عنوان

On the Making of the Tibetan Translation of Laksmīs Sahajasiddhipaddhati:

Number

LA112286

.Language of Text, Soundtrack etc

انگلیسی

Title Proper

On the Making of the Tibetan Translation of Laksmīs Sahajasiddhipaddhati:

General Material Designation

[Article]

Other Title Information

Bro Lotsā ba Shes rab Grags and his Translation Endeavors. (Materials for the Study of the Female Tantric Master Laksmī of Uddiyāna, part I)

First Statement of Responsibility

Ulrich Timme Kragh

Place of Publication, Distribution, etc.

Leiden

Name of Publisher, Distributor, etc.

Brill

Text of Note

The medieval Tantric literature entails many uncertainties about authorship and dating. The line between authentic and pseudepigraphical in this genre has traditionally been very fluid, and every Tantric text needs to be treated with due caution. In the case of the Sahajasiddhipaddhati, the Tibetan tradition maintains its author to be the 9th-10th century female master Laksmī from Uddiyāna. Given this work's significance, its possible female authorship and its inclusion of hitherto unresearched hagiographies of twelve Uddiyāna Tantric teachers including four women, it is most crucial to examine its provenance. If its authenticity can be established, the text would become one of the earliest hagiographical collections of the Indian Tantric tradition, predating by two to three centuries Abhayadattaśrī's standard anthology, Caturaśītisiddhapravrtti, which differs considerably from Laksmī's work. The Sahajasiddhipaddhati is only extant in a Tibetan translation by the Kashmirian scholar Somanātha and the Tibetan translator 'Bro Lotsā ba Shes rab Grags. Since the translated work is undated, the investigation of its provenance must begin with ascertaining the date of its Tibetan witness. Through a wide-ranging reading of medieval Tibetan historical sources and colophons of 11th-century Tantric works, it will be concluded that the translation was produced in Nepal somewhere between the years 1070 and 1090. The discovery sets a terminus ante quem for the Sanskrit original, placing its composition at least a century earlier than Abhayadattaśr¯ı's compilation. The medieval Tantric literature entails many uncertainties about authorship and dating. The line between authentic and pseudepigraphical in this genre has traditionally been very fluid, and every Tantric text needs to be treated with due caution. In the case of the Sahajasiddhipaddhati, the Tibetan tradition maintains its author to be the 9th-10th century female master Laksmī from Uddiyāna. Given this work's significance, its possible female authorship and its inclusion of hitherto unresearched hagiographies of twelve Uddiyāna Tantric teachers including four women, it is most crucial to examine its provenance. If its authenticity can be established, the text would become one of the earliest hagiographical collections of the Indian Tantric tradition, predating by two to three centuries Abhayadattaśrī's standard anthology, Caturaśītisiddhapravrtti, which differs considerably from Laksmī's work. The Sahajasiddhipaddhati is only extant in a Tibetan translation by the Kashmirian scholar Somanātha and the Tibetan translator 'Bro Lotsā ba Shes rab Grags. Since the translated work is undated, the investigation of its provenance must begin with ascertaining the date of its Tibetan witness. Through a wide-ranging reading of medieval Tibetan historical sources and colophons of 11th-century Tantric works, it will be concluded that the translation was produced in Nepal somewhere between the years 1070 and 1090. The discovery sets a terminus ante quem for the Sanskrit original, placing its composition at least a century earlier than Abhayadattaśr¯ı's compilation.

Date of Publication

2010

Physical description

195-232

Title

Indo-Iranian Journal

Volume Number

53/3

International Standard Serial Number

1572-8536

Subject Term

'BRO LOTSĀ BA SHES RAB GRAGS

Subject Term

BUDDHIST TANTRIC TRADITION

Subject Term

INDRABODHI

Subject Term

LAKSMĪMKARĀ

Subject Term

SAHAJASIDDHIPADDHATI

Subject Term

SOMANĀTHA

Subject Term

TIBETAN LITERATURE HISTORY OF THE 11TH CENTURY

Subject Term

UDDIYĀNA

Ulrich Timme Kragh

Call Number

10.1163/001972410X520009

Electronic name

p

[Article]

275578

a

Y