A Reconstructed Tocharian B Reading
Translation
Side A
Praise rose before the Ten-Powered One, the unfailing refuge and protection worthy of a stūpa. The omniscient Buddha was honored, and the act of honor became too great to remain hidden.
Side B
Mahākāśyapa was remembered among the holy ones. The proclamation passed outward, even among the Nirgranthas, until the king heard it. His whole body answered; his hair stood on end, and awe became visible in him.
1:1 Translation
Side A
a1 honor, reference, deference; this; not; to be able to ///
a2 speaks/says; is called; support and refuge; protector/often epithet of the Buddha; worthy; the all-knowing, omniscient ///
a3 I, me; honor, reference, deference ///
a4 Mahākāśyapa; ~ fifth ///
a5 part, portion, share; top, summit; not; to be separated; is ///
a6 different; forceful, resolute ///
a7 speech; this; like, as, as if, likewise ///
a8 mind; not; this ///
Side B
b1 lord; I, me ///
b2 is; now; demon, asura; or ///
b3 appearance, color; this; face ///
b4 this; thing, affair; to hear, listen to ///
b5 does; having done; to show respect, affection; lord; not ///
b6 man, person, human; to hear, listen to; lord ///
b7 power, strength, energy; not; to be able to; to proclaim; like, as, as if, likewise ///
b8 body; king; all/every; pore, follicle; high/above ///
Source-Close Translation
Side A
a1 broken words around āṣlñe, śkamaiyyantse ///
a2 broken words around weña, aṣāṃ ///
a3 broken words; sense uncertain ///
a4 Mahākāśyapa ///
a5 broken words around tsrālle ///
a6 broken words around talñesa, lukṣaittse, tkāltse ///
a7 broken words around welñene ///
a8 mind ///
Side B
b1 broken words around śkamaiyyai ///
b2 broken words around tāka, ñake, asūri ///
b3 broken words around SArwan ///
b4 broken words around klyauṣa, nigrantheṃne ///
b5 broken words around yāmu, yarṣTAR ///
b6 broken words around śāmna, klyauṣiT ///
b7 broken words around śnāssi, taPAṣṣa ///
b8 body; king ///
Colophon
This Good Works Translation was made from the Tocharian B line transcription of THT 405 / B 405, a Berlin Turfan Collection fragment from Murtuk, expedition code T III M 143.1. The source text was inspected at CEToM and checked against the TITUS encoding in May/2026. The English is independently derived from the Tocharian source text.
The fragment is heavily damaged. Ellipses mark missing, broken, or untranslated text; they are not decorative. CEToM's modern English translation by Adrian Musitz, CEToM lexical glosses, and the TITUS line encoding were used as controls, not as the English base. CEToM notes Sieg and Siegling 1953, Tocharische Sprachreste. Sprache B, Heft 2. Fragmente Nr. 71-633, p. 270, as an edition control.
Compiled and formatted for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026.
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Source Text: THT 405
Tocharian B source text inspected through CEToM and TITUS. Presented here for reference, study, and verification alongside the English translation above.
Side A
a1. - - (wi) [n]āṣlñe • śkamaiyyantse yarke ce mā campya stu ////
a2. - - [r]ts. weña saim wäste=traikatte ptantse aṣāṃ staR\ • poy(ś) [i] ////
a3. - - [a]taM\ ñi yarke • 2 || vakal. ////
a4. - M[] mahākāśyape pañcama ////
a5. k pakenta tarne mā tsrālle ṣeyÄ\ • ////
a6. talñesa lukṣaittse wätkāltse ////
a7. dñäktentse welñene • 1 te ramTÄ\ [ś.] ////
a8. mā cittak[āl.ä]t sā konta[w]ä ////
Side B
b1. .w. śkamaiyyai [SA]sw[e]ntse ñi ////
b2. t tāka ñake • asūri waT\ [yÜ]k. ////
b3. rkoṢ\ ere ce kaklaiksauwa SArwan[a/ā] ////
b4. cau wäntare klyauṣa nigrantheṃne ta ////
b5. - [L] yāmu yarṣTAR\ saswa mā ////
b6. - - śāmna • klyauṣiT\ saswa || br[a/ā] ////
b7. - - yärkesse warKṢAL\ śnāssi mā campya • taPAṣṣa ramT(ä)\ ////
b8. - - (-) lānti po kektseñtsa yokaṣṣana klokaści kaucÄ\ ////
Source Colophon
The source text follows the inspected Tocharian B transcription/transliteration available through CEToM, https://cetom.univie.ac.at/?m-tht405, with comparison against the TITUS page, http://titus.fkidg1.uni-frankfurt.de/texte/tocharic/tht/04/0405.htm. Modern translations and scholarly comments were consulted only as controls.
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