Buddhism is one of the oldest and more prominent religions in the world. Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BC by Gautama Buddha. Originally named Siddhartha, his royal living didn’t make him content, and he was tortured by observing sickness, suffering from the old, and death around him. He became a wanderer searching for solutions to mankind’s miseries and finally abandoned everything to meditate under a pipal tree and attained ‘Supreme Knowledge‘ on the 49th day of his continuous meditation. He became known as Buddha, and his teachings were described in the ‘Four Noble Truths‘ and ‘Eightfold Path‘.
Buddhist Literature:
- The Buddhist literature is also known as ‘Tripitaka’ (Three baskets) or Pali Canon in English and consists of three Pitakas, Sutta Pitaka, Abhidhamma Pitaka, and Vinaya Pitaka.
- They are a collection of Buddhist teachings that make up the foundation of the Theravada Buddhist philosophy. It’s the oldest compilation of Buddhist philosophy.
- The stories of various births of Buddha are contained in literature called ‘The Jatakas’ or the Jataka tales derived from Pitakas and Theravada.
The Jatakas:
- The Jatakas translate to ‘the birth story’ or ‘related to a birth’ and is a body of literature from South Asia about tales of Gautama Buddha’s previous births in human and animal forms.
- Some of these Jataka tales are also scattered in the Tripitaka, including a group of 35 compiled later into ‘Cariya Pitaka’ or the Basket of Conduct.
- The earliest parts of The Jatakas might have been from the fifth century BC, and the later parts may have been added during the third century BC.
- The Jataka tales usually follow a similar storyline or theme, where Buddha may appear as royalty, a god, an outcast, or even an animal. Still, he represents a virtue that becomes the moral of the story.
- The characters around Buddha in these tales often are mischievous trouble makers that find themselves in all kinds of troubles but are saved by the character played by Buddha to get a happy ending.
- This Buddha character can recollect memories of his past lives to solve others’ problems and further his teachings of Buddhism.
- He can also identify the characters around him in the introductory story with those of people from his past.
- These tales are often humorous and have a variety, although the central theme is the teaching of virtue by Gautama Buddha in various forms.
Sources Of The Jataka Tales:
- The numerous sources of the Jataka Tales include The Tripitaka, Gandharan Buddhist texts, the Theravada Jataka collection containing 547 Jatakas in mixed verse, Atthakatha (Pali commentaries), The Buddhavamsa, Mahavastu, Vinayavastu, Jatakamala, Mahayana sutras, etc.
- These contained the early Jataka tales or canonical Jatakas. They are treated as the “official” Jatakas.
- There are late Jatakas too that were compiled as late as the 19th century.
- To name a few, Jatakas: The Jackal and the Otters (Dabbhapuppha Jataka), The Swan with Golden Feathers (Suvaṇṇahaṃsa Jataka), Vessantara Jataka, The elephant girly-face, The Foolish, Timid Rabbit (Daddabha Jataka), etc.
Jatakas In Art And Culture:
- Jatakas were one of the popular ways of spreading Buddhist teachings and were widely used in rituals and festivals.
- They have been depicted in varied forms like literature, performances, temple art, temporary street and festival art, films, comics, and cartoons.
- Archaeological findings have discovered Jatakas illustrations on Stupas and caves in Sanchi, Bharhut, Kanaganahalli, Ajanta, Amaravati, Nagarjunakonda, Goli, Bagh caves and Mathura in India.
- These depictions can also be found outside India at Dunhuang (the Mogao caves), Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Bagan city, Nakhon Pathom and Borobudur.
Conclusion:
The Jatakas was the Buddhist literature that contained various stories of the birth of Buddha. The Jatakas are a creative and culturally rich way of spreading Buddhist teachings and have provided India and other sites outside India with beautiful tourist attractions. They have also helped historians and archaeologists trace the spread of Buddhism and connect religious texts.