A Reconstructed Tocharian Reading
This Good Works Translation gives a reader-facing reconstructed reading from the surviving Unidentified Jātaka witnesses in a sparse Tocharian jātaka witness-cluster.
The source base is 22 inspected CEToM witnesses, with 5 translation-control witnesses used for checking only. The English reading is shaped for ordinary readers while keeping the Tocharian source appendix available for study and verification.
Reconstructed Reading
In the long past, in Kāśi, in beloved Benares, the Bodhisattva lived among beings bound to saṃsāra. He had crossed measureless ages and hundreds of kalpas, yet compassion would not let him seize dear nirvāṇa for himself alone. He saw fear rising wherever the defilements had not been driven out. He saw students seeking a teacher, merchants passing through the city, women arriving with their burdens, and ordinary people caught between desire, fear, and death.
He worshiped the holy ones and bowed his mind toward the path. Then he adorned himself with the ornaments of good conduct. Meditation steadied him. Students gathered around him from every direction, and he taught them without fear. When death came near, he did not tremble. "Death has come well," he said. "I am ready. So long as the defilements remain, fear of saṃsāra is awakened; when they are cast off, fear has no place to stand."
The students saw a teacher who had made conduct his ornament. Others adorned themselves with gold, cloth, vehicles, and praise; he adorned himself with restraint, meditation, and readiness for death. Because of that, his instruction had weight. He was not merely telling them what the path should be. He had made his own body and mind answer to it.
At that time a king in Jambudvīpa heard the call of renunciation. Royal power, dances, pleasures, and the sweetness of command had filled his life, yet the wish to go forth rose strongly in him. He summoned the ministers and gave the country into their hands. "It is time for me to become a monk," he said. "I bestow the kingdom on you." The ministers were shaken: "If the lord leaves home, the country will fall after him." But the king had seen the burning of the world and would not turn back from the path.
The king's renunciation answered the Bodhisattva's teaching. He had tasted the full cup of rulership: music, dance, command, possession, and the honor of a country. Yet the wish to become a monk rose stronger than those things. The ministers looked at the kingdom and saw danger. The king looked at saṃsāra and saw a greater danger still.
Elsewhere the Bodhisattva prepared a resting place for himself. A student bowed before him and cried, "Good god, teach me in that way." The sage walked in meditation and remained turned toward all virtues. The women, merchants, students, ministers, and kings of the world came and went, but the Bodhisattva kept the same vow: not to abandon beings while saṃsāra still burned.
The request "teach me in that way" means more than a request for words. The student had seen a way embodied: a resting place prepared, meditation practiced, death accepted, and compassion held above private peace. To be taught in that way was to be shown how a life becomes instruction.
Then fire rose. Heat surrounded the body, and fear moved among those who saw it. The Bodhisattva did not cling to life as a possession. His compassion called the worlds to behold him. Rain came down from heaven and quenched the flame. The danger became instruction: what burns through craving can be cooled by compassion; what trembles before death can be steadied by the path.
The fire showed what the teaching had already said. Saṃsāra burns while beings cling to it. The body burns, fear burns, longing burns, and the wish for private safety burns. Heaven's rain did not erase the trial; it revealed its meaning. A life governed by conduct and compassion can stand in the blaze without becoming the servant of fear.
The student asked again to be taught. The Bodhisattva answered by the life he had shown: give up the thought of private escape, walk steadily in meditation, adorn the self with conduct, cast off the defilements, and do not leave the fearful without a guide. In Benares, in Jambudvīpa, among merchants, women, students, ministers, kings, gods, and ordinary beings, the Bodhisattva remained near the burning world until teaching remained where the fire had passed.
Thus the tale gathers city, road, court, monastery, fire, rain, student, and king into one lesson. The Bodhisattva does not run toward nirvāṇa alone. He stays where beings are afraid, teaches where students ask, and shows kings that even royal power may be handed away. The good death, the fearless mind, and the rain after fire all point toward the same vow: compassion remains until fear is ended.
The merchants and women passing through the scene make the teaching ordinary as well as royal. This lesson reaches beyond kings and sages. People carrying goods, people carrying grief, students carrying questions, and rulers carrying power all stand within the same burning world. The Bodhisattva's work is to leave a path among them.
When the fire has passed, what remains is not triumph over enemies but instruction. A resting place has been prepared; students have heard; a king has renounced; fear of death has been answered; rain has cooled the blaze. The tale's name may be hidden, but its work is clear: to show a Bodhisattva who makes his life a teaching for beings still afraid.
