Ancient Proverbs and Maxims From Burmese Sources; or, The Nîti Literature/Introduction
I n t r o d u c t i o n.
The Sanskrit-Pâli word Nîti is equivalent to "conduct" in its abstract, and "guide" in its concrete signification. As applied to books, it is a general term for a treatise which includes maxims, pithy sayings, and didactic stories, intended as a guide to such matters of everyday life as form the character of an individual and influence him in his relations to his fellow-men. Treatises of this kind have been popular in all ages, and have served as a most effective medium of instruction. In India a very comprehensive literature sprang up, known as the Nîtisâstras, embracing what is called "Beast-fable" lore, represented by the Pañćatantra, and its epitome the Hitopadeśa of Vishnusarman, and the numerous ethico-didactic anthologies which, based chiefly on the Mahâbhârata and other ancient poems, gained popularity by the collected apophthegms of Bhartṛihari and Ćâṇakya. Anthological study at length became so inviting, that in the Śârṅgadgarapaddhati, a compilation of the fourteenth century A.D., we find about 6000 stanzas, gathered from more than 250 sources.
The Buddhist Jâtakaṁ, containing 550 stories, is a rich storehouse of fables, and, though in character similar to the Pañćatantra, is not classed as a Nîti, nor does the Dhammapada, and other treatises of the same kind, full of maxims of morality and religious reflections, come under the designation. The term Nîti, in so far as it describes anthological collections, is, in Burma, found connected with the following works—the Lokanîti, the Dhammanîti, the Râjanîti, and the Suttavaddhananîti: Of these, the first three are original recensions in the Mâgadhese dialect, adapted from Sanskrit works; while the last is a comparatively recent collection of useful maxims from the Buddhist canon itself. The former form a group in themselves, and owe their importance to being of Sanskritic origin. The remarks which follow are in special reference to them alone.
The earliest reference in Burmese literature to the Lokanîti and Râjanîti is, so far as I have been able to ascertain, to be found in the Arakan Râzâwin, or "Chronicles of Arakan," in connection with Prince Kha Maung's visit to Pegu early in the seventeenth century. Mention of the Dhammanîti is rarely met with, as it seems never to have become a handbook for study like the other two. The exact dates of these collections in Burma are not recorded anywhere, nor is their authorship a matter of certainty. That they were compiled between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries is not unlikely, judging from the progress of literature under the patronage of Burmese kings. King Anoratha, in the first half of the eleventh century, organised an expedition to Thaton, and obtained thence a copy of the Buddhist Scriptures. Their interpretation was then only possible through the Mun language. The Mun alphabet was consequently adopted by the Burmese, and the learned among the latter made the literature written in it an important study. Wars between the Muns and Burmese led eventually to a good deal of intercommunication between the two races. Hindu colonists, besides, had settled on the lower valleys of the Irawadi and Sittang rivers, and a religious struggle between Brahmans and Buddhists resulted in evoking the erudition of the learned Puṇṇas. Their services were soon utilised by the Burmese kings in furtherance of the cause of literature, and it was through their invaluable assistance that the study of Sanskrit became a sine quâ non in the royal monasteries. Being familiar with Mâgadhese(then the literary language of the country), and also acquainted with the local vernacular, they were of great help to the Buddhist Rahans in the interpretation of the Pitagat. And it is reasonable to suppose that when that great task was completed attention was paid to secular literature, the outcome of which was the compilation of the three Nîtis. Similar, or perhaps the very same treatises, were in use in the royal courts of India, and their introduction into the court of Ava was natural enough. The translation of Sanskrit works of a more erudite character was a work of later date.
That Brahmanic influence had been at work in the compilation of the Nîtis of Burma is evident from the nature of certain passages found in them. Evidence is also not wanting to show that additions have been made to the original treatises more in consonance with Buddhistic belief and idiosyncrasies. Partial emendations have also been resorted to, and can be discovered as the work of Rahans anxious to replace Hinduic ideas by others more congenial to their orthodoxy.
