Problems of Interpretation and Translation of Philosophical and Religious Texts

The languages and forms of philosophical and religious expression have been many and colourful and not to get acquainted with the great texts and classics of one’s tradition would amount to doing great injustice to the proper understanding of one’s heritage. It has also become very imperative for mutual understanding among peoples that very should be well informed about the cultures of one another through reading and understanding of their rich purpose authentic interpretations and translations of texts by scholars have become essential. In this book, which is based on the author’s lectures at the Indian Institute Of Advanced Study, Shimla during the summer of 2002, as Visiting Professor, the problems of understanding exegesis and translation have been analysed and examined closely. The peculiarities of grammar, syntax, diction, style and metaphor in various languages and their forms of expression like prose, poetry, dialogue, drama, aphorisms etc. in both the Indian and Western traditions have been subjected to scrutiny with special reference to texts in English, German, French, Greek, Sanskrit and Pali. It is also emphasized that in the preservation on one’s heritage and in the understanding of that of others, linguistic emphasizes in this connection, the importance of the preservation and serious study of classical languages which form the tools of expression of ideas in the religious and philosophical context, and have also provided modern languages with a firm formal and semantic foundation.