TAMIL NADU NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, TIRUCHIRAPPALLI

SUBJECT: ENGLISH - II

English Translation of Great India classics

B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) – Second Semester

Academic year 2020-2021

COURSE FACULTY:

DR. V.R. Anil Kumar

SUBMITTED BY:
T.S. NIVEDHAA SHREE (BA0200031); NIVEDIDHA.M. A (BA0200032); OORJA.R.
NAIR (BA0200033); PARTHASARATHY.P (BA0200034)
TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
2. OBJECTIVES
3. AIM OF THE PROJECT
4. HYPOTHESIS
5. TENTATIVE FINDINGS AND OUTCOME
6. ELEMENTS OF AN INDIAN CLASSIC
7. REASONS FOR THE NEED FOR TRANSLATION OF THE GREAT INDIAN
CLASSICS INTO ENGLISH
8. EFFICIENCY OF TRANSLATION
9. IMPACT OF TRANSLATION
10. CONCLUSION
Introduction

The translation of Indian literature into English is an important step in making Indian
literature accessible to those who do not speak the Indian language. The rich literary
traditions of India have been relocated and reasserted on the international literature scene
thanks to the technology of translation. The natural extension of everything vocal and
valuable we want to transmit is translation, which spans three bridges: personal, linguistic,
and cultural. People who can transport words, phrases, pictures, and themes from one
linguistic world to another are required for all intellectual transfers from antiquity to the
present. Translation is vital in a multilingual culture like India because it promotes national
knowledge of the country's various regional "selves." The creation of a common social vision
is attainable through translation literatures. Our country's emotional liberation and well-being
necessitate translation. Translation is an ancient literary activity caused to survive the most ancient
literatures in India like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Now translation has gained a particular
place in Indian Literatures in English, because the rising contact with native Indian languages has
proved to be one of the inevitable activities and parts of any language literatures in India. This
paper is an attempt to focus on the translations of literary classics in Indian languages into
English. This project also would like to learn what is considered to be a classic in the Indian
literary context.

Objectives

This project would like to understand the reasons behind the translation of Indian texts into
English. The study would also attempt to understand the elements of an Indian classic. We
would also like to look into the changes that translation brings onto the text and if it is
possible to translate the aesthetics of an Indian text in an Indian language into English with
accuracy. Finally, the study would also like to see if the translation has led to a better reach of
the text.

Aim of the Project

To understand the need for translation into English and the impact it has on the original
Indian text.

Hypothesis
Translation of Indian texts into English has led to a better reach of the text and increased the
readership of the text. Translations have not been able to capture the aesthetics of the original
text as it is not possible to translate local emotions, cultures, and social realities accurately.

Tentative findings and Outcome

This project finds translation into the English language is helpful as translation leads to a
better reach for the work and makes the work accessible to a lot more people. Unfortunately,
translations cannot always justify the original text, and the essence of the text may be lost.
Therefore, English translations are important for increasing the popularity of the text but they
may not capture the aesthetics of an Indian text translating a necessary evil.

Elements of India Classic

Defining a classic can be a task in itself. A classic is a literary work that needs to achieve a
certain level of eminence and artistic appreciation. It must be a true representation of
literature and art and must pass the test of time to be named as a classic. Some common
features of a classic are as follows

 Long-lasting impact – Classics are those literary works that pass the test of time and
remain in the memories of people even after a long period. The impact they leave on
the minds of the people is huge. Such works create a long-lasting impression on the
minds of the readers and are etched in their memories forever.
 Literary richness – Classics are rich with literature and art. Classic works of
literature are read more than once only to reveal more depth and meaning with the
increased number of readings. Different people reach different conclusions and
understand it from a whole different perspective. For example, if we take the example
of Gitanjali, it is considered as an expression of love by many. At the same time, it is
also considered as a rich expression of philosophy by a few.
 Human values and experience – Many classics have touched human values and
expressions like love, morality, truth, etc. They have also dealt with human
experiences in different stages of life. Such exploration into human conditions has
touched people and has been read multiple times adding more layers to it over time.
 Universal appeal – Classic literary works influences people from different
backgrounds and different regions irrespective of the differences they have among
 themselves. Themes of love, hate, truth, compassion, for example, touch upon them
closely and impact their lives. It changes their outlook towards life and changes
people’s perspectives.
 Relevant to Multiple Generations – Due to their relevance to several conditions and
emotions and since it passes the test of time, people of different age groups can
understand it and relate it to their day-to-day scenario. Different people add different
layers to it and they can reread and try to understand it at a later time to identify and
understand those aspects which they had missed earlier.

