Preface by Dr. Franz Bernhard
This volume is the first complete edition of the Sanskrit Udānavarga. Based on abundant manuscript materials, it was possible to nearly fully reconstruct the text of the Eastern Turfan Vulgate and to trace numerous secondary recensions while determining their structure. Thus, the materials for studying early Buddhist verse collections are expanded beyond merely a Sanskrit version of a text already known from Tibetan and Chinese translations.
The significance of the Udānavarga lies not in the literary quality of its verses – like all such texts, they are “accumulations of insipid mediocrity which piety preserves”. J. Brough: The Gāndhāri Dhammapada, p. XVII: “In cultural conditions where the cliché, and particularly the religious cliché, was not so much tolerated as venerated, and where many existing verses could with the greatest of ease be broken into usable quarters, it is understandable that a considerable treasure-house of versified legs was ready to hand for any monk studious to compose. Now and then a monk might be a poet, and here and there among the Dhammapada verses we have the good fortune to inherit some fragments of excellent poetry. But we should not expect to find very much. Poetry is not an easy art, and good poets are always rare. To build from other men's bricks and sanctified clichés is tolerably simple; and many a monk entirely devoid of poetic ability was readily persuaded that his verses were no worse than those of his neighbour.” However, the various recensions of the Udānavarga are unique witnesses to different linguistic layers of so-called “Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit.” Compared with the Pali Canon’s Dhammapada and the surviving portions of the Gāndhāri Dhammapada, they provide insight into the evolution of such literature.
Parallels to these texts abound throughout Buddhist – including Hindu and Jain – literature. A thorough comparison of the various versions of these inherited verses will be of great importance for the literary-historical analysis of the Buddhist canon. Even during the reconstruction of the Udānavarga Vulgate, it was often unavoidable to investigate the relationships between different parallels, revealing these connections to be far more intricate and complex than one might initially assume.
I should note in advance that many of these highly interesting questions could not be addressed, let alone answered, within the scope of this edition. It was also impossible to present the full range of parallels exhaustively. Readers may therefore observe some inconsistency in the citation of parallels. Those who cannot provide everything in extensive detail must be guided by their own interests in making selections, and it is unrealistic to expect everyone’s interests to align perfectly.
Similarly, it was impossible to address the many linguistic-grammatical and interpretive problems of the text in the notes. While I would gladly preempt any potential objections or criticisms, I must refer readers to the forthcoming volumes that will provide commentary and justification for this edition.
The second volume – already in press – will provide a formal analysis of the text: “Facsimiles,” a complete word index, and a reverse word index (covering not only the Vulgate version but all variants) will make the manuscript material fully accessible. The reverse index will be particularly valuable for assessing grammatical forms. Additionally, the second volume includes synoptic tables for each chapter (varga), illustrating the structure of different recensions, along with concordances linking many test passages to their parallel verses in the Udānavarga.
The third volume will present a detailed grammar of the linguistically diverse Udānavarga recensions, examining the linguistic issues of so-called “Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit” through the lens of Udānavarga materials in comparison with corresponding parallel traditions. Special attention will be given to the metrical structure of Buddhist Sanskrit. AJ: As far as I can see the planned volume was never published. A third volume in the Udānavarga series was prepared by Champa Thupten Zongtse and consisted of the Tibetan text.
This edition diverges in some respects from the familiar model of “Sanskrit Texts from the Turfan Region,” primarily by omitting a full reproduction of the manuscript corpus. Instead, a facsimile edition of all Udānavarga manuscripts is planned for future publication.
I wish to thank the many individuals who assisted me in completing this volume in various ways.
My gratitude goes to the Göttingen Academy of Sciences for including this edition in their series of publications.
I thank Dr. D. Schützmotzer (formerly of Berlin) for identifying numerous Sanskrit fragments and providing valuable insights.
Above all, my revered teacher Prof. Dr. E. Waldschmidt (Göttingen), who kindly entrusted me with editing the Udānavarga fragments, has given me such generous support that words cannot fully express my gratitude.
F. B.