{"id":2308,"date":"2013-07-13T01:40:44","date_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/?p=2308"},"modified":"2013-07-13T01:40:44","modified_gmt":"2013-07-13T01:40:44","slug":"68-note-on-the-texts-vol-05-translations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/01-works-of-sri-aurobindo\/03-cwsa\/05-translations\/68-note-on-the-texts-vol-05-translations","title":{"rendered":"-68_Note on the Texts.html"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\n\n
\n

\n
\nNote on the Texts<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

\nNote on the Texts<\/font><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nFluent in English from his childhood, Sri Aurobindo mastered five
\nother languages
\n\u2014 French, Latin, Greek, Sanskrit and Bengali \u2014 and
\nlearned something of seven others \u2014 Italian, German, Spanish, Hindi\/
\nHindustani, Gujarati, Marathi and Tamil. On numerous occasions
\nover a period of half a century he translated works and passages written
\nin several of these languages.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe present volume contains all Sri Aurobindo’s translations from
\nSanskrit, Bengali, Tamil, Greek and Latin into English, with the exception of his translations from the Rig Veda and the Upanishads. (His
\nVedic and Upanishadic translations are published in volumes 14 \u00ad 18
\nof THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS OF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>.) Sri Aurobindo’s translations of some of the Mother’s French
\n<\/span>
\nPri\u00e8res et m\u00e9ditations<\/span>
\n<\/span> <\/i>
\n
\nappear in <\/p>\n

The Mother with Letters on the Mother<\/i>, volume 31 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS<\/font>. His translations of Sanskrit texts into Bengali are published in <\/p>\n

Writings in Bengali and Sanskrit<\/i>, volume 9 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS<\/font>.
\nSeveral of his other works incorporate translations.
\nEssays on the Gita<\/i>
\n(volume 19), for instance, contains translations and paraphrases of
\nmany passages from the Bhagavad Gita. (The present volume contains
\nan early literary translation of the Gita’s opening chapters.)
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe editors have arranged the contents of the present volume in
\nfive parts according to source-language. The pieces are published as Sri
\nAurobindo translated them, even if his ordering does not agree with
\nthe usual order of the original text.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nPART<\/font> ONE<\/font>: TRANSLATIONS
\nFROM<\/font> SANSKRIT<\/font> <\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\nSri Aurobindo began to learn Sanskrit as an Indian Civil Service probationer at Cambridge between 1890 and 1892. He continued his studies
\nwhile working as an administrative officer and professor in the Baroda
\nstate between 1893 and 1906. During this period he translated most of
\nthe pieces making up this part. His rendering of Vidula <\/i>dates from the<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 613<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

period of his political activity (1906 \u00ad 10); some shorter pieces, mostly
\nincomplete, date from his years in Pondicherry (1910 \u00ad 50).\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Section One. The Ramayana
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Pieces from the Ramayana.<\/b> Sri Aurobindo translated these four passages sometime around 1900 under the heading “Pieces from the Ramaian”. They have been reproduced in the order of their occurrence
\nin his notebook. The Sanskrit sources of the passages are as follows:
\n“Speech of Dussaruth to the assembled States-General of his Empire”,
\nAyodhya Kanda, Sarga 2. 1 \u00ad 20; “An Aryan City”, Bala Kanda, Sarga
\n5. 5 \u00ad 22; “A Mother’s Lament”, Ayodhya Kanda, Sarga 20. 36 \u00ad 55;
\n“The Wife”, Ayodhya Kanda, Sargas 26 \u00ad 30.\n<\/p>\n

\n

An Aryan City: Prose Version.<\/b> Editorial title. Translated around 1912. Bala Kanda, Sarga 5. 5 \u00ad 15. This translation covers most of the same
\nground as the verse translation in “Pieces from the Ramayana”, which
\nwas done around a decade earlier.\n<\/p>\n

\n

The Book of the Wild Forest<\/b>. Translated around 1912. Aranya Kanda,
\nSargas 1. 1 \u00ad 21, 2. 1 \u00ad 25, 3. 1 \u00ad 5.\n<\/p>\n

