Dhammapada, Dharmapada and Udanavarga

The Many Lives of a Buddhist Text

Authors

  • Valerie J. Roebuck University of Manchester Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v6i2.225

Keywords:

Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, Dhammapada, Dharmapada, Gāndhārī, Jain texts, Mahābhārata, Manu, Pāli, translation, Udānavarga, Uttarajhayaṇasutta, wordplay

Abstract

In this article, I look at the ways in which the Pali Dhammapada of the Theravadins, and the related texts from other early Buddhist traditions, have been used and interpreted in the course of a long and complex history. I examine the relationships of the texts, both among themselves and with non-Buddhist works, and reflect on the ways in which the insights gained through this study must influence the work of the present-day translator of Dharmapada literature.

Author Biography

  • Valerie J. Roebuck, University of Manchester

    Dr Valerie Roebuck is an Honorary Research Fellow of the University of Manchester, and an Associate Member of the Centre for the History of Religion in Asia at Cardiff University. Her translation of the Dhammapada was published in Penguin Classics in 2010. Previous publications include a translation of the Upaniṣads, published by Penguin Books India in 2000 and (a revised edition) by Penguin Classics in 2004.

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Published

2012-12-31

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Roebuck, V. J. (2012). Dhammapada, Dharmapada and Udanavarga: The Many Lives of a Buddhist Text. Religions of South Asia, 6(2), 225-244. https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v6i2.225