On Ravigupta's ganas,

Abstract

That the Khotanese version of Ravigupta's Siddhasāra was made from the Tibetan translation extant in the Tanjur has been known since H. W. Bailey's convincing demonstration in BSOAS, X, 3, 1940, 599–605. But it is clear that the situation is more complicated than would at first appear. There are very numerous instances where the Khotanese version shows a correct understanding of the original Sanskrit while the Tibetan translation is in error. In fact the translation is at times so good that one wonders why the translator ever let himself be led astray by the Tibetan. There can be little doubt that the translator of the Khotanese knew Sanskrit far better than he knew Tibetan. Nevertheless, the evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that the Khotanese rendering was based on a combination of the Sanskrit original with the Tibetan version.