\n

The Defeat of Dhoomraksha.<\/b> Translated around 1913. Yuddha Kanda,
\nSarga 52.\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Section Two. The Mahabharata
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Sabha Parva or Book of the Assembly-Hall.<\/b> According to notations
\nin the manuscript, Sri Aurobindo worked on this translation between
\n18 March and 18 April 1893. (He returned to India after passing
\nmore than thirteen years in England on 6 February 1893.) His original
\nplan was to translate much of the Parva in twelve “cantos”. On the
\nfirst page of the manuscript, under the heading “Translation \/ of \/ the Mahabhaarut \/ Sabha Purva \/ or Book of the Assembly-Hall”, he wrote
\nan outline of the proposed work:\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Part I. The Book of the Sacrifice\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto I
\nThe Building of the Hall.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto II.
\nThe Debated Sacrifice\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto III.
\nThe Slaying of Jeresundh.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 614<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Canto IV.
\nThe Conquest of the World.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto V.
\nThe Interrupted Meedgiving
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto VI
\nThe Slaying of Shishupaal.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Part II. The Book of Gambling
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Canto VII
\nThe Grief of Duryodhun
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto VIII
\nThe Bringing of Yudishthere
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto IX.
\nThe Throwing of the Dice
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto X
\nThe Oppression of Drowpadie
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto XI.
\nThe Last Throwing of the Dice
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Canto XII.
\nThe Exile of the Pandoves
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The division of the Parva into twelve cantos is Sri Aurobindo’s own
\nand does not correspond to any divisions in the Sanskrit text.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo abandoned this project before completion, leaving
\ntranslations, in places rather rough, of only two cantos and part of a
\nthird. The first canto consists of Adhyayas 1 \u00ad 3 and part of Adhyaya
\n4, the second of Adhyayas 13 \u00ad 16 and part of 17, and the third of
\nAdhyayas 20 \u00ad 22 and part of 23. (These are the Adhyaya numbers in
\nthe popular Gita Press edition [Gorakhpur], which corresponds reasonably well to the edition used by Sri Aurobindo for this translation. The
\ncorresponding Adhyayas in the Critical Edition [Poona: Bhandarkar
\nOriental Research Institute] are 1 \u00ad 4, 12 \u00ad 16 and 18 \u00ad 21.)
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

While revising his translation Sri Aurobindo wrote alternative
\nversions of several passages. The editors have reproduced the later
\nversion whenever it was sufficiently well worked out for use; if not,
\nthey have reverted to the original version. Sri Aurobindo numbered
\nthe lines of his first versions of the three cantos, but did not revise the
\nnumbers after adding new lines.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Virata Parva: Fragments from Adhyaya 17<\/b>. These two fragments were
\nwritten on a single page of a notebook that can be dated to around
\n1898. The shorter, prose version covers part of the Sanskrit passage
\nthat is translated in the longer, poetic version, namely Virata Parva 17.
\n13 \u00ad 15 in the Gita Press edition or 16. 7 \u00ad 9 in the Critical Edition.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Udyoga Parva: Two Renderings of the First Adhyaya.<\/b> The two versions
\nof Adhyaya 1 of the Udyoga Parva were done separately around 1902<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 615<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

and 1906. Neither is quite complete. The first version omits Shlokas 8
\nand 9; the second omits the last verse.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Udyoga Parva: Passages from Adhyayas 75 and 72<\/b>. These fragments
\nfrom Adhyayas 75 and 72 (73 and 70 in the Critical Edition) of the
\nUdyoga Parva were translated in this order around 1902. They occupy
\na page of the notebook containing the essay “Notes on the Mahabharata” (see Early Cultural Writings<\/i>, volume 1 of
\nTHE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS<\/font>
\nOF<\/font> SRI<\/font> AUROBINDO<\/font>). The first passage covers the first three Shlokas of Adhyaya 75 (the remainder of this Adhyaya is translated in
\n“Notes on the Mahabharata”). The second passage covers Shlokas 1 \u00ad
\n5 of Adhyaya 72.\n<\/p>\n

\n

The Bhagavad Gita: The First Six Chapters<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated
\nthese chapters of the Bhagavad Gita sometime around 1902. He used
\na text of the Gita published in Calcutta in 1301 Bengali era (1894 \u00ad
\n95), jotting down English renderings of a few verses in the book itself
\nbefore translating the first six chapters in a notebook. A translation of
\nthe first three verses of the seventh chapter is reproduced in Appendix
\nI from marginal notations in his copy of the book. Appendix II is a
\nmuch later translation of the first three and a half verses of the Gita,
\nfound in a notebook used by Sri Aurobindo in 1927.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Vidula<\/b>. This translation first appeared in the weekly Bande Mataram<\/i>
\non 9 June 1907 under the title “The Mother to her Son”. The following
\nnote by Sri Aurobindo was printed above the text:<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

