Indian Literature Abroad
By Prabhat Kumar Mukherji
Summary
During the Sui Dynasty (581 CE), Emperor Wen-di permitted Buddhist monks to practice their religion openly, reversing previous prohibitions. Buddhist texts, numbering around 1,950 works, surpassed Confucian classics in quantity. These texts introduced Sanskrit-derived alphabetic concepts, termed *Sya-bw.rfiu* ("Foreign Writing") or *Po-da-men-shu* ("Brahmanical Writing"). Indian scholars aided Chinese phonetic studies, modeling sounds using existing Chinese characters instead of foreign symbols. This system, though limited in analyzing sounds beyond bisecting, was widely adopted and refined in dictionaries like *Yu-P'ran*. The Sui rulers patronized Buddhist scholarship, leading to translations of Sanskrit texts by Indian scholars like Narendrayas (582–665 CE), who translated eight works, including the popular *Makdmegha*. Later, Jinagupta (585–602 CE) led a revised translation board, improving accuracy and style. His key works include *Adanirghramana Sutra* (60 fascicles) and collaborations on *Saddharma-pundarika*. These efforts enhanced Chinese literary and linguistic practices, blending Indian and Chinese traditions. Discrepancies in source texts were noted, with editors reconciling differences between palm-leaf and regional manuscripts.
Conclusion
This document highlights the profound impact of Indian Buddhist scholars on Sui China, particularly through their role in linguistic innovation and literary translation. The introduction of Sanskrit phonetic principles revolutionized Chinese dictionaries, enabling a more nuanced understanding of sound division without adopting foreign symbols. This system, led by figures like Sheu-Kung and institutionalized in works such as the *Yu-P'ran*, became foundational for Chinese phonetics and lexicography. Simultaneously, the translation efforts of scholars like Narendrayasa and Jinagupta under imperial patronage facilitated the dissemination of Indian Buddhist texts, preserving and adapting them into Chinese literary and religious discourse. These developments underscore the dynamic cultural exchange that enriched both Indian and Chinese intellectual traditions, leaving a lasting legacy in linguistic scholarship and religious literature. The Sui period thus emerges as a pivotal era for cross-cultural knowledge transfer, marked by ingenuity and mutual adaptation.