Aśvaghoṣa, Saundarananda (3)

Buddhacarita (中譯: 佛所行讚，大正藏 no. 192 tr. 曇無讖 ) 和Saundarananda (“The Handsome Nanda”) 是二世紀的印度詩人Aśvaghoṣa / 馬鳴菩薩 (aśva=horse; ghoṣa=cry) 的代表作。兩者皆屬於從史詩體發展而來的長篇敘事詩mahā-kāvya (lit. “great poetry”)。Saundarananda主要講述釋迦牟尼的弟子難陀 / Nanda離開深愛的妻子Sundarī追求佛法的故事。這個故事的底本可見於巴利文優陀那(Udāna), 法句經 (Dhammapada) 和本生經 (Jātaka) 的註解 (Aṭṭhakathā)。中國社科院的黨素萍老師 (2011) 出版了第一和第二章節的中文翻譯，(http://book.newdu.com/uploads/collect/201909/09/P02019090955057112484850.pdf)； 她的博士論文《马鸣〈美难陀传〉研究及翻译》 (U. Peking，2011) 是首個中文全譯本。

以下段落取自第四章表現出Ānanda在妻子和釋迦牟尼之間的猶疑不定，猶如水浪間徘徊的天鵝 (tasthau turaṃs taraṅgeṣv iva rājahaṃsaḥ) 一般。他先是下定決心離開妻子，但是妻子腳踝上的鈴鐺聲又將他的心抓回 (nūpuranisvanaṃ sa punar lalambe hṛdaye gṛhītaḥ)；同時對佛法的愛又將他扯往另一個方向，彷彿一艘船逆流上行 (vivartyamānaḥ plavaḥ pratisrota ivāpagāyāḥ)。兩種想法同時在他心裡交雜，一方面擔心著他的老師隨時可能離開，一方面心想著，他如何能離開他的妻子，當她的妝容仍被淚水浸濕時 (ārdraviśeṣakām)。

語言特色上值得一提的是，古典梵語 (Classical Sanskrit) 已經喪失吠陀梵語 (Vedic Sanskrit) 和原始印歐語三種不同過去式 (imperfect / लङ्, aorist / लुङ्, perfect / लिट्) 之間的功能區分，而Aśvaghoṣa 有明顯的使用perfect作為主要時態的傾向(ācakarṣa, lalambe, jagāma, pracakrame)，反映出模仿兩大史詩Mahābhārata和Rāmāyaṇa的痕跡。 修辭上，每段詩句都用iva (“as if, like”) 引出譬喻，印度傳統修辭學 (alaṅkāra-śāstra) 稱之為upamā (明喻, as opposed to rūpaka ≈ 隱喻)。

taṅ gauravaṃ buddhagataṃ cakarṣa bhāryānurāgaḥ punar ācakarṣa |

sa ’niścayān nāpi yayau na tasthau turaṃs taraṅgeṣv iva rājahaṃsaḥ || //4.42//

Reverence for the Buddha drew him on; love for his wife drew him back:

Irresolute, he neither stayed nor went, like a king-goose pushing forwards against the waves.

adarśanaṃ tūpagataś ca tasyā harmyāt tataś cāvatatāra tūrṇam |

śrutvā tato nūpuranisvanaṃ sa punar lalambe hṛdaye gṛhītaḥ || //4.43//

Once she was out of sight, he descended from the palace quickly –

Then he heard the sound of ankle bracelets, and back he hung, gripped in his heart again.

sa kāmarāgeña nigṛhyamāṇo dharmānurāgeña ca kṛṣyamāṇaḥ |

jagāma duḥkhena vivartyamānaḥ plavaḥ pratisrota ivāpagāyāḥ || //4.44//

Held back by his love of love, and drawn forward by his love for dharma,

He struggled on, being turned about like a boat on a river going against the stream.

tataḥ kramair dīrghatamaiḥ pracakrame kataṃ nu yāto na gurur bhaved iti |

svajeya tāṃ caiva viśeṣakapriyāṃ kathaṃ priyām ārdraviśeṣakām iti || //4.45//

Then his strides became longer, as he thought to himself, “Maybe the Guru is no longer there!”

“Might I after all embrace my love, who is so especially loveable, while her face-paint is still wet?”

(Text ed. Johnston and translation by Cross from https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=fulltext&view=fulltext&vid=560&cid=548285&mid=1050268)

(圖: The Conversion of Sundarananda, British Museum 1900,0522.1; https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_1900-0522-1)