(There are few more interesting passages in the Mahabharat
\nthan the conversation of Vidula with her son. It comes into the
\nmain poem as an exhortation from Kunti to Yudhisthir to give
\nup the weak spirit of submission, moderation, prudence, and
\nfight like a true warrior and Kshatriya for right and justice and
\nhis own. But the poem bears internal evidence of having been
\nwritten by a patriotic poet to stir his countrymen to revolt
\nagainst the yoke of the foreigner. Sanjay, prince and leader
\nof an Aryan people, has been defeated by the King of Sindhu
\nand his Kingdom is in the possession of the invader. The fact
\nof the King of Sindhu or the country around the Indus being
\nnamed as the invader shows that the poet must have had in
\nhis mind one of the aggressive foreign powers, whether Persia,<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 616<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Graeco-Bactria, Parthia or the Scythians, which took possession one after the other of these regions and made them the
\nbase for inroads upon the North-West. The poet seeks to fire
\nthe spirit of the conquered and subject people and impel them
\nto throw off the hated subjection. He personifies in Vidula the
\nspirit of the motherland speaking to her degenerate son and
\nstriving to awaken in him the inherited Aryan manhood and
\nthe Kshatriya’s preference of death to servitude.)
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Almost thirty-five years later Sri Aurobindo revised his translation
\nfor publication in
\nCollected Poems and Plays <\/i>(1942). At that time he
\nstruck out the above note and wrote the one reproduced on page 105.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Section Three. Kalidasa
\n<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Between 1898 and around 1903 Sri Aurobindo wrote several chapters
\nof a planned critical study of the works of Kalidasa, the master of
\nclassical Sanskrit poetry. During the same period he translated two
\ncomplete works by the poet
\n\u2014 the
\nMeghaduta <\/i>and the Vikramorvashiya <\/i>\u2014 as well as parts of three others \u2014 the Malavikagnimitra<\/i>,
\nthe
\nKumarasambhava <\/i>and the Raghuvansha<\/i>. A number of years later,
\nin Pondicherry, he returned to Kalidasa, producing three different
\nversions of the opening of the
\nKumarasambhava<\/i>.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

The editors reproduce these translations in the following order:
\nfirst, the only surviving complete translation; next, the two that include
\nat least one major section of the original text; and finally, notes and
\nfragments.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Vikramorvasie or The Hero and the Nymph<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo began
\nthis translation of Kalidasa’s second drama, the
\nVikramorvashiya<\/i>,
\nsometime around 1898. He had apparently completed it by around
\n1902, when he wrote an essay on the characters of the play. (This
\nessay, “Vikramorvasie: The Characters”, is published in Early Cultural<\/i> <\/p>\n

Writings<\/i>, volume 1 of THE<\/font> COMPLETE<\/font> WORKS<\/font>.) Probably in 1911 Sri
\nAurobindo’s translation was published by R. Chatterjee (presumably Ramananda Chatterjee, editor of the
\nPrabasi <\/i>and Modern Review<\/i>) at
\nthe Kuntaline Press, Calcutta. A second edition was brought out in
\n1941 by the Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Pondicherry; the next year the<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 617<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

text was included in the same publisher’s Collected Poems and Plays<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\n

In the Gardens of Vidisha or Malavica and the King: Act I<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo wrote this partial translation of Kalidasa’s Malavikagnimitra <\/i>in
\nBaroda, probably around 1900 \u00ad 02. A fragment from the beginning
\nof Act II, translated at the same time, is published here in an appendix.<\/p>\n

\n

The Birth of the War-God<\/b>. Around 1916 \u00ad 18, Sri Aurobindo made
\nthree separate translations of parts of the first two cantos of Kalidasa’s
\nepic
\nKumarasambhava <\/i>under the title The Birth of the War-God<\/i>. The
\nfirst rendering, which breaks off after the twentieth verse, is in rhymed
\nstanzas. The second rendering is a translation of the first canto in
\nblank verse; verses 7 \u00ad 16 were translated in a different order from the
\noriginal. The third, expanded version includes several long passages
\nthat do not correspond to anything in Kalidasa’s epic. It may thus be
\nconsidered practically an independent poem by Sri Aurobindo.<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Notes and Fragments
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Skeleton Notes on the Kumarasambhavam: Canto V.<\/b> Around 1900 \u00ad
\n02, while still living in Baroda, Sri Aurobindo produced this annotated
\nliteral translation of the beginning of the fifth canto of Kalidasa’s epic.
\nIn it he cited the glosses of various commentators. These citations
\nmake it clear that he used the edition of Shankar Ganesh Deshpande: <\/p>\n

  <\/i> <\/p>\n

The Kumara-Sambhava of Kalidasa (I \u00ad VI.) With the commentary of<\/i> <\/p>\n

Mallinatha <\/i>(Poona, 1887).<\/p>\n

\n

The Line of Raghou: Two Renderings of the Opening.<\/b> Sri Aurobindo
\ntranslated the first ten verses of Kalidasa’s
\nRaghuvansha <\/i>independently on two different occasions, first in Baroda sometime around
\n1900 \u00ad 05 (he headed this translation “Raghuvansa”) and later in
\nPondicherry around 1912 (he headed this translation “The Line of
\nRaghou \/ Canto I”).<\/p>\n

\n

The Cloud Messenger: Fragments from a Lost Translation<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated the entire
\nMeghaduta <\/i>sometime around 1900. A
\ndecade later, while living in Pondicherry under the surveillance of the
\nBritish police, he entrusted the translation to a friend, who (according
\nto the received story) put it in a bamboo cylinder and buried it. When
\nthe cylinder was unearthed, it was discovered that the translation had
\nbeen devoured by white ants. The only passages to survive are the ones
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 618<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\nSri Aurobindo quoted in his essay “On Translating Kalidasa” and in
\na letter to his brother Manmohan Ghose that was typed for use as a
\npreface to the poem
\nLove and Death<\/i>. These passages are reproduced
\nhere in the order in which they occur in Kalidasa’s poem.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nSection Four. Bhartrihari
\n<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n
\nThe Century of Life<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo began this translation of the Niti<\/i> <\/p>\n

