チベットの『メーガ・ドゥータ』

Abstract

The Meghadūta ("The Cloud Messenger") is a lyrical piece on love and sorrow written by Kālidāsa (4-5th cent.). It was translated into Tibetan under the title of Sprin gyi pho nya by Byang chub rtse mo (1303-80) et al. The Tibetan version of the Meghadūta occupies a unique place in the history of Tibetan literature. Although the Tibetan Meghadūta was included in the sgra mdo section of the bstan 'gyur, the tradition of lecturing and commenting on the text was never established during the classical period. This was probably because of two main reasons. First, the Tibetan translation of the text prepared by Byang chub rtse mo et al. lacks accuracy in many places, making it highly difficult to comprehend without appropriate knowledge of the original Sanskrit. Secondly, given that the main subject of the Meghadūta is love and grief of separation from one's beloved wife, it is natural to assume that the text has not been closely studied in the Tibetan monastic tradition. Only after the Chinese and Hindi translations of the Meghadūta became available in the twentieth century, did the text get reevaluated by modern Tibetan scholars such as A lags dor zhi gdong drug snyems blo (1935-), Rak ra bkras mthong thub bstan chos dar (1925-), and Nor brang o rgyan (1933-), who were active outside monasteries. These modern commentators provide their own interpretations of the Meghadūta without adhering to the literal meaning of the words in the Tibetan translation, and attempt to present a new reading of the text, which, however, could benefit from careful consideration of the original Sanskrit text.