So the final image is a cooled world around a steady teacher. The flame has done its work, the rain has done its work, and the hearer is left with the harder task: to cast off defilements, adorn conduct, and stay near beings until they too can stand without fear.
Literal Working Translation
THT 339
... he prepared a resting place for himself ...
THT 341
... he or she said: "Good god, may you teach me in that way ..."
THT 359
... I worship you ... the saṃsāra of the Bodhisattvas ... out of compassion he lets go dear nirvāṇa ... not in the giving up of the life of the Bodhisattvas ... through asaṃkhyeyas and a hundred kalpas ... in former time, in the countries of Kāśi, in Benares ... In the much-beloved city Benares ... in the Klampäryai tune ... second, like Vaiśravaṇa, in all countries ... the Bodhisattva studied all skills ... the father died ... then ...
THT 360
... there were merchants ... new things ... women brought ... then, with those women ... meditation ... the sage walking to and fro ... he was turned toward all virtues ...
THT 372
... like a portion of life ... the students, having surrounded him in all directions ... having adorned myself in every way with the ornaments of good conduct ... meditations ... I had obtained students like myself ... there is no fear in me ... death has come well ... I am ready and do not fear it ... so long as one has not cast off all the defilements, so long fear of saṃsāra is awakened in him ... Once upon a time there was a king here in Jambudvīpa ... a strong desire to become a monk arose in him ... then the king spoke to the ministers ... I enjoyed royal power, dances, and pleasures ... It is time for me to become a monk ... I bestow the country on you ... If the lord leaves home, after the lord the country will fall into destruction ...
Interpretation
The recoverable lines point to a jātaka-shaped Bodhisattva story in several joined movements. One movement is devotional and doctrinal: the Bodhisattva has lived through vast ages, gives up even dear nirvāṇa out of compassion, and remains concerned with beings still moving in saṃsāra. Another movement is set in Kāśi and Benares, with Brahma-like or divine comparison, Vaiśravaṇa-like splendor, and the Bodhisattva's mastery of arts.
Another movement centers on instruction. A student asks to be taught "in that way." Students gather from all directions. Good conduct is described as an ornament, and meditation steadies the sage. The line about fear of saṃsāra gives the ethical key: fear remains as long as the defilements remain; readiness for death comes when the path has been taken seriously.
Another movement introduces a royal renunciation scene. A king in Jambudvīpa enjoys power, dance, and pleasure, then feels the strong wish to become a monk. He gives the country to the ministers, who fear that the realm will collapse if he leaves. This belongs naturally with the Bodhisattva's refusal to make worldly power ultimate.
The fire-and-rain motif is treated as the dramatic sign of the same teaching. It gives the reconstruction a bodily crisis: the Bodhisattva is threatened by burning, heaven answers with rain, and danger becomes instruction. The continuous reading joins these pieces as a story of compassion stronger than private nirvāṇa, conduct stronger than fear, and teaching that remains after danger.
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was made from inspected Tocharian transliterations/transcriptions for the witnesses grouped by CEToM as Unidentified Jātaka. The reconstructed English reading is independently shaped from the source text, work-title, passage labels, lexical signals, and CEToM translation-control lines where present. Existing translation controls were consulted only for checking the direction of difficult or damaged passages and were not copied as the English body.
The source is damaged and discontinuous. This page is therefore a reconstructed reading from surviving witnesses, not a restored Tocharian base text and not a claim that a complete Unidentified Jātaka has survived.
Source base for this page: 22 CEToM witnesses, 5 with translation controls, 165 captured source lines.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: Tocharian Witnesses
Tocharian source text inspected through CEToM. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English reading above.
THT 339 — unplaced
THT 339. Language: TB. Lines: 7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht339.
a1 /// u ce u weñāñäśäṣc kr u i ///
a2 /// ot no pälskā sū mänt pīya·rä ///
a3 /// ·m· cm(e)lmeṃ nese u ñäś ña ///
a4 /// (10-)4 cpī no trīkā su ///
a5 /// sū wṣeññai raittate 10-5 śle ///
a6 /// räkwā ike-postäṃ lekine 10-6 ///
a7 /// lle temeṃ tākāṃ ṅke 10-7 mā päl·· ///
b1 /// nts rattāwa mā 10-8 lāntäṃ p·stä – ///
b2 /// 10-9 k u se sū wärpamo śpālmeṃ śaiṣ(ṣ)e ///
b3 /// na ṣai ṣpet kenäṣṣe īke sū ///
b4 /// nā täṅwäṣṣe slemesā ///
b5 /// 20-2 k u ce ñäś yāmtsī ṣäp ///
b6 /// te 20-3 räksāmai k u ce ñäś ṣä ///
b7 /// ce u onmiṃṣṣe pūwārsa ///
THT 340 — unplaced
THT 340. Language: TB. Lines: 7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht340.