Shataka <\/i>of Bhartrihari (sixth to seventh century) while in Baroda.
\nHe seems to have been referring to it when he spoke, in a letter to
\nhis uncle dated 15 August 1902, of “my MS of verse translations
\nfrom Sanskrit”. Some of the epigrams were first published in the <\/p>\n

Baroda College Miscellany<\/i>, presumably during the years he was a
\nprofessor of English there (1898 \u00ad 1901 and 1905 \u00ad 06). A few others
\nwere published in the
\nKarmayogin <\/i>on 19 March 1910 and in the Arya<\/i>
\nin December 1917 and November 1918. The complete translation
\nwas preserved in the form of a forty-page typescript, preceded by an
\neight-page “Prefatory Note” (see below). In 1924 the translation was
\npublished by the Shama’a Publishing House, Madras. <\/p>\n

Appendix: Prefatory Note on Bhartrihari<\/b>. The typed manuscript of
\nSri Aurobindo’s translation of
\nThe Century of Life<\/i>, then called “The
\nCentury of Morals”, included this “prefatory note” on the poet and
\nhis work. When Sri Aurobindo published
\nThe Century of Life <\/i>in 1924,
\nhe discarded this note in favour of the brief translator’s note published
\nhere on page 314.
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Section Five. Other Translations from Sanskrit<\/b> <\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Opening of the Kiratarjuniya.<\/b> Sri Aurobindo read the masterwork of
\nthe seventh-century poet Bharavi during the early part of his stay in
\nPondicherry. He wrote a literal translation of the first two Shlokas of
\nthe poem in the top margin of the first page of the book. This evidently
\nwas intended as an aid in his study of the poem and not as an attempt
\nat literary translation. <\/p>\n

Bhagawat: Skandha I, Adhyaya I<\/b>. This translation of the first Adhyaya
\nof the Bhagavata Purana was written in Pondicherry around 1912.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 619<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Bhavani<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo’s translation of the opening of this hymn, attributed to the eighth-century Vedantic philosopher and commentator
\nShankaracharya, is dated 28 March 1941.\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

PART<\/font> TWO<\/font>: TRANSLATIONS
\nFROM<\/font><\/b> BENGALI<\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Although born in Bengal of Bengali parents, Sri Aurobindo did not
\nbegin to learn the Bengali language until he was a young man. As a
\nchild he spoke only English and Hindustani. His father, then an ardent
\nanglophile, did not allow Bengali to be spoken at home. When he was
\nseven, Aurobindo was taken to England, where he remained for the
\nnext thirteen years. Selected for the Indian Civil Service and assigned to
\nBengal, he began the study of Bengali at Cambridge. Rejected from the
\nservice in 1892, he obtained employment in the state of Baroda, where
\nhe continued his Bengali studies. At this time he translated a number of
\nsongs by devotional poets who wrote in Bengali or the related language
\nof Maithili. Between 1906 and 1910 he lived in Bengal, where he mastered Bengali well enough to edit a weekly journal in that language. At
\nthat time he translated part of a novel by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee.
\nLater, in Pondicherry, he translated a few examples of contemporary
\nBengali poetry.\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Section One. Vaishnava Devotional Poetry
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Radha’s Complaint in Absence.<\/b> Sri Aurobindo published this “imitation” of a poem by Chandidasa (late fourteenth to early fifteenth
\ncentury) in Songs to Myrtilla <\/i>(c. 1898), his first collection of poems.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Radha’s Appeal<\/b>. This “imitation” from Chandidasa was also published
\nin Songs to Myrtilla<\/i>.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Karma: Radha’s Complaint<\/b>. This free rendering of a poem by Chandidasa first appeared in Ahana and Other Poems <\/i>(Pondicherry: The
\nModern Press, 1915).\n<\/p>\n

\n

Appeal<\/b>. This English poem is based in part on a song (“Divas til<\/i> <\/p>\n