Early Indian literature includes the Vedic literature which included the four Vedas and
formed the basis for early Hinduism in India. Indian literature majorly covered shastras
manuals and several art forms. Modern linguistics was expressed through the Sanskrit
language which was used in the Vedas. Sanskrit is an ancient language and was
considered very sacred in the earlier times which meant that it was considered taboo for
the lower caste people to use it. During the same period, Prakrit also developed in North
India. It continued evolving and one of its dialects known as Pali came to be identified in
a religious scenario and gained prominence in the propagation of Buddhism. The value of
Sanskrit declined but it still holds relevance.

The Jatakas which are stories that speak about the lives of Buddha and the Panchatantra
stories gained prominence later. Buddhist works of literature revolved around the cultural
spheres of India and later moved to other countries like China, Korea, and also Japan.
Panchatantra means ‘five books’ in Sanskrit and according to legends, it was written to
make five princes understand the right way of living.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. several prominent writers came into the picture.
Tagore’s work Gitanjali, an English translation of a collection of his poems is regarded as
a true classic which also fetched him a Nobel Prize in Literature. His poems focused on
nature love and compassion and gave importance to values R.K.Narayan is famous for his
novels which have been set up in a fictional town in Malgudi. His stories represented
human values, compassion, and realistic conditions of human life. His writing style was
marked with simple humor and brought people into the simplest strata of life. Bibhuti
Bhushan Banerji wrote the Apu trilogy and Pather Panchali which was later made into a
movie by Satyajit Ray.
 If we look into the prominent Indian literature during the nineteenth and twentieth
centuries, we can understand that translation has been helpful to widen their reach.
Otherwise, many Indian authors would have remained unknown to the world. Gitanjali by
Rabindranath Tagore would not have reached the English audience if it hadn’t been
translated into English. At the same time, a translation can only be deemed as a success
only if due care is taken to not to bring about any loss in meaning and effect when a work
is translated. Translation does not mean changing from word to word and phrase to phrase
but to create a translated work in the exact precision of an original work.

Indian literature written in regional languages has been questioned regarding why they
haven’t been written in English. Writing in a regional language is a choice and it
shouldn’t be belittled. Also, translation of such regional works into a global language like
English may help it reach more people but at times the idea is discarded due to the
inability of the language to accommodate the plural cultures prevailing in India without
losing its true meaning. For instance, great Sanskrit texts have been rewritten,
reinterpreted, and often deconstructed in terms of translation.

The reasons for the need for translation of The Great Indian Classics into English

The translation is essential in today's society since it is a fundamental way of sharing

 To have a better understanding of why the Great Indian Classics have been
translated into English.

Classical Indian translation, unlike that of the West, is characterized by flexible adaptation
and imaginative re-telling rather than close translation. Critical commentary, summaries, and
partial translations were used to translate Sanskrit writings into vernaculars. The translation is
critical for national unity and in many aspects of life in a multilingual country like India.
India is a linguistic galaxy unlike any other. The cognitive map of India's language universe,
with all its interconnectedness and remoteness, is provided via translation. All of the texts, as
well as all of the readers, are monolingual and multilingual. In India, English literature grew
in popularity throughout the preceding century. However, it had little effect on the
development and quality of literature in Indian languages. Though this tendency was evident
in the Victorian era as well, the number of readers in India expanded as English became more
widely taught in Indian colleges. Though our forefathers may not have claimed to be doing
so, India's translation tradition extends back to pre-colonial periods, when there were
numerous types of literary translation. This may be normal in a multilingual culture where
poets are readily shifted from one language to another without even realizing it and
translators are not afraid of being punished for errors as they are in the West. In Indian
languages, we don't even have a term for translation, thus we've taken anuvad (‘speaking
after') from Sanskrit and tarjuma (explanation or paraphrase) from Arabic at various periods.
Writers and readers were introduced to European literature through such beginnings. The
flow of connection between English and Indian literature impacted and responded to the
latter's literary activity, which was heavily impacted by Romanticists and neo-classicists,
adherents of art for the sake of art and art for morals, Puritanism, and imagism or symbolism.
The impact of the emperors' literary activities influenced modern Indian literature. The
following remarks of Sisir Kumar Das have a lot of truth: “The contact with English literature
provided the Indian author and the reader with a new set of values and canons, thus creating
an area of commonality of perception in the endless variety of different Indian works of
literature”. (Das 46)