a1 /// tekā kaun wat tako ī o – ///
a2 /// – ṣṣi śaiṣṣe wat keṃ klu ///
a3 /// yewe atyaṃpā śle ṣäleṃ ///
a4 /// – pelaiknemeṃ ñi ///
a5 /// śuke ñäś wa ai ///
a6 /// wāre no tumeṃ mār-ñäkte o ///
a7 /// ramtä – – ne ce u au ///
b1 /// ·k· c· – – s· ṣṣ· m· kc· ///
b2 /// kn· ṣṣe pilkosā no ñäś lk· ///
b3 /// ñäś päknastar miyā ///
b4 /// r śerwe twe nest ·o ///
b5 /// – tsemi yamoṣ luwa ///
b6 /// saṣämpā mā seṃ sāñ·· – ///
b7 /// y·sāmnt rā pilke ene·e ///
THT 341 — unplaced
THT 341. Language: TB. Lines: 7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht341.
a1 /// pe mälṣälle śau ///
a2 /// pälsk(o) tsyālpāte pä ///
a3 /// – ṣṣälyā kektseñe pūdña ///
a4 /// – yäst te mänt weñā pūdñä – ///
a5 /// trä māka ṣcīre papāṣṣorñe cau ///
a6 /// – weñā empreṃntsā läkle kārsaṃ śaumo – ///
a7 /// ñā kärtse pī ñäktā akṣīt ñī ce u yäkna – ///
b1 /// pwettsai kakkārpau ramt mākā kartsai empreṃ ///
b2 /// ·au tumeṃ pälsko mänt cpī tsäṅkāte mänt re ///
b3 /// säṃ se wäntre tūsā pärnnā ā ///
b4 /// ntā mākā aiśaumyī pälsko ///
b5 /// ntwātoṃ mā rāno aikne toṃ e ///
b6 /// ssont lekīne mänt śī ///
b7 /// – śärsāstā yo ///
THT 343 — unplaced
THT 343. Language: TB. Lines: 5=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht343.
a1 /// kutse yāmi ṅke 40-2 ///
a2 /// śtw(ā)ra wäntärwa empreṃ ///
a3 /// śle ynämñanā ślye ṣlyämña(na) ///
a4 /// ṣpärkastsi 40(-4) ///
a5 ///
b4 /// ñca räṣākäññ(e) ///
b5 /// mtä ñäś twe kautsi pä ///
b6 /// – lle ākāl täñ ysamo ///
b7 /// kerccäpo ausū ers(na) ///
THT 344.a — unplaced
THT 344.a. Language: TB. Lines: 2=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344a.
a1 /// tkorsā po kāmānte tū su kal·· ///
a2 /// kr u i ñäś yāmīm·e ///
b6 ///
b7 /// lt· nne śāklāṣkāñ kektsentsā pra ///
THT 344.b — unplaced
THT 344.b. Language: TB. Lines: 3=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344b.
a1 /// ltkessonta·t· – y·st ///
a2 /// pe gautamī cmelṣṣā ///
b1 /// ne pālkau a ·ai ///
THT 344.c — unplaced
THT 344.c. Language: TB. Lines: 3=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344c.
a1 /// s· lyutsāmai ///
THT 344.d — unplaced
THT 344.d. Language: TB. Lines: 4=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344d.
a1 /// lātkātai mā ///
THT 344.e — unplaced
THT 344.e. Language: TB. Lines: 4=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344e.
a2 /// ñäś yamäṣṣāwa ///
THT 344.f — unplaced
THT 344.f. Language: TB. Lines: 4=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344f.
a1 /// lyāmastā ///
THT 344.g — unplaced
THT 344.g. Language: TB. Lines: 4=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344g.
a1 /// nirvvaṃṣṣai ///
THT 344.h — unplaced
THT 344.h. Language: TB. Lines: 2=7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht344h.
a1 /// – datte ṣeym ñä ///
THT 359 — unplaced
THT 359. Language: TB. Lines: 5. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht359.