ā<\/font>dh <\/i>. . . “) in Vidyapati’s Padavali <\/i>(see the next item). The first stanza
\nof the English follows Vidyapati’s text fairly closely; the two stanzas
\nthat follow are Sri Aurobindo’s own invention. It was first published
\nin Ahana and Other Poems<\/i>.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 620<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Twenty-two Poems of Bidyapati.<\/b> Vidyapati (fourteenth to fifteenth
\ncentury; pronounced “Bidyapati” in Bengali and so spelled by Sri
\nAurobindo) wrote in Maithili, a language spoken in north-east Bihar
\nand Nepal, which is closely related to Bengali and other languages of
\neastern India. Mediaeval Maithili in particular is close to mediaeval
\nBengali, and Bengali scholars consider Vidyapati one of the creators of
\ntheir own literature. Sri Aurobindo read Vidyapati’s Padavali <\/i>as part
\nof his study of early Bengali literature. (He used the text reproduced in
\nan edition of Prachin Kabir Granthabali <\/i>[Anthology of the Old Poets]
\npublished in Calcutta in 1304 Bengali era [1897 \u00ad 98].) Around 1898
\nSri Aurobindo began to translate poems from the Padavali <\/i>into English verse. He entitled his first selection, “Ten Poems translated from
\nBidyapati”. Later, in the same notebook, he added twenty-four more.
\nSome years later he selected twelve of these thirty-four translations
\nfor inclusion in his “Selected Poems of Bidyapati” (see below). The
\ntwenty-two poems that he did not select are published together here
\nunder an editorial title similar to the title of his first selection of ten.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo gave titles to drafts of four of the poems in this
\nseries (13: “Radha”; 14: “After the bath”; 15: “Radha bathing”; 16:
\n“Love’s Stratagem”) and three of the “Selected Poems of Bidyapati”
\n(2: “Enchantment”; 12: “The Look”; 13: “The Bee & the Jasmine”).
\nHe wrote more than one version of some of the translations included in
\nthis section. Versions that differ significantly from the ones chosen for
\npublication here are reproduced in the reference volume (volume 35).
\nAs Sri Aurobindo did not finalise his arrangement of these twenty-two
\npoems, they are published in the order in which they occur in
\nPrachin<\/i> <\/p>\n

Kabir Granthabali<\/i>.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Selected Poems of Bidyapati<\/b>. Around 1900 Sri Aurobindo selected
\nnineteen of his translations from Vidyapati (twelve of which had been
\ndrafted in the notebook mentioned in the previous note), and arranged
\nthem in an order that emphasises the dialogue between Radha and
\nKrishna.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Selected Poems of Nidhou<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated these twenty poems by the Bengali poet Ramnidhi Gupta (1741 \u00ad 1839), known as
\nNidhu Babu, sometime around 1900, using the same notebook he had
\nused for “Selected Poems of Bidyapati”. He seems to have used texts
\nof Nidhu Babu’s poems published in an edition of the collection Rasa<\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 621<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Bhandar <\/i>(Calcutta, 1306 Bengali era [1899 \u00ad 1900]). He numbered his
\ntranslations and then revised the order by changing the numbers in
\npencil. The editors have followed the revised arrangement.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Selected Poems of Horo Thacoor<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated these
\nseven poems by Harekrishna Dirghangi (1738 \u00ad 1813), known as
\nHaru Thakur, around the same time as the selections from Nidhu
\nBabu (see above), writing his fair copies in the same notebook. His
\nsource seems to have been
\nRasa Bhandar <\/i>(see above). The notes above
\nthe texts are his own glosses.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Selected Poems of Ganodas<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated these seven poems by the sixteenth-century poet Jnanadas (whose name he spelled
\n“Ganodas”, as it is pronounced in Bengali) around the same time, and
\nin the same notebook, as his selections from Nidhu Babu and Haru
\nThakur. His text appears to have been the
\nPrachin Kabir Granthabali<\/i>
\n(see above under “Twenty-two Poems of Bidyapati”). The glosses are
\nhis own.\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Section Two. Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Hymn to the Mother: Bande Mataram.<\/b> Bankim Chandra Chatterjee
\n(1838 \u00ad 94) inserted his song “Bande Mataram” in the tenth chapter
\nof his novel
\nAnandamath<\/i>. During the Swadeshi movement (1905 \u00ad 12)
\nthe song became a national anthem and its opening words \u2014 “Bande
\nMataram” (“I bow to the Motherland”)
\n\u2014 a sort of battle cry. In
\nthe course of translating the first part of the novel (see below), Sri
\nAurobindo rendered the song in English verse, adding, in a footnote,
\na more literal prose translation. First published in the Karmayogin <\/i>on
\n20 November 1909, the two renderings later were reproduced in
\nRishi<\/i> <\/p>\n

Bunkim Chandra <\/i>(1923), a pamphlet containing also an essay of the
\nsame name.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Anandamath: The First Thirteen Chapters.<\/b> Bankim Chandra Chatterjee’s novel
\nAnandamath <\/i>(The Abbey of Bliss) was first published in
\n1882. A quarter-century later it gained great popularity as the source of
\nthe song “Bande Mataram” and as a masked revolutionary statement.
\nA translation of the Prologue and the first thirteen chapters of Part
\nI of the novel were published in the
\nKarmayogin <\/i>between August 1909 and February 1910 over the name Aurobindo Ghose (Sri<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 622<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Aurobindo). The chapters contain a number of unidiomatic expressions that make one wonder whether he was solely responsible for
\nthe translation. During the 1940s, a full translation of Anandamath<\/i>
\nwas published by the Basumati Sahitya Mandir, Calcutta. A note
\nto this edition states: “Up to 15th Chapter of Part I translated by
\nSree Aurobindo. Subsequent pages translated by Sree Barindra Kumar
\nGhosh.” Chapters fourteen and fifteen were certainly not translated
\nby Sri Aurobindo, and are not included here. <\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

