6

This question quotes the Sanskrit grammarian Yāska as saying he didn't know the meaning of some 400 words of the Vedas.

Is this still the case with modern translations of Vedas?

Say No To Censorship
  • 30,811
  • 17
  • 131
  • 257

2 Answers2

4

None is translatable.In the Vedas we have mantras that were directly perceived by the seers.Its the highest truth that has to be understood by Spiritual Practices.These are called Vedamantras.

The meaning of the Vedas is revealed only to seekers and saints.

(Reference: M-kar Baba, Sitaramdas Omkarnath, Mahamilan Math, page 97)

  • 1
    Aren't 'None is translatable' and 'meaning of the Vedas is revealed only to seekers and saints' contradicting each other? Was Yāska a seeker or saint or just a grammarian? – Say No To Censorship Feb 19 '19 at 18:40
  • 1
    @sv. I have no authority to say anything about Yaska.What I quoted is the opinion of a saint.Late Gopinath Bhattacharya, a great scholar and philosopher from Bengal was exactly of the same opinion.I do not think they included Yaska in the list of incapable translators. –  Feb 19 '19 at 18:44
  • 1
    'in the list of incapable translators' - so you do agree Vedas can be translated by some? – Say No To Censorship Feb 19 '19 at 19:04
  • 1
    'meaning of the Vedas is revealed only to seekers and saints' doesn't mean that it can be translated. There are many things that cannot be described by language. However the meaning can be realized through experiences and empirical observations. – user1952500 Feb 19 '19 at 21:29
3

Dr. R. V. Jahagirdar in an e-mail conversation clarifies there isn't single word that has not been translated in their works.

On Mon, Feb 18, 2019 SAKSHI Trust wrote:

Sir,

We have translated all the 25,000 mantras from all the Vedas. Hence no word has remained untranslated.

Regards
R.V. Jahagirdar

Say No To Censorship
  • 30,811
  • 17
  • 131
  • 257