. sarva-hāni- ‘complete destruction’ seems to be translated by a single word TB kärstālñe, the abstract of kärstā- ‘to cut off, destroy utterly’. Apparently, the initial demonstrative pronoun of the pāda 26c has been left untranslated." However, I think this reading is impossible and I rather think the demonstrative tāṃ has been translated by a demonstrative ending in u, for instance ceu. But I have to admit that the preserved traces do not look very much like ce. [OL 23-7-2019]
n3	Note the literal translation of the compound Skt. vy-apa-yāta-cetasam by the TB phrase waipte ykuweṣ palsko. A correct compound should have at least TB -pälsko as second member and one could also expect an additional possessive suffix.
n6	Our text has a sentence with singular subject kektseñe corresponding to Skt. śarīram (28b). Note that the parallel translation in SI B 5 a8 has the plural: taiknesāk ra kektseñi kätsai(tsäññe yänmāskeṃ). But this latter version is somehow more consistent with the previous sentence about the wonderful chariots of the kings (plural, 28a). Accordingly, the version of our text is closer to the Sanskrit original.
n8	For the translation of 28d one may compare the version of SI B 5 b1: kreñc no c(eu) krentäṃne śarsäskeṃne eñw(et)sts(e). Actually, the last adverb is an addition that does not belong to the original Sanskrit text. TB hiśt is the usual rendering of the Sanskrit interjection dhik (29a). It is confirmed by the translation of this pāda in SI B 5 b8: hiśt twe tākoyt ktsaitsäññe kärpye "Shame on you, oh old age of mean nature!"
n9	The Sanskrit adjective manoramaṃ, epithet of bimbaṃ has been literary translated by a phrase which transposes the adjective ‘charming’ by the substantive wīna ‘pleasure’. Again the text SI B 5 b8 had a somewhat different translation starting with taiknesa cwī pälsko(ntse).
n13	The complete translation of the pāda 31d can be safely restored as laklempa cme(lle-srūkallempa rittoṣ). The PPt rittau is the regular match of Skt. yukta-.
n16	Note the gen.pl. ending -ntso at the end of the sequence yaṣi kaunantso which is neither a regular compound (yäṣi-kaunantso) nor a correct syntagma (yṣiṃ kaunantso).
n18	The singular noun Skt. ratiḥ (33d) is translated by wīna ‘pleasure’, which is a plurale tantum (cf. Pinault 2008: 340) as proven by the plural verbal form. The PPt kurau translating Skt. jīrṇa- (34a) is the expected form of the verb kurā- ‘to decay, grow old’ and the match of TA kuro.

Parallel texts

*	SI B 5 a1, a8-b1; IOL Toch 233 a1-4; Sanskrit (Bernhard 1965: 104-108)

Philological commentary

n2	One may safely restore (papāṣṣorñe pāṣ)ṣi as translation of Skt. brahmacaryaṃ careta (26d). The phrase TB papāṣṣorñe pāsk-, TA pāpṣune pās- ‘to observe the observance’ is well attested.
n4	A parallel text in SI B 5 a1 gives the following translation (partly restored): (alāṣ)mo(ṃ) srukoṣ ṣpä (lye)lykormeṃ. In the present context it remains, however, impossible to decide whether one should restore (lyelyk)ormeṃ or (lyelyak)ormeṃ. The reading of ykuweṣä without final virāma is certain. At the end of the line we find the beginning of the word Skt. gṛhabandhanāni (27c).
n5	The final akṣara of the line belongs to the Sanskrit word rājarathāḥ (28a).
n7	One clearly reads yanmāṣṣäṃ instead of the correct form yänmāṣṣäṃ found in the parallel text IOL Toch 233 a2. The final akṣara of the line belongs to the Sanskrit word satāṃ (28c).
n10	The first word of the line ought to be restored as Skt. manoramaṃ (29c). The last akṣaras of the line belong to Skt. jarayā (29d).
n11	Our text reads mṛtyuparāyanaḥ without retroflex ṇ (as in the authoritative text), but this little variant is found in other Sanskrit manuscripts as well.
n12	Apparently, the beginning of this line repeats pāda 30b, both in Sanskrit and in translation. However, the word srūkalleścä in the repetition underwent a modification in order to replace it by the correct verbal abstract by the secondary addition of ‹ñ› into the ligatura ‹lle›.
n14	The syllable ‹ne› is most probably the end of a participle in mane translating Skt. tapyamānāḥ ‘tormented’ (31c). One may suggest to restore TB pälkemane.
n15	The first akṣara of the line belongs to the Sanskrit word tathā (32b).
n17	The gen.pl. mäkceṃtsä is written without virāma. In the Sanskrit part (33b) one reads alpataram before bhavet instead of alpataraṃ in the authoritative text.

References

other

Bernhard 1965: 104-108

Bibliography

Bernhard 1965

Bernhard, Franz. 1965. Udānavarga. Band I, Einleitung, Beschreibung der Handschriften, Textausgabe, Bibliographie. Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden 10. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht.

Pinault 2008

Pinault, Georges-Jean. 2008. Chrestomathie tokharienne. Textes et Grammaire. Leuven/Paris: Peeters.

SI B 75

Edition

Provenience

Language and Script

Text contents

Object