Work in progress

THT 284

Known as:	THT 284; B 284; Bleistiftnummer 2515
Cite this page as:	Adrian Musitz (translation). "THT 284". 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-tht284 (accessed 11 May 2026).
Edition
Editor:	Adrian Musitz (translation)
Provenience
Main find spot:	Kizil Ming-öy
Expedition code:	T III MQ 73.2
Collection:	Berlin Turfan Collection
Language and Script
Language:	TB
Linguistic stage:	archaic
Script:	classical
Text contents
Text genre:	Literary
Text subgenre:	Kāvya
Verse/Prose:	verse
Meter:	543 (4x)
Object
Manuscript:	THT 284-285
Material:	ink on paper
Form:	Poṭhī
Number of lines:	7

Transliteration

a1	m[a] ka mi yä strä : su cp[i] la kl· ste po la kle nta s̝a rka stra : – – – wno lme¯ ¯ts kuse ra tsa ksa śai ṣṣe ne :
a2	cme lā tss̝ä rmtsa po ma ske ta rtne snai sklo ka 2 te te mo s̝a tspo ke styo kai ṣṣe la kle ste : cme ta rka ksa
a3	krui ne mce kpo staṃ sru ke tra : te ki ktsai tsa ññe cme ltse s̝a rmtsa ma ske tra : ke ktse ñpre ma ne
a4	tau la kle nta wä [r]pnā tra 3 la reṃ nmeṃ tsre lle a nai wa cce mpa śmä lyñe : ri to ṣwä ndre ntse mā ka ll[a]
a5	lle po stä nnai : yai nmwa wä nta rwā ntsä ne mce kpo staṃ nke lle ste : toṃ la kle nta tne cme la ntss̝a rmtsa ma ske ntra
a6	4 me ntsi ku [ka] s̝a lyñe pa lsko ntse ra tri ka lyñe : a mi śka ññe s̝pa pa lwā lle śle ///
b1	wä rññai tne pa lsko ṣṣā na la kle nta : [c]m· ltse s̝a rmtsa po wä rpa na ntra o no lym[ī] 5 [p]· [kw]· ///
b2	kai ne śa nmä ṣlye : a psā lśa ka ttai s̝a pa y[ṣ]e sa pyā ka lyñe : a ścä ka rsta lyñe s̝a [neṃ] ///
b3	te sa wä rñai no ke ktse ñṣā na la kle nta 6 nrai ne la kle nta pre te nne śle lwā sā ne : ñä kte tsśa mna ntsa
b4	kuse ra tsa ksa śai ṣṣe ne : ka tkau¯ ¯u e k[ma] tte yne śa ññi kuse la kle nta : cme la tss̝a rmtsa po wä rpa
b5	na ntra o no lmī 7 ke ktse ñmā ta koṃ o no lme ntso śai ṣṣe ne : ma nta wä rpo ntra ke ktse ñṣa na
b6	la kle nta : pa lsko mā tā ko¯ ¯ī pa lsko ṣṣa na la kle nta : ce kwä rñai ra no ma nta ta koṃ śai ṣṣe ne 8 tu sa
b7	wña wā ñä¯ ¯ś po la kle ntswi tsa kai : cä me¯ ¯l wä tkā¯ ¯l ste mä nta [n]e saṃ a le ksa : pka rso mai ma ñci pi kā¯ ¯t

Transcription

2a	7σ a1 maka ; miyästrä :
2b	su cpi läkl(e) ste ; po läklenta ; ṣärkästrä :
2c	– – – wnolmets ; kuse ra tsa ksa ; śaiṣṣene :
2d	a2 cmelāts ṣärmtsa po ; mäsketär tne ; snai sklokä 2
3a	tetemoṣäts po ; kest yokaiṣṣe ; läkle ste :
3b	cmetär ka ksa a3 krui ; nemcek postäṃ ; sruketrä :
3c	teki ktsaitsäññe ; cmeltse ṣärmtsa ; mäsketrä :
3d	kektseñ premane ; a4 tau läklenta ; wärpnāträ 3
4a	lareṃnmeṃ tsrelle ; anaiwacce{ṃ}mpa ; śmälyñe :
4b	ritoṣ wändrentse ; mā källaa5lle ; postän nai :
4c	yainmwa wäntarwāntsä ; nemcek postäṃ ; nkelle ste :
4d	toṃ läklenta tne ; cmelants ṣärmtsa ; mäskenträ a6 4
5a	mentsi kukäṣälyñe ; pälskontse ra ; trikalyñe :
5b	amiśkäññe ṣpä ; pälwālle śle ; /// 3σ
5c	2σ b1 wärññai tne ; pälskoṣṣāna ; läklenta :
5d	cm(e)ltse ṣärmtsa po ; wärpänanträ ; onolymī 5
6a	p· kw· /// 5σ b2 kaine ; śänmäṣlye :
6b	apsāl śakattai ; ṣäp ay ṣesa ; pyākälyñe :
6c	aścä kärstalyñe ; ṣäneṃ /// 5σ
6d	b3 tesa wärñai no ; kektseñṣāna ; läklenta 6
7a	nraine läklenta ; pretenne śle ; lwāsāne :
7b	ñäktets śamnantsä ; b4 kuse ra tsa ; ksa śaiṣṣene :
7c	kätkauu ekmätte ; yneśäññi kuse ; läklenta :
7d	cmelats ṣärmtsa po ; wärpä b5 nanträ ; onolmī 7
8a	kektseñn1 mā takoṃ ; onolmentso ; śaiṣṣene :
8b	mänta wärponträ ; kektseñṣana ; b6 läklenta :
8c	pälsko mā tākoī ; pälskoṣṣana ; läklenta :
8d	ce-k wärñai rano ; mänta takoṃ ; śaiṣṣene 8
9a	tusa b7 wñawā ñäś ; po läklen{ta}ts ; witsäkai :
9b	cämel wätkāl ste ; mänta nesäṃ ; aleksa :
9c	pkärso maimäñci ; pikāt 5σ

