have mercy on readers

Verses and hymns in Sanskrit are usuallyvery simple and elegant..

And in the normal course they are amenable to simple and fine translations..

I think it is easy to present them in very simple words in any otherlanguage too..

Nevertheless it takes a lot, really a lot, of effort and plodding along like a donkey carrying weight for a whole life to transliterate such great pieces even very badly, and to translate them even in an uglier way ,

and present it to all with the sole result that reading such crap would divest the readers of all their love for the language, the verse and maybe the deity in whose honour the verse was composed by the original and now hapless author..

How many times Shankara, Ramanuja and others would have turned in the graves !

Anyway we achieve that very effectively and precisely too..

God bless us and the readers too.

my translations

 

My translation from Sanskrit to English will not be word to word.

I know fairly well the limitations of other modern languages vis- a- vis Sanskrit.

Normally I ensure two things.

First, I ensure that I have understood reasonably well the material I take up for translation.

Secondly, if I read the translated product, at least I should understand what I have written and what I intended to convey.

If there are too sacred mantrams like some parts of Vedas, and some secrets of Tantric worship etc, we should never try to be translate them and I never touch them for translation.

The instructions regarding the secret mantrams are that even if texts or notes prepared during training by a very learned guru to a devoted sishya, such notes should be got destroyed, by water or fire once the purpose is served .

Sure, the material I usually attempt to translate would never come under that category and would exclude all matters that the tradition and culture of India would not permit.

The style and aesthetics of English and Oriental Languages are at variance.

Besides, if a translation that is grammatically and etymologically faithful but not compatible with the style of English is attempted, the results could be often very bad or even disastrous..

Of course, I do not say we should not be faithful to the original text in all possible ways, but it should not affect the spirit of the translated material.

It is easy to take each and every word apiece, and translate it according to tense, gender, number, case, etc.(According to anta linga vibhakti vachanam.. अन्त लिङ्ग विभक्ति वचनं ) but the results are more likely to be funny. Moreover, no one could really read it. We can go for Vrittam, Svaram, Varnam etc too but except great scholars no one would have any use for it. In addition, I have not enough learning that would make me bold to present my translation skills to real masters.

If a devotee wants to have a plain meaning of what he recites in Sanskrit, my commentary may be of some use. The purpose of my translation is simply that.

I do not claim perfection, and if I attempt to explain some of the terms with grammar and also the stories and fables behind them, even explaining four or five lines can take days.. It is beyond my endurance. Besides, I am not that much learned too.

Then I will never type or speak a thing about which I am not sure that it is correct to a reasonable extent. In addition, there is no assurance that the tip of my fingers hit the correct key or the correct letter on a touch screen. So mechanical errors can happen.

The style and aesthetics of English and Oriental Languages are at great variance

 

My translation from Sanskrit to English may not be word to word. I know the limitations of other modern languages Vis a Vis Sanskrit. If we come across too sacred mantrams like some parts of Vedas, and some secrets of Tantric worship etc., we should never venture to translate such parts. Some preceptors even give strict instructions that when a very learned guru prepares written text or notes to a devoted sishya during training such notes the student must destroy them by immersing them in water or by burning them after use.

Anyway, I take care to ensure that the materials I usually translate would never come under such secret category.  The style and aesthetics of English and Oriental Languages are at great variance, and if a grammatically and etymologically puritan translation from Sanskrit to English is attempted, the results could be very bad or even disastrous. It is relatively easier to take each and every word piece by piece, and translate it according to tense, gender, number, case, etc.. anta-linga-vibhakti-vachanam. However, the results are more likely to be funny. Moreover, no sane reader could really understand and derive any benefit from such translation.

If a devotee wants to have a plain meaning of what he recites in Sanskrit, my commentary may be of some use, at least in a limited way. I do not claim perfection, and if I attempt to explain some of the terms with grammatical nuances and also the stories and fables behind them, even explaining four or five lines can consume many days. It is beyond my level of endurance or intellectual capacity. I confess I am not that much erudite.