My translation of the Kathopanishad

[aneeshm]

As promised , I am here distributing my translation of the Kathopanishad , in small chunks ( as I translate it ) . The first bit is out right now . It is distributed under a creative commons license ( the details of which I shall work out later ) .

Note that this is a twice-translated text . First it is translated from the Sanskrit to the Hindu by the scholars of the Gita Press , Gorakhpur , and then it is translated from the Hindi to the English by me .

The poll is my attempt to guage how good and readable my translation is .

EDIT : The corrected version ( of valli one ) is now up .

[aneeshm]

The corrected version .

[Flip McWho]

Can't really comment on the translation, but cheers for this

[Terra Nullius]

"maidens with implements... "

[aneeshm]

I've translated faithfully . The "maidens with instruemnts" refers to heavenly maidens with musical instruments , who are normally not obtainable by mortal men .

[duke o' york]

Can't comment on the translation for authenticity, but please get rid of all the brackets. It prevents it from standing alone as a poem, and turns it into a secondary school primer instead. If you want/need to explain the various points, then use more notes, but numbered at the end of each chapter, rather than below each couplet. You can even set it out like a theatrical script if you prefer, with Nachiketa:, rather than (Nachiketa said:) to preserve the flow.

For the first part, I'd go with:

It has entered legend that, desiring the rewards of yagna¹, Vajashrava's son gave away all of his wealth².

so that you can explain the nature of this particular yagna, and what it means, in the footnotes.

The difficulty with a faithful translation is that it can sometimes mean very little in English. This is good stuff, but you should retranslate it from the slightly awkward style to something more approaching written English - unless the original is in a similar style, but I'm afraid I can't help you there.

[Terra Nullius]

Yeah, I have to admit, that's what really irritates me with reading translations from Hindi. They often seem to get caught up in technical details rather than keeping the flow of prose going.

But I'm not suggesting it's an easy thing to do, especially with religious texts. I think a lot of the concepts just don't translate directly into everyday English.

It's tough to draw the line. If you make it too simple, the meaning gets lost. If you complicate it with too many notes, proper names and Sanskrit terminology, the enjoyment of reading is lost.

Keep up the good work Aneeshm