纪录片《大英博物馆世界简史》 054度母雕像(8)

Unfortunately, nothing is known about how or when the statue was later found, nor how it came to be owned by the then Governor of Ceylon, the soldier Sir Robert Brownrigg, who brought Tara to Britain. Ceylon had been taken over by the British from its Dutch rulers during the Napoleonic wars, and in 1815 Robert Brownrigg had conquered the last remaining independent Sri Lankan kingdom on the island.

不幸的是，没有人知道它从何地出土，又是如何来到他手里的。早先，在拿破仑战争期间，英国从荷兰手里接管了锡兰。1815年，布朗里格征服了岛上最后一个独立王国。1822年，他将这座度母雕像带到了英国。

Many centuries before, the island had abandoned the particular strand¹ of Buddhism² in which Tara had played such a prominent part, and her statue may well have been removed from the temple and buried for safekeeping during that religious upheaval³. But if no longer revered⁴ in Sri Lanka, Tara is in many places very much a living force, especially in Nepal and Tibet. And today millions of people, all over the world, still turn-as they did in Sri Lanka 1,200 years ago-to Tara, to see them through.

数个世纪以前，斯里兰卡居民遗弃了度母占主导地位的独特佛教派系。在宗教纷争中，为了保全这座铜像，有人将它从庙里移出来埋到地下。度母在斯里兰卡的地位已不复当年，但她在尼泊尔和中国西藏等地仍举足轻重。现今世界上还有数百万人，一如1200年前的斯里兰卡信众， 向度母祈求佑护。

1 strand   

vt.使（船）搁浅，使（某人）困于（某地）

参考例句：

• She tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ears.她把一缕散发夹到了耳后。
• The climbers had been stranded by a storm.登山者被暴风雨困住了。

2 Buddhism   

n.佛教（教义）

参考例句：

• Buddhism was introduced into China about 67 AD.佛教是在公元67年左右传入中国的。
• Many people willingly converted to Buddhism.很多人情愿皈依佛教。

3 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

4 revered   

v.崇敬，尊崇，敬畏( revere的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• A number of institutions revered and respected in earlier times have become Aunt Sally for the present generation. 一些早年受到尊崇的惯例，现在已经成了这代人嘲弄的对象了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Chinese revered corn as a gift from heaven. 中国人将谷物奉为上天的恩赐。 来自辞典例句