a1 – ñiś wināskauś – – bodhisātveṃs saṃsār anai ///
a2 lmene karūṃntsa no lareṃ nervāṃ tärkanaṃ ///
a3 rne mā bodhisatveṃs śaul rilñene tot ā ///
a4 rya asaṃkhyainta kante kalpanmane ainakeṃ saṃ ///
a5 kätkausai preścīyaine kāśiṣṣana ypaunane bārāṇa ///
b1 mnasa • tāw no māka täṅwaṃññai bārāṇasi rīne brahma ///
b2 lmeṃ aiśai yamaṣṣitär ॥ klampäryaine ॥ tā ///
b3 vaiśravaṇe wate ramt po ypaunane wa ///
b4 bodhisatve : aklyyate po ṣañanma n1 gandha ///
b5 – – ··s· sū pācer tä ·e – – – he päst srūka • tumeṃ br· ///
THT 360 — unplaced
THT 360. Language: TB. Lines: 5. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht360.
a1 /// kä(r)y(o)rttañc mäskīye(ntä)r ñuwe ñuwetsäṃñe
a2 /// śinona klānte cai no toynampa au
a3 ///
b3 ///
b4 /// m· ompalsko sū rṣāke : caṃkramit
b5 /// po kärtsauñentaś – r·e ṣey sū tatākau
THT 368 — A Bodhisattva on fire quenched by Indra's rain
THT 368. Language: TB. Lines: 7. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht368.
a1 /// ṣne – – – – ·w· m· ///
a2 /// te nai palkas pyāmtso ///
a3 /// ysāṣṣeṃ klautsaiñentsa ///
a4 /// täṅwaṃñana eśaiwentasa ///
a5 /// ntsante bodhisatveṃpa ṣ ///
1x /// mel wesäṃ klyautkasta śleko twe karunts= ai /// a7 /// ·ñ· nte : 1
- ॥ tumeṃ ylai-ñäkte bodhisatveṃne l· ·///
b1 /// lloy – ·ś· ñe ñaṣt(a)r twe śau(l) (ri)ntsi prā ///
b2 /// tasemane snai proskai ce u (p)ūwarne yo ///
b3 /// ·eṣṣe swese bodhisatventsa ///
b4 /// p· ṣ kakāmarmeṃ strāyastriṃś ///
b5 /// aurcce akāśsa pa ///
b6 /// nemce alyaik ono ///
1x /// lkosa : 1
- (t)e tot ke ·e ·///
THT 369 — unplaced
THT 369. Language: TB. Lines: 6. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht369.
a1 /// ·k· yamaskemane mā walke ///
a2 /// stameṃ ltu ṣaim anandarśi – – – – – – pañäkte pelaikne sā ///
a3 /// araha – – – – – – wa preke ñake ñi ste krä ///
a4 /// ṅkte war car· – – – – ce u arahanteṃ etsuwai k u se ///
a5 /// weñā-ne ce aṣañika purpar ñake tsetse(koṣ) śiktālyemeṃ war ॥ tu ke ///
a6 /// lpoṣ arahanteñe perne olyapotse pañäkte käṣṣiṃne larauñe ··ā ///
b1 /// salle ṣaim mā ra sak no ṣañ-añmesa wai piṣ cmelaṣṣeṃ onolmeṃts a ///
b2 /// salkatsi campe ce ṣarmtsa pañäktäṃñe pelaikne posa śpālmeṃ kärsanall(e) ///
b3 /// weweñoṣ ṣe(m)e – – postaññe keklyauṣu tākaṃ ///
b4 /// ll(e) snai skey· – – – – n· po läklentamts āke yama ///
b5 /// ś· lne mäskeñca : kwrāṣ mā – – – – (cme)l(a)ne kraupāte : sāle ///
b6 /// śaumontse ṣñaṣṣi ṣañ śa ///
THT 371 — unplaced
THT 371. Language: TB. Lines: 6. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht371.