Sanskrit editionS of the three Nîtis are to be found among the Manipurian Punnas, who, driven from their native abode by the vicissitudes of war, made a home for themselves in Burma. They are written in Bengali characters, but editions in Sanskritised Burmese are also procurable. The Sanskrit Lokanîti of the Manipurian Punnas commences with the same stanza as the Hitopadeśa of Vishnuśarman—
This stanza is disregarded in the Burmese anthology, most probably on account of the difficulty of its adaptation to Buddhistic views. The Sanskrit Lokanîti originally contained 109 gâdhâs, which, in the Burmese version, have been expanded to 167.The Lokanîti and Dhammanîti embrace a miscellaneous collection of subjects, and serve as suitable handbooks for the general reader for the study of prudential rules and principles of morality. The former is taught in almost every monastic school in Burma, and printed editions of it have helped considerably to extend its popularity. That a work of the kind should have charms for the Buddhist is not to be wondered at. He firmly believes that his future happiness depends upon his behaviour in his present life, and relies more on practical deeds rather than on the faith which his religion demands; and nothing could be more suitable to his wants than a kind of literature which lays down for him in pithy stanzas, and often in metaphoric language, a number of simply-worded apophthegms which are to shape his career in this world and fit him for a better sphere of existence when he leaves it.
The Râjanîti is an anthology originally compiled for the use of kings and princes, and based chiefly on the ancient Dharmaśâstras, of which Manu's code has evidently supplied the greater proportion of the stanzas. It must not be confounded with the Râjanîti of Lallu Lâla, which is nothing more than an adaptation in the Braj dialect of the Sanskrit Hitopadeśa. The Burmese Nîti seems to have for its prototype the Râjanîtiśâstra of C'âṇakya. The Dhammanîti, although the best and most comprehensive of the Nîtis, is very little studied—a circumstance that can he explained by its being more extensive in its scope than the Lokanîti, and therefore proving a task of greater labour to the copyist, through whom chiefly the wide circulation of texts could have been carried on in the absence of printing-presses. The Lokanîti, besides, had an Indian reputation which was never extended to the Dhammanîti. The same may be said of the Râjanîti.
The stanzas of the Nîtis belong chiefly to the Vatta, or heroic measure, corresponding with the octosyllabic śślokas of the Mahâbhârata and Râmâyana, but the exigencies of expression have, as in those poems, necessitated the occasional use of longer-lined verses. The Pâli of the texts belongs to the later rather than to the earlier style as represented in the Dhammapada of the Buddhist canon. On the whole, the translations are faithful to the original Sanskrit from which they have been adopted. In some cases the Pâli is a mere transcript. For instance, the Sanskrit—
Mâtâ śatruḥ pitâ vairî
Yena bâlo na pâṭhitaḥ
Na śobhate sabhâmadhye
Haṃsamadhye vako yathâ
is rendered in Pâli by
Mâtâ verî pitâ satru
Kena bâle na sikkhitâ
Sabhâmajjhe na sobhati
Haṁsamajjhe bako yathâ.
Again, in Sanskrit we have—
Rûpayauvanasampannâ
Visâlakulasambhavâḥ
Vidhâbînâ na śobhante
Nirgandhâ iva kimśukâḥ,
and in Pâli—
Rûpayobbanasampannâ
Visâlakulasambhavâ
Vijjâhinâ na sobhanti
Niggandhâ iva kiṁsukâ.
In other instances some material modifications have been made necessary, as would be expected in a paraphrastic translation, in which the rules of versification have to be rigidly enforced, and in which Brahmanic sentiments had to be so modified as not to wound the susceptibilities of the Buddhist reader. Some passages will be found revolting to our intelligence, but they may be of use in giving us an insight into the superstitious practices of the ancient Indians, and furnishing an index to the state of society at the period to which they refer.
In the footnotes to the English translations I have made some passing observations and given parallel passages. These might have been largely augmented, but I have refrained from encumbering the pages of a work intended chiefly for the general reader. The Pâlli texts of. the Burmese Nîtis are in preparation, and will be, it is hoped, useful to the student who would like to compare these anthological treatises with those of a similar nature which were at one time highly popular in India, the cradle of proverbs, parables, and folklore.
In conclusion, I take this opportunity of expressing my deep gratitude to Dr. Rost for the kindly encouragement he has given me in the publication of this work, and for the many tokens of the interest he has taken in the literary labours on which I am engaged.
Rangoon, January 1886.
- ↑ "For the good may there be success in achievements through the grace of Dhûrjati (Siva), on whose head there is the moon's sixteenth part, like a streak of the Ganges' foam."