Excerpts from Mahabharata – Tr.& Ed. Van Buitenen

J. A. B. van Buitenen (1928–1979) was a renowned Dutch Indologist and one of the world’s leading Sanskrit scholars. He was born on May 21, 1928, in The Hague, Netherlands, and later became a professor at the University of Chicago.

Van Buitenen studied Sanskrit and Indian philosophy under Jan Gonda at Utrecht University, where he completed his Ph.D. with distinction in 1953. Soon after, he went to India and worked at the Deccan College, Poona, as sub-editor of the Dictionary of Sanskrit on Historical Principles from 1953 to 1956. Although he briefly served as Reader in Indian Philosophy at Utrecht University, he moved to the United States in 1959 to join the University of Chicago, where he remained until his death.

He became Professor of Sanskrit and Linguistics and served as the first Chairman of the Department of South Asian Languages and Civilizations for ten years. Van Buitenen trained several important Indologists, including James L. Fitzgerald, Walter Kaelber, Michael D. Willis, Bruce M. Sullivan, and Bruce Lincoln. He was also a member of the American Oriental Society and a correspondent of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences.

His major contribution to Indology was his English translation of the Mahābhārata, published by the University of Chicago Press in three volumes between 1971 and 1978. He also authored important works such as Rāmānuja’s Vedārthasaṅgraha, Tales of Ancient India, The Maitrāyaṇīya Upaniṣad, and Two Plays of Ancient India. His writings covered Indian literature, philosophy, and philology with exceptional scholarship and clarity.

Van Buitenen’s translations are still highly regarded for their accuracy, depth, and insight, and his work played a vital role in making classical Sanskrit texts, especially the Mahābhārata, accessible to readers around the world. He passed away in 1979 in Champaign, Illinois, at the age of fifty-one.

J. A. B. van Buitenen’s Translation of the Mahābhārata

J. A. B. van Buitenen’s English translation of the Mahābhārata is one of the most respected works in the field of Indology. It stands as a landmark achievement for its scholarly accuracy, literary quality, and deep understanding of the original Sanskrit text. His translation is admired for combining precision with readability, making one of India’s greatest epics accessible to modern readers and scholars around the world.

One of the most important features of van Buitenen’s work is that it is based on the Poona Critical Edition of the Mahābhārata. This edition, prepared by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, was compiled after comparing more than a thousand manuscripts from across India. By relying on this critical and authentic version, van Buitenen avoided the later additions found in older “vulgate” translations. This made his translation highly reliable for academic study and established it as the standard reference for scholars.

Another remarkable quality of his translation is its literary style. Van Buitenen was not only a great Sanskrit scholar but also a master of English prose. His deep sensitivity to both languages allowed him to bring out the lyric beauty, rhythm, and emotional depth of the original text. He captured what he called the “intimate, familial tone and directness” of the Sanskrit epic, making his English version both accurate and engaging to read.

Van Buitenen’s translation was planned as a multi-volume project, published by the University of Chicago Press. He managed to complete and publish the first five books of the epic before his sudden death in 1979. These were released in three volumes:

  • Volume 1: Book 1 – The Book of the Beginning (1971)

  • Volume 2: Book 2 – The Book of the Assembly Hall; Book 3 – The Book of the Forest (1975)

  • Volume 3: Book 4 – The Book of the Virata; Book 5 – The Book of the Effort (1978)

At the time of his death, van Buitenen was working on the fourth of a projected seven-volume series. After his passing, his students — most notably James L. Fitzgerald — continued the translation, with the goal of eventually completing all eighteen books of the Mahābhārata.

Today, van Buitenen’s version is regarded as the definitive English translation for serious study of the epic. It continues to be used in universities and research institutions worldwide. For students and scholars alike, his translation remains the closest experience to reading the Mahābhārata in its original Sanskrit form.



 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vanishing Landmarks - Nirad C. Choudhary

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nirad C. Chaudhuri (1897–1999) was a famous Indian writer and scholar. He was born on 23 November 1897 in Kishoreganj, in Bengal (now in Bangladesh). His father was a lawyer and a lover of Bengali literature, and his mother was deeply religious. This mix of Indian tradition and modern education shaped his early life. Chaudhuri studied History at the University of Calcutta and worked as a clerk, journalist, and broadcaster before becoming a full-time writer. He was deeply interested in Western culture, especially English literature, music, and history. His most famous book, The Autobiography of an Unknown Indian (1951), made him well known but also very controversial because he praised British rule and criticized Indian nationalism. He later wrote other books such as A Passage to England (1959) and The Continent of Circe (1965), which continued to explore India’s culture and identity. Chaudhuri moved to England in 1970 and lived in Oxford until his death in 1999 at the...
Read more

Natyasastram - Chapter Six - Sentiments

Chapter Six - Sentiments        Chapter Six of Bharata Muni’s Natyasastra presents the foundational Rasa theory, which forms the core of Indian aesthetic thought. The Rasa Sutra (Chapter 6: Sentiments) provides a systematic explanation of how aesthetic experience arises in art and performance. In Indian aesthetics, Rasa signifies the bridge between emotion and transcendence, transforming the performer’s expression and the spectator’s response into a unified experience of delight. According to Bharata, “No meaning can be conveyed without Rasa , and no Rasa can be created without Bhava .” Thus, Rasa is regarded as the soul of Natya (dramatic art) and the ultimate purpose ( Prayojana ) of all artistic creation.     Here. Bharata Muni offers a detailed exposition of Rasa (sentiments) and Bhava (psychological states). The chapter begins with the sages posing questions to Bharata about the nature of Rasa and Bhava , as well as the true...
Read more

Dharma and Moksha - Daniel H. H. Ingalls

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Daniel H. H. Ingalls (1916–1999) was one of the most respected scholars of Sanskrit and Indian philosophy of the twentieth century. Born in New York and educated at Harvard, he spent his life studying, teaching, and translating the rich traditions of Indian thought and poetry. Ingalls combined deep learning with a love for clarity and beauty in language. Over his long career, he wrote several important books, including Materials for the Study of Navya-Nyaya Logic (1951), An Anthology of Sanskrit Court Poetry (1964), and The Dhvanyaloka of Anandavardhana with the Locana of Abhinavagupta (1990). Through his teaching at Harvard, he trained many students who went on to shape the field of Sanskrit studies around the world. In his essay “Dharma and Mokṣa,” Ingalls brings together his deep knowledge of Indian philosophy and his interest in Western thought. He explores the Indian ideas of dharma (moral duty) and mokṣa (spiritual liberation), two key ideas in Indian thoug...
Read more