Fetching
One moment.
Fetching
One moment.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1. | —_-_ . slab B: tag at: > eee > ) E(e)S(e)] - - « %, W} 9 BR wore ee PPB web . . . -Y sh &: slth : 3b: I |r frets . . Jer |> |: ° . . . |» rr . . 8 Bm . “sq 0a8 ei, éi liv PREFACE TO THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST. lv APPROXIMATE PRONUNCIATION OF THE ROMAN LETTERS AS REPRESENTING THE SANSKRIT ALPHABET. Vows. fi as in new a’ “as insam y ma sy, yet a aT ,, psalm 8 BW ,, sharp i = 4 knit Dentals. t = ,, neat t W as in tin (2 Yone or the tech) ri =] fiery th @ ,, lanthorn ré Qi» d & , din i @ ,, friendly dh WW ,, landholder e &@» 7 n A sy nay u 3s, full 1 HS 5, let a BB ,, fool l Sr» -e ze » date 8 SB ,, grass ai z aisle : (+) wt ” note Linguals._ of tongue strikau a proud t Z as in town (ing alv region) th 3 4, ~outhouse d 3S ,, done ConsoNANTS. dh @ 4, rodhook Gutturals. n ww 4 no k @ as in kite r ty red kh @ _,, inkhorn sh © =,, shun g -Ty gate Labials. gh @ ,, springhead p Was in pan h(ng)F ,, sing ph W ,, topheavy ho & » hear b & 4. bed Palatals. bh W~ ,, clubhouse k @as in church m a, mill kk @ ,, church-history v a, live g W~ 4, jolly m a » Anusvara (sient ) gh ® 4, bridge-house ho = s@_y,_- Visarga (brecthing) Proper names have frequently been left in their ordinary spelling, e.g. Rajendra, instead of Ragendra. In words which have almost become English, the diacritical marks have often been omitted, e.g. Rig-veda, instead of Rig-veda; Brahman, instead of Brabmana; Confucius, Zoroaster, Koran, &c. INTRODUCTION TO THE UPANISHADS. FIRST TRANSLATION OF THE UPANISHADS. DARA SHUKOH, ANQUETIL DUPERRON, SCHOPENHAUER. THE ancient Vedic literature, the foundation of the whole literature of India, which has been handed down in that country in an unbroken succession from the earliest times within the recollection of man to the present day, became known for the first time beyond the frontiers of India through the Upanishads. The Upanishads were translated from Sanskrit into Persian by, or, it may be, for Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Shah Jeh4n, an enlightened prince, who openly professed the liberal religious tenets of the great Emperor Akbar, and even wrote a book intended to reconcile the religious doctrines of Hindus and Mohammedans. He seems first to have heard of the Upanishads during his stay in Kashmir in 1640. He afterwards invited several Pandits from Benares to Delhi, who were to assist him in the work of translation. The translation was finished in 1657. Three years after the accomplishment of this work, in 1659, the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzib}, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire. When the Upanishads had once been translated from Sanskrit into Persian, at that time the most widely read language of the East and understood likewise by many European scholars, they became generally accessible to
2When the Upanishads had once been translated from Sanskrit into Persian, at that time the most widely read language of the East and understood likewise by many European scholars, they became generally accessible to 1 Elphinstone, History of India, ed. Cowfll, p. 610, Iviii UPANISHADS. all who took an interest in the religious literature of India. It is true that under Akbar’s reign (1556-1586) similar translations had been prepared ', but neither those nor the translations of Dara Shukoh attracted the attention of European scholars till the year 1775. In that year Anquetil Duperron, the famous traveller and discoverer of the Zend-avesta, received one MS. of the Persian translation of the Upanishads, sent to him by M. Gentil, the French resident at the court of Shuja ud daula, and brought to France by M. Bernier. After receiving another MS., Anquetil Duperron collated the two, and translated the Persian translation? into French (not published), and into Latin. That Latin translation was published in 1801 and 1802, under the title of ‘Oupnek’hat, id est, Secretum tegendum: opus ipsa in India rarissimum, continens antiquam et arcanam, seu theologicam et philosophicam doctrinam, e quatuor sacris Indorum libris Rak baid, Djedjer baid, Sam baid, Athrban baid excerptam; ad verbum, e Persico idiomate, Samkreticis vocabulis intermixto, in Latinum conversum: Dissertationibus et Annotationibus difficiliora explanantibus, illustratum: studio et opera Anquetil Duperron, Indicopleuste. Argentorati, typis et impensis fratrum Levrault, vol. i, 1801; vol. ii, 1802 5.’ This translation, though it attracted considerable interest among scholars, was written in so utterly unintelligible a style, that it required the lynxlike perspicacity of an intre- 1 M.M., Introduction to the Science of Religion, p. 79. ® Several other MSS. of this translation have since come to light; one at Oxford, Codices Wilsoniani, 399 and 400. Anquetil Duperron gives the following title of the Persian translation: ‘ Hanc interpretationem r&v Oupnekhathai quorumvis quatuor librorum Beid, quod, designatum cum secreto magno (per secretum magnum) est, et integram cognitionem luminis luminum, hic Fakir sine tristitia (Sultan) Mohammed Dara Schakoh ipse, cum significatione recta, cum sinceritate, in tempore sex mensium (postremo die, secundo rod Schonbeh, vigesimo) sexto mensis rod Ramazzan, anno 1067 rod Hedjri (Christi, 1657) in urbe Delhi, in mansione nakhe noudeh, cum absolutione ad finem fecit pervenire.’ The MS. was copied by Atma Ram in the year 1767 a.p. Anquetil Duperron adds: ‘Absolutum est hoc Apographum versionis Latins 7@v quinquaginta Oupnekhatha, ad verbum, e Persico idiomate, Samskreticis vocabulis intermixto, facte, die g Octobris, 1796, 18 Brumaire, anni 4, Reipublic. Gall. Parisiis.’ - 3 M.M., History of Adbcient Sanskrit Literature, second edition, p. 325. INTRODUCTION. lix
3Gall. Parisiis.’ - 3 M.M., History of Adbcient Sanskrit Literature, second edition, p. 325. INTRODUCTION. lix pid philosopher, such as Schopenhauer, to discover a thread through such a labyrinth. Schopenhauer, however, not only found and followed such a thread, but he had the courage to proclaim to an incredulous age the vast treasures of thought which were lying buried beneath that fearful jargon. As Anquetil Duperron’s volumes have become scarce, I shall here give a short specimen of his translation, which corresponds to the first sentences of my translation of the KhAndogya-upanishad (p. 1):—‘Oum hoc verbum (esse) adkit ut sciveris, sic r6 maschghouli fac (de eo meditare), quod ipsum hoc verbum aodkit est; propter illud quod hoc (verbum) oum, in Sam Beid, cum voce alta, cum harmonia pronunciatum fiat. ‘Adkiteh porro cremor (optimum, selectissimum) est: quemadmodum ex (prz) omni quieto (non moto), et moto, pulvis (terra) cremor (optimum) est; et e (pre) terra aqua cremor est; et ex aqua, comedendum (victus) cremor est ; (et) e comedendo, comedens cremor est; et e€ comedente, loquela (id quod dicitur) cremor est; et e loquela, atet rod Beid, et ex atet, 7d siam, id est, cum harmonia (pronunciatum); et e Sam, rd adkit, cremor est ; id est, oum, voce alta, cum harmonia pronunciare, aokit, cremor cremorum (optimum optimorum) est. Major, ex (prz) adkit, cremor alter non est.’ Schopenhauer not only read this translation carefully, but he makes no secret of it, that his own philosophy is powerfully impregnated by the fundamental doctrines of the Upanishads. He dwells on it again and again, and it seems both fair to Schopenhauer’s memory and _ highly important for a true appreciation of the philosophical value of the Upanishads, to put together what that vigorous thinker has written on those ancient rhapsodies of truth. In his ‘Welt als Wille und Vorstellung,’ he writes, in the preface to the first edition, p. xiii: “If the reader has also received the benefit of the Vedas, the access to which by means of the Upanishads is in my eyes the greatest privilege which this still young century (1818) may claim before all previous centuries, (for I anticipate that the influence of Sanskrit literature will not be less pro- lx UPANISHADS. found than the revival of Greek in the fourteenth century, )}—if then the reader, I say, has received his initiation in primeval Indian wisdom, and received it with an open heart, he will be prepared in the very best way for hearing what I have to tell him. It will not sound to him strange, as to many others, much less disagreeable ; for I might, if it did not sound conceited, contend that every one of the detached statements which constitute the Upanishads, may be deduced as a necessary result from the fundamental thoughts which I have to enunciate, though those deductions themselves are by no means to be found there.’ And again!:
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
Romanised transliteration as printed by the translator, not the original script. This is what we hold.
