The result of my conference with Dr. Mookherjee was that I
wrote to Pratapa asking him to see me again. In this second interview
estimates were drawn up, and everything was arranged as far as my portion
of the work was concerned. My friend left with me a specimen of
translation which he had received from Professor Max Muller. This I began
to study, carefully comparing it sentence by sentence with the original.
About its literal character there could be no doubt, but it had no flow
and, therefore, could not be perused with pleasure by the general reader.
The translation had been executed thirty years ago by a young German
friend of the great Pundit. I had to touch up every sentence. This I did
without at all impairing faithfulness to the original. My first 'copy' was
set up in type and a dozen sheets were struck off. These were submitted to
the judgment of a number of eminent writers, European and native. All of
them, I was glad to see, approved of the specimen, and then the task of
translating the Mahabharata into English seriously began.
Before, however, the first fasciculus could be issued, the question as to
whether the authorship of the translation should be publicly owned, arose.
Babu Pratapa Chandra Roy was against anonymity. I was for it. The reasons
I adduced were chiefly founded upon the impossibility of one person
translating the whole of the gigantic work. Notwithstanding my resolve to
discharge to the fullest extent the duty that I took up, I might not live
to carry it out.
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