Of Foundational Texts And ExegesisArshia Sattar JATAKAMALA By Arya Shura . Translated from the Sanskrit by A.N.D. Haksar Harper Collins, New Delhi, 2015, pp. 286, Rs. 399.00 RISHABHAYAN: THE STORY OF THE FIRST KING By Acharya Mahapragya . Translated from the Sanskrit by Sudhamehi Reghunathan HarperCollins Publishers, India, 2015, pp. 318, Rs. 350.00 VOLUME XXXIX NUMBER 8 August 2015 A.N.D. Haksar, formidable, versatile
and prolific translator of Sanskrit
texts, gives us a gentle and very
sweet version of Arya Shura’s Jatakamala from
the fourth century, overflowing with the Buddhist
virtues of generosity and compassion
towards all living creatures. The translation
is a reprint and we must be grateful to
Harper Collins for rescuing it from wherever
it had been abandoned. As we all know, the
Jatakas are the stories of the Buddha’s previous
births where, as a Boddhisattva, he defers
his own enlightenment for a lifetime so
that he can help other sentient beings break
through the endless cycle of rebirth and
redeath. There are stories that we know well,
like the one about King Shibi, renowned in
the three worlds for his unending capacity
to give. Indra instigates a sightless brahmin
to ask the king for one of his eyes and the
Boddhisattva king immediately gives him
both his eyes.
What is interesting when we read the
Jatakamala stories together is the fact that
it is very often Indra, king of the gods, who
challenges the Boddhisattva. He asks for the
impossible, places obstacles in the
Boddhisattva’s way, tries to persuade him
away from the tenets and practice of his religion.
A common trope in these stories (and
definitely one of my favourites), is when a
merchant prince or, a similarly rich man who
simply cannot stop giving, is confronted either
by Mara or an agent of Indra’s and told
that such conscious and continuous charity
is actually a bad thing as it betrays a nature
addicted to giving. Of course, the rich man
is steadfast, usually admitting that while excessive
giving might well be a vice, it’s too
late now for him to be ‘cured’. What we
could be witnessing here is the competition
between Hinduism and Buddhism, each
creed fighting for the loyalty and commitment
of a pluralistic and religiously fluid
populace. Of course, since these are Buddhist
stories, the (Hindu) gods are defeated
by the wit and wisdom of the Boddhisattva
and his followers.
Stories that feature the Buddha and the
Hindu gods remind us how close Hinduism
and Buddhism were, existing in the same
geographical and social places. Often, Jainism
was there, too. Mostly, at the time when these
texts were compiled, Buddhism was the
dominant religion in the area. This historical
fact should make us wary ... Table of Contents >> |