1. | —_-_ . slab B: tag at: > eee > ) E(e)S(e)] - - « %, W} 9 BR wore ee PPB web . . . -Y sh &: slth : 3b: I |r frets . . Jer |> |: ° . . . |» rr . . 8 Bm . “sq 0a8 ei, éi liv PREFACE TO THE SACRED BOOKS OF THE EAST. lv APPROXIMATE PRONUNCIATION OF THE ROMAN LETTERS AS REPRESENTING THE SANSKRIT ALPHABET. Vows. fi as in new a’ “as insam y ma sy, yet a aT ,, psalm 8 BW ,, sharp i = 4 knit Dentals. t = ,, neat t W as in tin (2 Yone or the tech) ri =] fiery th @ ,, lanthorn ré Qi» d & , din i @ ,, friendly dh WW ,, landholder e &@» 7 n A sy nay u 3s, full 1 HS 5, let a BB ,, fool l Sr» -e ze » date 8 SB ,, grass ai z aisle : (+) wt ” note Linguals._ of tongue strikau a proud t Z as in town (ing alv region) th 3 4, ~outhouse d 3S ,, done ConsoNANTS. dh @ 4, rodhook Gutturals. n ww 4 no k @ as in kite r ty red kh @ _,, inkhorn sh © =,, shun g -Ty gate Labials. gh @ ,, springhead p Was in pan h(ng)F ,, sing ph W ,, topheavy ho & » hear b & 4. bed Palatals. bh W~ ,, clubhouse k @as in church m a, mill kk @ ,, church-history v a, live g W~ 4, jolly m a » Anusvara (sient ) gh ® 4, bridge-house ho = s@_y,_- Visarga (brecthing) Proper names have frequently been left in their ordinary spelling, e.g. Rajendra, instead of Ragendra. In words which have almost become English, the diacritical marks have often been omitted, e.g. Rig-veda, instead of Rig-veda; Brahman, instead of Brabmana; Confucius, Zoroaster, Koran, &c. INTRODUCTION TO THE UPANISHADS. FIRST TRANSLATION OF THE UPANISHADS. DARA SHUKOH, ANQUETIL DUPERRON, SCHOPENHAUER. THE ancient Vedic literature, the foundation of the whole literature of India, which has been handed down in that country in an unbroken succession from the earliest times within the recollection of man to the present day, became known for the first time beyond the frontiers of India through the Upanishads. The Upanishads were translated from Sanskrit into Persian by, or, it may be, for Dara Shukoh, the eldest son of Shah Jeh4n, an enlightened prince, who openly professed the liberal religious tenets of the great Emperor Akbar, and even wrote a book intended to reconcile the religious doctrines of Hindus and Mohammedans. He seems first to have heard of the Upanishads during his stay in Kashmir in 1640. He afterwards invited several Pandits from Benares to Delhi, who were to assist him in the work of translation. The translation was finished in 1657. Three years after the accomplishment of this work, in 1659, the prince was put to death by his brother Aurangzib}, in reality, no doubt, because he was the eldest son and legitimate successor of Shah Jehan, but under the pretext that he was an infidel, and dangerous to the established religion of the empire. When the Upanishads had once been translated from Sanskrit into Persian, at that time the most widely read language of the East and understood likewise by many European scholars, they became generally accessible to
2When the Upanishads had once been translated from Sanskrit into Persian, at that time the most widely read language of the East and understood likewise by many European scholars, they became generally accessible to 1 Elphinstone, History of India, ed. Cowfll, p. 610, Iviii UPANISHADS. all who took an interest in the religious literature of India. It is true that under Akbar’s reign (1556-1586) similar translations had been prepared ', but neither those nor the translations of Dara Shukoh attracted the attention of European scholars till the year 1775. In that year Anquetil Duperron, the famous traveller and discoverer of the Zend-avesta, received one MS. of the Persian translation of the Upanishads, sent to him by M. Gentil, the French resident at the court of Shuja ud daula, and brought to France by M. Bernier. After receiving another MS., Anquetil Duperron collated the two, and translated the Persian translation? into French (not published), and into Latin. That Latin translation was published in 1801 and 1802, under the title of ‘Oupnek’hat, id est, Secretum tegendum: opus ipsa in India rarissimum, continens antiquam et arcanam, seu theologicam et philosophicam doctrinam, e quatuor sacris Indorum libris Rak baid, Djedjer baid, Sam baid, Athrban baid excerptam; ad verbum, e Persico idiomate, Samkreticis vocabulis intermixto, in Latinum conversum: Dissertationibus et Annotationibus difficiliora explanantibus, illustratum: studio et opera Anquetil Duperron, Indicopleuste. Argentorati, typis et impensis fratrum Levrault, vol. i, 1801; vol. ii, 1802 5.’ This translation, though it attracted considerable interest among scholars, was written in so utterly unintelligible a style, that it required the lynxlike perspicacity of an intre- 1 M.M., Introduction to the Science of Religion, p. 79. ® Several other MSS. of this translation have since come to light; one at Oxford, Codices Wilsoniani, 399 and 400. Anquetil Duperron gives the following title of the Persian translation: ‘ Hanc interpretationem r&v Oupnekhathai quorumvis quatuor librorum Beid, quod, designatum cum secreto magno (per secretum magnum) est, et integram cognitionem luminis luminum, hic Fakir sine tristitia (Sultan) Mohammed Dara Schakoh ipse, cum significatione recta, cum sinceritate, in tempore sex mensium (postremo die, secundo rod Schonbeh, vigesimo) sexto mensis rod Ramazzan, anno 1067 rod Hedjri (Christi, 1657) in urbe Delhi, in mansione nakhe noudeh, cum absolutione ad finem fecit pervenire.’ The MS. was copied by Atma Ram in the year 1767 a.p. Anquetil Duperron adds: ‘Absolutum est hoc Apographum versionis Latins 7@v quinquaginta Oupnekhatha, ad verbum, e Persico idiomate, Samskreticis vocabulis intermixto, facte, die g Octobris, 1796, 18 Brumaire, anni 4, Reipublic. Gall. Parisiis.’ - 3 M.M., History of Adbcient Sanskrit Literature, second edition, p. 325. INTRODUCTION. lix
3Gall. Parisiis.’ - 3 M.M., History of Adbcient Sanskrit Literature, second edition, p. 325. INTRODUCTION. lix pid philosopher, such as Schopenhauer, to discover a thread through such a labyrinth. Schopenhauer, however, not only found and followed such a thread, but he had the courage to proclaim to an incredulous age the vast treasures of thought which were lying buried beneath that fearful jargon. As Anquetil Duperron’s volumes have become scarce, I shall here give a short specimen of his translation, which corresponds to the first sentences of my translation of the KhAndogya-upanishad (p. 1):—‘Oum hoc verbum (esse) adkit ut sciveris, sic r6 maschghouli fac (de eo meditare), quod ipsum hoc verbum aodkit est; propter illud quod hoc (verbum) oum, in Sam Beid, cum voce alta, cum harmonia pronunciatum fiat. ‘Adkiteh porro cremor (optimum, selectissimum) est: quemadmodum ex (prz) omni quieto (non moto), et moto, pulvis (terra) cremor (optimum) est; et e (pre) terra aqua cremor est; et ex aqua, comedendum (victus) cremor est ; (et) e comedendo, comedens cremor est; et e€ comedente, loquela (id quod dicitur) cremor est; et e loquela, atet rod Beid, et ex atet, 7d siam, id est, cum harmonia (pronunciatum); et e Sam, rd adkit, cremor est ; id est, oum, voce alta, cum harmonia pronunciare, aokit, cremor cremorum (optimum optimorum) est. Major, ex (prz) adkit, cremor alter non est.’ Schopenhauer not only read this translation carefully, but he makes no secret of it, that his own philosophy is powerfully impregnated by the fundamental doctrines of the Upanishads. He dwells on it again and again, and it seems both fair to Schopenhauer’s memory and _ highly important for a true appreciation of the philosophical value of the Upanishads, to put together what that vigorous thinker has written on those ancient rhapsodies of truth. In his ‘Welt als Wille und Vorstellung,’ he writes, in the preface to the first edition, p. xiii: “If the reader has also received the benefit of the Vedas, the access to which by means of the Upanishads is in my eyes the greatest privilege which this still young century (1818) may claim before all previous centuries, (for I anticipate that the influence of Sanskrit literature will not be less pro- lx UPANISHADS. found than the revival of Greek in the fourteenth century, )}—if then the reader, I say, has received his initiation in primeval Indian wisdom, and received it with an open heart, he will be prepared in the very best way for hearing what I have to tell him. It will not sound to him strange, as to many others, much less disagreeable ; for I might, if it did not sound conceited, contend that every one of the detached statements which constitute the Upanishads, may be deduced as a necessary result from the fundamental thoughts which I have to enunciate, though those deductions themselves are by no means to be found there.’ And again!:
The source text as printed, transcribed diplomatically. Where the source language uses a non-Latin script that reaches us only through a Victorian romanisation, this layer is labelled transliteration, because that is what we hold.
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