Once the Buddha was a monkey : Ārya Śūra's Jātakamālā

Bibliographic Information

Once the Buddha was a monkey : Ārya Śūra's Jātakamālā

translated from the Sanskrit by Peter Khoroche ; with a foreword by Wendy Doniger

University of Chicago Press, 1989

Other Title

Jātakamālā

Uniform Title

Tipiṭaka. Suttapiṭaka. Khuddakanikāya. Jātaka

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Note

Translation of: Jātakamālā

Bibliography: p. 271-273

Description and Table of Contents

Description

Written most probably in the fourth century AD, the "Jatakamala" is generally considered the masterpiece of Buddhist literature in Sanskrit. In elegant, courtly style, Arya Sura retells thirty-four traditional stories about the Buddha in his previous incarnations, both human and animal. Whether a king, a Brahmin, a monkey, or a hare, the Great One is shown in assiduous pursuit of virtue and compassion. Though primarily intended as exemplary tales illustrating the Buddhist virtues, these stories also paint a vivid picture of life at a high point in ancient Indian culture - city life in ordinary households or at the royal court, and country life against a backdrop of mountain, desert, and jungle. Peter Khoroche's translation, based on a fresh study of the original Sanskrit manuscripts, conveys the tone as well as the content of the original. Accompanying explanatory notes will assist student and general reader alike in appreciating this classic from an ancient and exotic civilization.

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