Although Indian thinking had been affecting the world and reaching the West for ages, the
Panchatantra (an ancient Sanskrit work by Vishnu Sharma; 3rd Century BCE) was most
likely the earliest text to be translated into English (Elizabethan). The Fables of Bidpai: The
Morall Philosophie of Doni was translated into Elizabethan English by Thomas North around
1570. (reprinted by Joseph Jacobs, 1888). The early period of Indo-British connection was
characterized by profound veneration and interest from British and Western academics, as
numerous historians, notably William Dalrymple, points out. Contact with the West
throughout the colonial era changed India's translation landscape. Classic translations of
Indian writings into English and other European languages were created by English
academics such as William Jones, MacDonnell, MaxMuller, H.H.Wilson, R.T.H.Griffith, and
G.A.Jacobs, as well as French, German, and Italian experts. There were significant examples
of English or European writings being translated into Indian languages, such as Bharatendu's
Hindi translation of Shakespeare, Premchand's Hindi translation of John Galsworthy's plays,
and Hindi adaptations of Alexander Pope, Matthew Arnold, and Edward Fitzgerald's Omar
Khayyam Rubaiyat. English translations of the Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata,
Buddhist writings, and Panchatantra have enriched the globe. Translations between Indian
languages were a unique characteristic of the Indian Renaissance, and they aided in the
nation's development during the independence war. The epics of Panini and Kalidas in
Sanskrit, Tulsidas, Surdas, Kabir, Meera, Premchand, Bharatendu, Dinkar, Agyeya in Hindi,
Ghalib and Iqbal in Urdu, Chandidas, Saratchandra and Tagore in Bengali, Narsi Mehta in
Gujarati, Pothanna, and Vemana in Telugu, Jagannath Das in Odiya, Shankar Dev in
Assamese, Purandardas in Kannada, Kumaran Asan and Vallathol in Malayalam,
Kusumagraj and Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, Kamban and Andal in Tamil – were some of
the Indian Classics that were translated into English.

Efficiency of Translation

The translation is the process of converting one text in a particular language to another while
trying to keep the meaning unchanged. We would like to examine the efficiency of
translation and analyze if the originality of the text is maintained in the translation. Literary
texts which are considered to be classics are rarely independent of the time and place they are
set in; they are always to be read in the context of the time and place. Authors of classics are
usually very learned and they use many literary devices in their writing to express their
thoughts and feelings more aesthetically.

Translations are seldom done by the original author; it is mostly done by a translator who
understands both languages. Given that translation is done by another literary expert, they
may bring their opinion on the text or their interpretation of the text. As established earlier
most classics have a sub-text to their work, they are to be read in the context of the sub-text
and if it is not the meaning or interpretation of the text may be lost. A translator’s
interpretation of text may vary from the original interpretation of the author and that makes
the translation unfaithful to the original text.

Readers of classical texts may be broadly classified into two types, readers who read for
pleasure and readers who read for understanding the lives and livelihoods of the people in the
time and age when the text was set. Translators, who are catering to the first type of readers,
need to ensure that they keep the literary aesthetics of the original text intact for the reader to
have a pleasurable and holistic literary experience. While trying to keep the literary aesthetics
intact a translator needs to ensure he is not misinterpreting the text or a literary device, while
keeping the reader engaged and not hampering the storyline of the text. Upon understanding
the conditions needed for a good translation, we need to see if literary devices can be kept
intact when translated especially into a language like English which is alien to the literary
world created by the original text. To cite an example, we shall look into the translation of the
Mahabharata and Ramayana by C Rajagopalachari. C Rajagopalachari translated the two
great epics into English in the year 1951 and 1957, which he considered his greatest service
to his countrymen. We can see that a lot of effort has been put into these translations and it
has done justice to the storyline of the two epics but what it fails to do is retain the literary
aesthetics of the original text. The reason for this failure is not a lack of effort but the two
mediums of English and Sanskrit or Tamil (Kimber's Ramayana) are very distinct from one
another leading to a loss of literary aesthetics.

A reader, who is reading from an anthropological point of view, will read the text to
understand the social life, norms, and livelihoods of the people of the time and region. These
kinds of readers are mostly social scientists and they find that art gives a more realistic
description of the lives of the people of the past when compared to official entries. In this
context, translation can be seen as efficient if the target audience is kept in mind by the
translator. When a social scientist is reading an ancient text for sociological reasons, he
doesn’t pay heed to the literary aesthetics of the texts so translations into English from an
Indian language will be useful for them and translations can be considered very efficient.
Translation into English is the only way even a few Indian anthropologists also can interpret
and study classical literature.