a1 /// alm(e)meṃ : 1 ॥ c(e) teṃ ṣ(a)rämts(a) k· n· ///
a2 /// su tū yäknesa śwālyai paiyyeññe mok(oc)· ///
a3 /// bodhisatveṃś yärṣānte • we ///
a4 /// te ñem ṣey marici ///
a5 /// bodhisatve ceyna yākṣeṃ preksa ko ///
a6 /// lmeṣṣe camel s(t) e • cau ñi ///
b1 /// k· tts· st· – st· – – ·t· ///
b2 /// ttu kektseñaṣṣa maiyyo ste • se ///
b3 /// ñiś eṣ(e) kārau po kau(c) ///
b4 /// ppamātäṃñe lakäskemane ///
b5 /// mp(a) • ṣeme ṣarsa ñiś kauc taläs(k)au ///
b6 /// lsk(a) orotstse ceynaṃts maiyyāṣṣe a ///
THT 372 — unplaced
THT 372. Language: TB. Lines: 5. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht372.
a1 mu mäkte śaulaṣṣe meske śem ate po kälymintsa aklaṣṣälyi wawārp· ///
a2 klaṅkāwa • papāṣṣorñe yetweṃtsa yaitu ṣañ-añm yäknaikne • dhyananma ///
a3 ñe • aklaṣṣälyi takāre-ñ tasemane ñiś mpa • ///
a4 ntsa proskye manta nesäṃ ñī • kartse kekmu srūkalñe ārwer nesau mā prā(sk)au ///
a5 kos po kleśanma yaiku mā tākaṃ tot cwi yaka saṃsārsa prosko er·· ///
b1 yonträ ॥ ṣaḍapne ॥ walo ṣey tane jaṃbudvipne nauṣ preke • snai keś ·ä ///
b2 lalñeṣṣe akālk räskre tsäṅkā-ne • ॥ tumeṃ sū walo amācänta yā ///
b3 nma māka wärpāmai lantuṃñeṣṣe yātalñe • tsaipeṃ śa ///
b4 ne korpomar • ostmeṃ lantsi preke ñi yapoy yesäṃ kalpäskau • te kekly· ///
b5 pelkiñ • saswe ostameṃ laṃ säsweṃ ompostäṃ ṅke ṣpä yapoy nkelñe ///
THT 373.a — unplaced
THT 373.a. Language: TB. Lines: 5. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht373.
a1 /// lne temttsat(e) • mäkte auki ///
a2 /// ñ katruññe teri ṣpyārta ///
a3 /// no ka ṣ tāwak ///
a4 /// temt(tsa)te • mäkte pyaut(ka) ///
a5 ///
b1 ///
b2 /// ṣ(e)me kca preken(e) ///
b3 /// na ṣpänemeṃ āksa cau ///
b4 /// tte miñcuṣke nesa ///
b5 /// ·āl yaukkāte-ne • tumeṃ ///
THT 1619.a — unplaced
THT 1619.a. Language: TB. Lines: 5. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht1619a.
a1 /// – ṣw· l· ///
a2 /// ts· ṣañ i ///
a3 /// saswa : ka ma – ///
a4 /// – rkatñentse ke – ///
a5 /// yāmorr aisai ///
b1 /// – ·p· – ///
b2 /// – ṣpä ytāri 4 – ///
b3 /// – – r maṅkä slä rau ///
b4 /// – ñiś s· – ///
b5 /// ·ṃ – ॥ – ///
THT 1619.c — unplaced
THT 1619.c. Language: TB. Lines: 5. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht1619c.
a1 – ·ñ· – ·r· – ·t· ///
a2 rne klyomo śākke k· ///
a3 dhisatve weṣṣäṃ ॥ – ///
a4 l·eṃ sū mahāmā – ///
a5 – – – ·i sā s·a ///
b1 – – ā – – ///
b2 k· wa ṣ· ñañ ///
b3 snai waste cärka ///
b4 snū meṃ 3 ॥ te we – ///
b5 – – – ye ·e ·i ///
THT 1546.b-d — unplaced
THT 1546.b-d. Language: TB. Lines: 3+. CEToM: https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht1546b.
a1 /// ·waṃs spä /// /// – päst /// /// – nai – – ///
a2 /// nervāṃṣeṃ ske /// /// – ·aiṣäṃ ṣā – /// /// l· ·n· ṣṣai ///
a3 /// ·ai yo – ///
b1 /// ·mä yakṣaṃts – /// /// ·t·ntse tke /// /// ·m· l· ///
b2 /// wesäñä – /// /// ṣka : po /// /// – – mā ka ///
b3 /// – l·e – ///
Source Colophon
The source text follows Tocharian transliterations/transcriptions available through CEToM, the Comprehensive Edition of Tocharian Manuscripts, https://cetom.univie.ac.at/. Modern translation controls and scholarly notes exposed by CEToM were used only as controls for this page.
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