the Bodhi·sattva’s virtue in general. In ‘The Birth-Story of the Great Monkey’ (27), the Bodhi·sattva’s self-sacrifice for a community of monkeys is portrayed as a model of virtue to be followed by the king witnessing the event. Elsewhere, however, the text is at pains to stress the miraculous nature of the Bodhi·sattva’s unique feats of virtue, asserting that they are “unable to be imitated” by others (Volume 1, preface, v.4). A paragon of virtue, the Bodhi·sattva thus acts both as an ultimate moral standard that shapes and informs the ordinary world and as a transcendent ideal whose exceptional and superior quality serves to inspire the intense devotion that lies at the heart of Arya·shura’s work.
The Sanskrit Text
For stories 21–34 I have used Heinrich Kern’s edition (1891) as a base text, which I have then emended by referring to manuscript readings provided by Peter Khoroche in his “Towards a New Edition of Arya-Sura’s Jatakamala” (1987). I have particularly followed the readings of the earlier manuscripts N and T For stories 33 and 34, I have benefited greatly from the text-critical comments of Michael Hahn (2001). A list of all emendations made can be found at the end of the volume.
I am very grateful to Andrew Skilton for his helpful comments on the introduction and translation.
Notes
1Bodhi·sattva: a person who vows to become a perfectly awakened Buddha by fulfilling the perfections (paramita). The word bodhi/sattva literally means “awakening being.” K.R. Norman (1997: 104f.) argues that the word is a back formation from the Prakrit bodhi/satta, the Sanskrit equivalent of which is either bodhi/sakta or bodhi/sakta. These two compounds can be translated as “aspiring for awakening” (literally “attached to awakening”) and “capable of awakening” respectively.
2 See also 28.95 [57]: “Those who are compassionate and great in reason are not afflicted by their own pain as much as by the pain of others.”
3 See also ‘The Birth-Story of the Great Monkey’ (27), in which the Bodhi·sattva endures pain to save his troop of monkeys.
4 In ’The Birth-Story of the Antelope’ (26), the Bodhi·sattva is, however, later betrayed by the person who declares these words. ________
Another notable story in which enmity is overcome by friendship is ‘The Birth-Story of the Goose’ (22), in which a hunter’s aggressive intentions toward a flock of geese cease when he witnesses the devotion shown by a goose for his king (see especially 22.112 [65]). Here the king who ordered the capture of the geese is so impressed by the friendship shown by the pair of geese that he proclaims his own friendship for them (22.144 [88]): “May this friendship never be severed now that it has been embarked upon. Place your trust in me. For a union of noble beings never decays.”
5 See also volume 1, 7.42–61 [20–31] and this volume 23.30 [13], 23.117 [62]–118 [63], 26.58 [30], 34.43 [22].
6 The propriety of Sumukha’s devotion is, however, debated in a group of verses (22.56 [26]–72 [38]), in which the Bodhi·sattva argues that his general’s actions are unpragmatic and will bring no “benefit” (artha), whereas Sumukha appeals to the authority of “virtue” (dharma). It is noteworthy that this context-free, absolutist form of morality advocated by Sumukha is usually the type of virtue espoused by the Bodhi·sattva in other stories.
7 See, for example, 24.18 [8], 25.40 [21], 26.16 [8]–17 [9], 27.39 [15]–56 [28], 29.68 [47]–69 [48], 30.30 [14], 30.35 [18], 30.44 [22], 31.178 [93].
8 See also the ‘Birth-Story of Maitri-bala’ (vol. 1, story 8) for a connection between the Bodhi·sattva’s sacrifice of his body and his gift of the teaching as a Buddha. There the Bodhi·sattva’s blood and flesh, eaten by five demons, is directly compared with the “ambrosia of the teaching of liberation” given by the Buddha at his first sermon to five ascetics (see v. 59 and the epilogue). This theme has particularly been analyzed by Reiko Ohnuma (2007: 199ff.).
9 Stories 22, 24, 25, 26, 27, 30, 33, 34. Stories 33 and 34 are different in style to the other animal stories, a fact that may point to the Jatakamala being incomplete, or to the possibility of interpolation, or simply to a difference in literary technique. Apart from ________
their noticeably short length, neither story contains a description of the forest or a depiction of a clash between animals and humans, both of which are prominent themes in the other animal stories.
10 See, for example, vol. 1, 6.6–7, 15.6, 16.4 and this volume 22.95 [52], 25.27 [14], 25.32 [17], 27.4.
11 See 30.67 [38]: “This must be an elephant only in appearance. For he seems to uphold the fading conduct of the good!”
12 See also 22.39 (and 22.40 [19]–42 [21]), in which the virtuous goose Sumukha states: “The hearts of men are usually false whenever they display tender compassion. Fabricated courtesies and honeyed words conceal a vicious depravity.”
13 See vol. 1, 6.3, 9.76–83, 9.106–107, 15.3 and this volume 21.16–19 [7], 24.3, 25.3, 26.3–5, 27.3–5, 28.9, 2.8.13 [5]–19 [11], 30.3·The forest is also, however, a place of danger for those unaccustomed to it. It is described, for example, as “terrifying with its wild perils” (24.55 [35])·This dangerous aspect is also expressed in ‘The Birth-Story of Suta·soma’ (31), where the forest is the home of the cannibal Kalmasha·pada.
14 The introduction to story 25 states: “Quiet from lack of contact with men, the region was home for various hordes of wild animals and abounded with trees and shrubs.” See also the introduction to story 30: “A home for forest animals, the woods were blessed by a deep and broad lake, while a vast desert, devoid of trees, shrubs and water, concealed it from human habitation on all sides.”
15 See vol. 1, 6.2 and this volume 25.3–5 [1], 33.31 [20], 34.45 [23]. The superiority of the ascetic forest life over the desire-based life of the householder is sometimes expressed through images of beauty. ‘The Smaller Birth-Story of Bodhi’ states (21.7, 21.16): “Moved by her affection for her husband, his wife also shaved off her hair. Freeing her body from the concerns of wearing superficial ornaments, she became adorned only by the glory of her virtue and natural appearance. [...] [She then] adorned the root ________
of a tree, illuminating it like a deity with the power of her beauty, focusing on a meditation practice taught by her husband.”
16 See 22.19–33.
17 Royal hunts in forests also provide a means for animals or ascetics to encounter human beings. See, for example, story 25.