Translation into English is very important to increase the readership of texts in Indian
languages, as English is a link language. Unfortunately, English cannot accurately translate a
text into an Indian language, even if it can present social realities. Translation among Indian
languages has proven to be more efficient as there are some similarities among the languages
but English is alien to Indian languages translating into those languages very difficult and
even impossible in a few aspects. Therefore, translations may be unfaithful to the original
literary texts, even if care is taken to keep the originality unhampered. The translation may
attain a hundred percent accuracy in maintaining the plotline, setting, etc. but it may not be
able to retain the literary value.

Impact of Translation
The translation is a festival of the human being's absolute unification. It is an ancient literary
work that led to the survival of India's oldest literature, such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.
In Indian literature, translation now occupies a special position in English since the growing
interaction with Indian native languages has proven to be one of India's unavoidable practices
and sections of all language literature. It is essential in today's world since it is a crucial way
of transmitting information and knowledge. It brings together a wide range of languages,
literature work, customs, and people allowing them to prosper. From the dawn of time,
translators have influenced the languages into which they have interpreted by importing
thoughts, vocabulary, and idioms from one language into another. Translation in a global
language such as English is a powerful way of unveiling the rich cultural history, parallels,
and variations between these works of literature, their humane vision and loving values, their
search for reality, beauty, freedom, and prosperity to the whole nation and the earth. The
exhibition frequently celebrates differences and reinvents ethnic identities. The limits of the
sayable are reframed and the affiliation definition is changed. Still at the center of all
translations the illusion of a perfect language that the entire human race will enjoy, seems to
have a longing for missing popular language. Translations into various Indian languages
became a unique aspect of the Indian Renaissance and supported the nation to build
throughout the fight for independence. In countries where inhabitants are multi-lingual and
multicultural, translation values and volumes improve. We often include countries like India,
Canada, the United States, and other countries. This has contributed to many Universities in
the West recognizing the presence and thus introducing translation studies at their universities
in two or three languages. Research in the late 19th and 20th centuries of Indian literature
shows that art and translation technology were responsible for their development in a very
significant way. Until it was translated, many Indian writers beyond the Indian boundaries
would have been unknown. Good literature published in any language in any part of the
world is now published into the rest of the world.

Who wouldn't have learned the name of Rabindranath Tagore but for his everlasting Gitanjali
translation? There must have been no British reader who bothered to study Bengali so that he
could admire the poet. Bengali and other native language texts were translated into Hindi by
various authors such as Bhartendu, Ramakrishna Varma, Gopal Ram Gehamari, Roop
Narayan Pandey, Dwijendranath Roy, and others. The world has been enhanced by English
translations of the “Vedas, Upanishads, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Buddhist texts and
Panchatantra, the masterpieces of Panini and Kalidas in Sanskrit, Tulsidas, Surdas, Kabir,
Meera, Premchand, Bharatendu, Dinkar, Agyeya in Hindi, Ghalib and Iqbal in Urdu,
Chandidas, Saratchandra and Tagore in Bengali, Narsi Mehta in Gujarati, Pothanna, and
Vemana in Telugu, Jagannath Das in Odiya, Shankar Dev in Assamese, Purandardas in
Kannada, Kumaran Asan and Vallathol in Malayalam, Kusumagraj and Vijay Tendulkar in
Marathi, Kamban and Andal in Tamil” – to name only a few. More such translation of
ancient and recent works is of enormous importance and considered necessary in Indian
literary texts to uncover new meanings, to bring out countless lost gems. We have to admit
that translation isn't static; it is also a creative field that takes on and is becoming more
important academically and creatively. Increased book supply for interested audiences has
also increased the number of national as well as foreign publishers publishing translated
books in English. The translators have wanted to make the book more original and the
reader's palate more comfortable and inserted a glossary at the end.

Conclusion

We were able to observe that through our research project, that Translation into the English
language is beneficial since it expands the reach of the work and makes it more accessible to
a wider audience. Spirituality, one indivisible truth, religious humanism, and worldwide
brotherhood are emphasised in Indian literature, which is saturated with the goals of the
national movement and the disillusionment of the post-independence era. Indian literature is a
conglomerate of distinct and unfathomably rich literary traditions in several regional
languages, all of which have a focus on spirituality, one indivisible truth, religious humanism,
and global brotherhood. Translation, particularly into English, has become arguably the only
way to learn about ancient and native Indian literatures, as well as to chart India's literary
history and encourage literary conversation and critique. Unfortunately, translations may not
always accurately reflect the original language, and the work's core may be lost as a result. As
a result, while English translations are vital for expanding the literature's popularity, they may
not reflect the beauty of an Indian literature, making translation an unavoidable burden.