A Study on the Translation Methods in Classical Sinhala Literature

Abstract

Practice of translation methods in Sri Lanka has been evident since the time of Arahat Mahinda thero‟s arrival in the third century BC. Indeed, classical Sinhala literature was founded in the translations of chronicles and Attakatha. Thus, since the Atuwa age, when Arahat Mahinda thero introduced the Pali atuwa texts to the country, there is evidence of a considerable amount of translations into Sinhala. These Attakatha were translated by venerable Ariththa Thero and his disciples into Sinhala. Several translation methods were followed by Buddhaghosha thero who retranslated the Hela Atuwa into Pali in the fifth century AD. The translation by Buddhaghosha thero has preserved all the significant meanings and decisions of the Hela Atuwa concisely in the conventions of the Pali language, avoiding any use of Sinhala. This is cited and elaborated in the Samanthyasaditha and the Dhammpadhattakatha. The conventions followed by Buddhaghosha thero were also followed by subsequent translators of classical Sinhala texts. At the same time, there is evidence that other texts have deviated from these conventions. This study aims to analyse the translation methods used in classical Sinhala translations.