Focus on books
A versified version of Dhammapada
Sunanda Mahendra
The award winning Sinhala writer Kumara Kavraja, though known more
for his novels and short stories, is also a poet. His latest work is a
Sinhala versification of Dhammapada, titled as ‘Dhammapada Kavya’.
The original work which is predominantly the utterances of the Buddha
consists of gathas and the background stories or events known as nidana
katha. The sacred utterances, classified into twenty six vaggas or
sections similar to cantos, contain 421 gathas or stanzas each of these
classifications are titled to suit the contents embedded.
The creative task undertaken by the poet Kaviraja is to versify these
gathas in the form of Sivpada or four-lined verses popularly known by
the reader. He avoids extra additions on his part as far as possible
attempting to retain the original religious flavour.
Having fulfilled this function he mentions the event which had paved
the way for the Buddha to express the gatha. Though Dhammapada is
versified, and even presented in the form of free verses and lyrical
compositions, this is yet another creative expression which enables the
teacher as well as the pupil to study the original in a better
perspective.
In my search for English translations of Dhammapada, I once came
across a fascinating translation by an oriental scholar named Juan
Mascaro.
Though born in Majorca, he had visited India, Burma, and Sri Lanka
(then Ceylon) to fulfil his wish to study Pali and Sanskrit. Later he
went to Cambridge where he read modern and oriental languages, Sanskrit,
Pali, and English.
It is recorded that he had had lectured in Oxford, on the Spanish
mystics, and from there proceeded to Sri Lanka, where he was vice
principal of Parameshvara College at Jaffna, and to the university of
Barcelona, where he was Professor of English.
To his credit he had translated some Upanishads and began the
translation of the Bhagavad Gita.
Both texts were published as Penguin Classics. When Mascaro died in
1987, The Times Obituary described him as a man who had achieved the
unique feat of translation from languages not his own (Sanskrit and Pali)
into another language not at first his own (English).
I was compelled to trace these facts as I enjoyed reading the poetic
text of the Sinhala versifier of the Dhammapada, which comes as a
religious gift to the present day Sinhala reader.
Mascaro in his English translation of the Dhammapada uses a poetic
diction. This, I observe, in the Sinhala versification of Kaviraj as
well. Let me illustrate this point by selecting one stanza.
“Appamado amatapadam
Pamado maccuno padam
Appamatta Nami Yanti
Ye Pamatta Yatha matha.”
(1, Appamada Vagga)
Mascaro translates the same into English as follows.
“Watchfulness is the path of immortality;
unwatchfulness is the path of death.
Those who are watchful never die;
those who do not watch are already as dead” (p38, The Dhammapada,
Penguin, 1973)
The Sinhala versification by Kaviraj goes as follows:
“Karunaki nopamava labanata ama nivan
Peminei Pamaven maranaya tama davan
noareti vetot
nomapavata yoma nuvan
mala minisunata Sama
kala heka pama vuvan”
(26pp)
The most striking point about both Mascaro and Kaviraj is that they
convey the original textual meaning in the simplest possible poetic
manner.
For Kaviraj the undertaking of this versification as he states had
been a spiritual delight. He had been moved by the aesthetic expression
of the Buddha. Similarly in the preface to his English translation of
The Dhammapada, Mascaro states the following.
“The message of Buddha is in the Dhammapada and the hearing of this
message is joy. Even as a lake that is pure and peaceful and deep, so
becomes the soul of the wise man when he hears the words of Dhamma (82,
Dhammapada).
It is widely accepted that the translation process is creative
function. The translation of a religious text like ‘The Dhammapada
emerges as a supreme creative act.
In the Dhammapada we can hear the voice of the Buddha. The messages
of the Buddha is a message of joy. The Buddha tells man that he is in
deep darkness, but he also tells him that there is a path that leads to
light.
He wants us to arise from a life of dreams into a higher life where
man loves and does not hate, where a man helps and does not hurt, The
Dhammapada, despite the number of times it is translated into many
languages, remains as a treasure trove of spiritual knowledge, leading
the man to a better state of life. As such this new Sinhala
versification proves the validity of the need.
Loranee Senaratne’s ‘Heirs to History’ available again
The facsimile reprint of Heirs to History, a hardbound book with
colour illustrations, by Loranee Senaratne, will be launched at 5.00
p.m. on Tuesday July 1st at the Jubilee Room, Galle Face Hotel, Colombo
3. The book was first published in 1969 and has been out of print for
many years. It is reproduced by Vijitha Yapa Publications.
The book consists of 22 chapters with diverse stories ranging from
‘Ravana’ to ‘Saradiel’. Loranee Senaratne was inseparably associated
with the historical and cultural background of her country. In 1959, the
Government appointed her President of the Arts Council of Ceylon in
recognition of her work in the field of art.
In 1963 she was appointed Ceylon’s Envoy to the Republic of Ghana.
She made diplomatic history not only as the first woman Ambassador to
set foot in Africa but as a person dedicated to promoting peace and
goodwill in the country to which she was accredited.
Coming from the city of Senkadagala, with its romantic and historic
past, she had the opportunity to imbibe the great traditions of the past
- religion and its ancient monuments, arts and crafts, music, song and
dance.
This background had ever remained the source of inspiration for the
activities which later led her to pioneering work in the revival of the
arts.
She believed that past civilisations are still with us, even though
their ‘tangible remains’ lie hidden in the jungle growth, for our lives
are rooted deep in that mysterious past which has left its impression on
the people of today. In her quest for these roots,
she searched not only in the villages and hamlets but in the museums
and libraries of other lands as well as her own. |