Sometime during the early period of his stay in Pondicherry
\n(1910 \u00ad 14), Sri Aurobindo made a handwritten translation of the
\nfirst two chapters of Anandamath<\/i>, apparently without reference to the <\/p>\n

Karmayogin <\/i>version. This translation is published here in an appendix.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Section Three. Chittaranjan Das
\n<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Songs of the Sea.<\/b> Sri Aurobindo met Chittaranjan Das (1870 \u00ad 1925)
\nwhile both were students in England. Two decades later Das successfully defended Sri Aurobindo from the charge of conspiracy to
\nwage war against the King in the Alipore Bomb Case (1909 \u00ad 10). In
\n1913, learning that Sri Aurobindo was in financial need, Das offered
\nhim Rs. 1000 in exchange for a translation of Das’s book of poems, <\/p>\n

Sagar-Sangit
\n<\/i>(Sea-Songs). Sri Aurobindo agreed and completed the
\ntranslation, which eventually was published, along with Das’s prose
\ntranslation, by Ganesh and Co., Madras, around 1923. Twenty-five
\nyears later Sri Aurobindo wrote of his rendering:
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

I was not . . . self-moved to translate this work, however beautiful I found it; I might even be accused of having written the
\ntranslation as a pot-boiler, for Das knowing my impecunious
\nand precarious situation at Pondicherry offered me Rs. 1,000
\nfor the work. Nevertheless I tried to give his beautiful Bengali
\nlines as excellent a shape of English poetry as I could manage.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Section Four. Disciples and Others<\/b> <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

During the 1930s a number of Sri Aurobindo’s disciples wrote poems
\nthat they submitted to him for comment and criticism. On eleven<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 623<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

occasions he translated or thoroughly revised translations of poems
\nin Bengali that had been sent to him in this way. During the same
\ndecade he translated three songs by Dwijendralal Roy and Atulprasad
\nSen. These fourteen translations are arranged here in the order of the
\npoets’ birth. Most were informal efforts; only “Hymn to India” and
\n“Mahalakshmi” were revised for publication.\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Hymn to India<\/b>, by Dwijendralal Roy (1863 \u00ad 1913). Roy, a well-known
\nplaywright, was the father of Dilip Kumar Roy, a disciple of Sri Aurobindo (see below). Sri Aurobindo translated his Bharata Stotra <\/i>on
\n16 February 1941. The next month the translation was published in
\nthe Modern Review<\/i>, Calcutta, under the title “Hymn to India”. A
\nyear later it was reproduced in Sri Aurobindo’s
\nCollected Poems and<\/i> <\/p>\n

Plays <\/i>under the title “Mother India”. The editors have reverted to the <\/p>\n

Modern Review <\/i>title (a literal translation of the original Bengali title)
\nto avoid confusion with the next piece.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Mother India<\/b>, by Dwijendralal Roy. In 1932 Sri Aurobindo thoroughly
\nrevised a translation by Mrs. Frieda Hanswirth Dass, a Swiss friend of
\nDilip Kumar Roy’s, of Dwijendralal’s song
\nBharatabarsha<\/i>. Sri Aurobindo later wrote of this version as “my translation”. Early typed
\ncopies of it are entitled “Mother India”.\n<\/p>\n

\n

The Pilot<\/b>, by Atulprasad Sen (1871 \u00ad 1934). Sen, a noted songwriter
\nand singer, was a friend of Dilip Kumar Roy’s. Dilip seems to have sent
\nSri Aurobindo a copy of this song, probably accompanied by his own
\nor another’s English translation, sometime during the 1930s. He later
\nmarked a typed copy of the present translation “by Sri Aurobindo”.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Mahalakshmi<\/b>, by Anilbaran Roy (1890 \u00ad 1974). In November 1935,
\nSri Aurobindo wrote of this translation (which he had apparently just
\ncompleted): <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Anilbaran’s song is best rendered by an Elizabethan simplicity
\nand intensity with as little artifice of metre and diction as
\npossible. I have tried to do it in that way.\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

The translation was first published, under the title “The Mother”, in <\/p>\n

Gitasri<\/i>, a book of Bengali songs by Dilip Kumar Roy and Nishikanto.
\nIt was reprinted, under the title “Mahalakshmi”, in Sri Aurobindo’s <\/p>\n

Collected Poems and Plays <\/i>(1942).<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 624<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