Translation

a1	... is being hurt very much.
a1	This is his suffering.
a1	It surpasses all sufferings.
a1	Whoever of the beings is in the world, he is doubtlessly here wholly because of the births.
a2	For all the ones having been born, there is the suffering of hunger and thirst.
a2+	If someone is born, he surely dies afterwards.
a3	Disease and old age are because of birth.
a3+	One who carries the body feels sufferings.
a4	There is to be separation from loved ones.
a4	(There will be) coming together with unpleasant one.
a4+	He will in the end not obtain the thing he desires.
a5	Surely, in the end he will lose the things he has obtained.n2
a5+	The sufferings here are because of the births.
a6	Sorrow, exhaustion, confusion of the mind and despondency, with lamenting... etc., sufferings of the mind here the beings feel wholly because of birth.
b1+	... to be bound... and hitting sword and club together with bone, decapitation... etc. are the sufferings of the body.
b3	The sufferings in hell among the pretas together with the animals, whichever (sufferings) belong to gods and men in the world, the sufferings which have passed, are to come and are present, the beings suffer them wholly because of birth.
b5	If the beings did not have bodies in the world, they would never suffer the sufferings of the body.
b6	If there was no mind, the sufferings of the mind would never exist in the world, not even a little bit.
b6+	Thus, I said (of) the root of all sufferings:
b7	It is surely birth.
b7	It is not anything else.
b7	Know, oh clever ones,
b7	drive away...

Other

a1	... wird sehr geschädigt. Das ist sein Leid; es übertrifft alle Leiden. (Schmidt 1974: 511)
a2+	If someone is hardly even born, certainly he dies afterwards. (Peyrot 2013b: 381)
a2+	Ist einer kaum geboren, [so] stirbt er gewiss späterhin. (Schmidt 1974: 115)
a4+	Having to be separated from the dear; reunion with the unpleasant; eventually not being able to obtain a thing [long] cherished; [the fact that] things achieved are certainly to perish afterwards—these sorrows are here because of the [re]births. (Peyrot 2013b: 355)
b5	Wären die Körper nicht für die Menschen in der Welt... (Schmidt 1974: 211, fn. 6)
b5+	If the beings in the world had no bodies, they would not undergo bodily pains at all. If there were no mind, pains of the mind would not be there at all in the world either. (Peyrot 2013b: 329)
b5+	Hätten die Menschen in der Welt keine Körper, [so] würden sie gar keine körperlichen Leiden erdulden. (Schmidt 1974: 201)

Commentary

Philological commentary

n1	It is unclear why kektseñ is in the oblique singular.
n2	It is unclear why wändrentse and wänarwäntsä are in the genitive. Maybe the gerundives are actually used as nouns here.

Alternative linguistic/paleographic classifications

Peyrot 2008	A1
Tamai 2011	C1
Tamai 2011	C14

References

Online access

IDP: THT 284; TITUS: THT 284

Edition

Sieg and Siegling 1953: 175-176

Translations

Couvreur 1954c: a1 a2 a3 a4 a5 a6 b1 b2 b3 b4 b5 b6 b7 (110-110); Krause 1952: a5 (54); Peyrot 2013b: a2 a3 (381), a4 a5 a6 (355), b5 b6 (329); Schmidt 1974: a1 (511), a2 a3 (115), b5 (211 n.6), b5 (211, fn. 6), b5 b6 (201); Thomas 1952: a4 (55), a5 (59), a6 (59), b2 (59), b5 (43); Thomas 1967c: a6 (178); Thomas 1970a: b5 b6 (461), b6 b7 (461); Thomas 1972: a6 (469); Thomas 1979b: a1 a2 (33), a5 (28), b1 (28); Thomas 1979d: a6 (158), b3 b4 (157); Thomas 1997: a1 a2 (109), b1 (110)