[Advaita-l] advaitasiddhi discussion: प्रत्यक्षस्य उपजीव्यत्वेन प्राबल्यविचारः

[H S Chandramouli]

Dear Sri Anandji,

Reg  << As you can see, the beauty of Sanskrit wordplay is lost in the
translation. >> . The difference is that it is in verse form in sanskrit
and prose form in english. I am not suggesting by any means that some of
the finer points is lost in translation especially from sanskrit to
english. However comparison should be on like to like basis. Perhaps a
reasonably good ( and certainly much better ) translation should be
possible if it is done in verse form in english as well.

Also one needs to consider the reach as well. For one knowing sanskrit  and
interested in advaita sidhanta, perhaps the original work along with its
commentaries would be preferred to such simple works. On the otherhand an
english version which liberally uses sanskrit terms as well ( wherever they
convey the meaning more forcefully ) would have a much wider reach and
would be welcomed by a large section of interested readers. Practically all
the Indian languages borrow heavily from sanskrit and the sanskrit terms
used in such works are quite easily understood and appreciated.  Just a
suggestion.

Regards

Chandramouli

On Wed, Nov 5, 2014 at 9:25 AM, Anand Hudli via Advaita-l <
advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org> wrote:

> Dear Shri Sadanandaji,
>
> I get your point. What I tried to convey in my last message is that I think
> it is better to provide explanations in simple Sanskrit than translations.
> One who reads the advaita siddhi in the original text will find it hard, to
> say the least. There is the GauDabrahmAnandI commentary, but even that is
> not easy to read by any means. So a feasible approach might be to be
> provide a much simpler way of putting things discussed in the
> advaitasiddhi, and in a simpler form of Sanskrit. Besides, there are
> examples where a translation will not do justice to the original. One
> example that I was taught as an eighth grader is this. Kalidasa was a poet
> in King Bhoja's court, according to this legend. It so happened that Bhoja,
> who was a great patron of the arts, disguised himself as an ordinary man
> and approached KAlidAsa, who was staying away from Bhoja at the time. The
> disguised Bhoja told kAlidAsa that his dear King Bhoja was dead. Upon
> hearing the sorrowful news, kAlidAsa's grief expressed itself spontaneously
> in the form of a verse:
>
> अद्य धरा निराधारा निरालम्बा सरस्वती।
> पण्डिताः खण्डिताः सर्वे भोजराजे दिवं गते॥
>
> Today, while King Bhoja is dead, the Earth is without a basis, the Goddess
> of Learning Sarasvati is without a support, and all the Pandits are
> abandoned.
>
> Bhoja much appreciated this verse and he revealed himself in his true form
> to kAlidAsa. Seeing his king alive, the kAlidAsa's joy expressed itself
> spontaneously thus:
>
> अद्य धरा सदाधारा सदालम्बा सरस्वती।
> पण्डिता मण्डिताः सर्वे भोजराजे भुवि स्थिते॥
>
> Today, while King Bhoja is alive, the Earth is ever with a basis, the
> Goddess of Learning Sarasvati has everlasting support, and all the Pandits
> are adorned ( honored).
>
> As you can see, the beauty of Sanskrit wordplay is lost in the translation.
>
> Anand
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