<\/p>\n

The New Creator<\/b>, by Aruna (1895 \u00ad 1993).
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Lakshmi<\/b>, by Dilip Kumar Roy (1897 \u00ad 1980). Sri Aurobindo’s handwritten copy of this translation is entitled “Mahalakshmi”. It was
\npublished under the title “Lakshmi” in the poet’s collection
\nAnami<\/i>
\n(Calcutta, c. 1934), and under the name “Mahalakshmi” in his collection Eyes of Light
\n<\/i>(Bombay, 1948). In both books Sri Aurobindo was
\nidentified as the translator. The editors have used the title “Lakshmi”
\nto distinguish this translation from the translation of Anilbaran Roy’s
\npoem (see above).
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Aspiration<\/b>: The New Dawn<\/b>, by Dilip Kumar Roy. A copy of this
\ntranslation in Sri Aurobindo’s own hand exists. It was published in the
\npoet’s
\nAnami <\/i>(c. 1934). The poet later wrote that it “was originally
\ntranslated by my own humble self in free verse which Sri Aurobindo
\ncorrected and revised later”.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Farewell Flute<\/b>, by Dilip Kumar Roy. This translation was published in
\nthe poet’s
\nEyes of Light <\/i>in 1948. There the translator was identified as
\nSri Aurobindo.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Uma<\/b>, by Dilip Kumar Roy. Sri Aurobindo based this translation on
\none by K. C. Sen. Apropos of his work, he wrote: <\/span> <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Khitish Sen’s translation is far from bad, but it is not perfect
\neither and uses too many oft-heard locutions without bringing
\nin the touch of magic that would save them. Besides, his metre,
\nin spite of his trying to lighten it, is one of the common and obvious metres which are almost proof against subtlety of movement. It may be mathematically more equivalent to yours, but
\nthere is an underrunning lilt of celestial dance in your rhythm
\nwhich he tries to get but, because of the limitations of the
\nmetre, cannot manage. I think my iambic-anapaestic choice is
\nbetter fitted to catch the dance-lilt and keep it.
\n<\/span>\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Two typed copies of Sri Aurobindo’s translation exist, one entitled
\n“Uma” and the other “Gouri”. In the margin of one, D. K. Roy wrote:
\n“This can be taken as Sri Aurobindo’s translation. 99% is his.”
\nFaithful, by Dilip Kumar Roy. The poet wrote of this translation: “The
\nEnglish version is a free rendering from the Bengali original by Dilip
\nKumar and corrected by Sri Aurobindo practically 90%.”
\nSince thou hast called me, by Sahana (1897 \u00ad 1990). An early typed<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 625<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

copy of this poem is marked: “translated from Sahana’s song by Sri
\nAurobindo. 13-2-’41.”\n<\/p>\n

\n

A Beauty infinite<\/b>, by Jyotirmayi (c. 1902 \u00ad ?) The poet’s sonnet was
\nwritten on 2 January 1937 and submitted to Sri Aurobindo the next
\nday. On 14 January Sri Aurobindo wrote this translation, prefacing it
\nwith the following remark: “I am inserting an attempt to put in English
\nverse Jyoti’s sonnet translated by Nolini [Kanta Gupta].”\n<\/p>\n

\n

At the day-end<\/b>, by Nirodbaran (born 1903). The poet’s sonnet was
\nsubmitted to Sri Aurobindo on 17 February 1937. Sri Aurobindo wrote
\nhis translation as part of his reply of the next day. He prefaced it with
\nthe remark: “Well, let us put it in English \u2014 without trying to be too
\nliteral, turning the phrases to suit the Eng. language. If there are any
\nmistakes of rendering they can be adjusted.”\n<\/p>\n

\n

The King of kings<\/b>, by Nishikanto (1909 \u00ad 1973). An early typed copy
\nof this translation is marked: “Translated by Sri Aurobindo from Nishikanto’s song. 7.2.1941.”\n<\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

PART<\/font> THREE<\/font>: TRANSLATIONS
\nFROM<\/font> TAMIL <\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

In connection with his research into the “origins of Aryan speech”, Sri
\nAurobindo made a brief study of Tamil in Pondicherry around 1910 \u00ad
\n12. A few years later the celebrated poet Subramania Bharati, who like
\nSri Aurobindo was a political refugee in the French colony, introduced
\nSri Aurobindo to the works of the mediaeval Vaishnava saints known
\nas alwars<\/i>, helping him translate some of their poems into English,
\nand providing him with material to enable him to write prefatory
\nessays on the poets. Bharati also may have helped Sri Aurobindo in his
\ntranslations from the
\nKural<\/i>.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Andal<\/b>. Andal lived during the eighth century. Sri Aurobindo’s translations of three of her poems
\n\u2014 “To the Cuckoo”, “I Dreamed a Dream”,
\nand “Ye Others” \u2014 were published in the Arya <\/i>in May 1915. They
\nwere preceded by the essay reproduced here.\n<\/p>\n

\n

Nammalwar<\/b>. Maran, known as Nammalwar, lived during the ninth
\ncentury. Sri Aurobindo’s translations of his “Hymn of the Golden
\nAge”, and “Love-Mad”, along with an essay on the poet, were published in the
\nArya <\/i>in July and September 1915.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

<\/p>\n

Page \u2013 626<\/font><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Kulasekhara Alwar<\/b>. Kulasekhara Alwar reigned in the Chera kingdom
\nof south India during the eighth century. Sri Aurobindo’s translation
\nof his “Refuge” was published in the Arya <\/i>in November 1915.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Tiruvalluvar<\/b>. Composed by the poet Tiruvalluvar sometime during
\nthe early centuries of the Christian era, the Kural <\/i>consists of 1330
\nverse aphorisms on the main aspects of life
\n\u2014 ethical, practical and
\nsensuous \u2014 divided into three parts made up of chapters of ten verses
\neach. Around 1919, Sri Aurobindo translated the first chapter (in a
\ndifferent order from the original) and five aphorisms from the second
\nchapter.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

PART<\/font> FOUR<\/font>: TRANSLATIONS
\nFROM<\/font> GREEK<\/font> <\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo began the study of Greek at St Paul’s School, London.
\nAfter winning a classical scholarship with the best Greek papers the
\nexaminer had ever seen, he continued his studies at King’s College,
\nCambridge. He wrote the translations of Greek epigrams reproduced
\nhere in England or Baroda. The translations from Homer were done
\nlater, in Baroda and Pondicherry.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Two Epigrams<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo’s translations of these epigrams attributed to Plato (fifth to fourth century B.C.) and Meleager (first
\ncentury B.C.) were published in
\nSongs to Myrtilla <\/i>(c. 1898).
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Opening of the Iliad<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated these lines from the
\nIliad in Baroda around 1901.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Opening of the Odyssey<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated these lines from
\nthe Odyssey in Pondicherry around 1913. His manuscript is headed
\n“Odyssey Book I”.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Hexameters from Homer<\/b>. These translations of four lines from the
\nIliad were written, below the original Greek lines, in a note-pad used
\nby Sri Aurobindo in 1946 mainly for passages of his epic,
\nSavitri<\/i>. In a
\nletter dictated in that year, he quoted these lines in a slightly different
\nform to illustrate the use of repetition in the Homeric style.
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

PART<\/font> FIVE<\/font>: TRANSLATIONS
\nFROM<\/font> LATIN <\/font><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

Sri Aurobindo began the study of Latin in Manchester before entering
\nschool. He continued his studies at St Paul’s and at King’s College,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n <\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 627<\/font><\/p>\n

\n

\n

Cambridge. He did the translations reproduced here in Pondicherry in
\nthe 1930s and 1940s. <\/p>\n

\n

Hexameters from Virgil and Horace<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated these
\nthree lines from the works of Virgil and Horace (both first century B.C.)
\nin Pondicherry during the 1930s, using the same hexametric metre as
\nthe originals. The first line is a conflation of two lines from Virgil’s <\/p>\n

Aeneid<\/i>, Book 8, line 596 and Book 11, 875. The second line is also
\nfrom the
\nAeneid<\/i>, Book 1, line 199. The last is line 41 of Horace’s Ars<\/i> <\/p>\n

Poetica<\/i>. <\/p>\n

\n

Catullus to Lesbia<\/b>. Sri Aurobindo translated this lyric by the Latin poet
\nCatullus (first century B.C.) in Pondicherry around 1942. Two versions
\nof the translation exist among his manuscripts. The one reproduced
\nhere is the more developed. <\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

PUBLISHING<\/font> HISTORY<\/font> <\/b><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n

\n

As mentioned above, the following works were published during Sri
\nAurobindo’s lifetime: the three poems by Chandidasa and “Appeal” (c.
\n1898 and 1915); Vidula <\/i>(in Bande Mataram <\/i>in 1907); Vikramorvasie<\/i> <\/p>\n

or The Hero and the Nymph <\/i>(Calcutta, 1911; Pondicherry, 1941); The<\/i> <\/p>\n

Century of Life <\/i>(Madras, 1924); Bande Mataram <\/i>and the chapters
\nof
\nAnandamath <\/i>(1909 and subsequently); Songs of the Sea <\/i>(Madras,
\n1923); Bengali poems by “Disciples and Others” (1934 \u00ad 1948); the
\nselections from the Alwars (1914 \u00ad 15); and the Greek lyrics (c. 1898).
\nMost of these works were reproduced in Collected Poems and Plays<\/i>
\n(Pondicherry: Sri Aurobindo Ashram, 1942). Most of the other translations appeared in books or journals between 1950 and 1970. All
\nknown translations were collected for the first time in
\nTranslations<\/i> (Pondicherry, 1972). The present volume contains a few translations
\nthat have not previously been printed. All the texts have been checked
\nagainst Sri Aurobindo’s manuscripts and books and periodicals published during his lifetime.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Page \u2013 628<\/font><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Note on the Texts   Note on the Texts   Fluent in English from his childhood, Sri Aurobindo mastered five other languages \u2014 French, Latin,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-05-translations","wpcat-48-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2308"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2308\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}