A NOTE ON THE JATAKA TALES

A NOTE ON THE JATAKA TALES- 1

JATAKA TALES ARE PART AND PARCEL OF BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES . BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES ARE BROADLY DIVIDED UNDER TWO HEADS. THE FIRST ONE CONSISTS OF THE TRIPITAKA . THE BUDDHISTS ALL OVER THE GLOBE BELIEVE THAT BUDDHA'S SPEECHES HAAVE BEEN AD VERBATIM RECORDED THERE. THE SECOND ONE CONSISTS OF WRITINGS EXPLAINING AND EXPLICATING BUDDHA THAT HAVE BEEN ACKNOWLEDGED BY THE BUDDHISTS AS SACRED TEXTS .THERE ARE DIFFFERENT SCHOOLS OF BUDDHISM. WHILE THE TRIPITAKA IS ACKNOWLEDGEED AND VENERATED BY ALL OF THEM THE OTHER SCRIPTURES ARE VENERATED BY EITHER THIS SCHOOL OR BY THAT SCHOOL . OUR JATAKA TALES BELONG TO THE TRIPITAKA . TRI MEANS THREE; PITAKA HAS A CORRESPONDING WORD IN PATRA EMPLOYED IN THE EXPRESSION BAKSO PATRA ; PITAKA MEANS BASKETS OF KNOWLEDGE. THUS TRIPITAKA MEANS THREE BASKETS OF WISDOM .

TRIPITAKA AS I HAVE ALREADY POINTED OUT RECORDS THE ORIGINAL SAYINGS OF LORD BUDDHA HIMSELF.ONE MIGHT ASK----IN WHICH LANGUAGE DID THE LORD SPEAK? IN WHICH LANGUAGE DID JESUS SPEAK? THE SCHOLARS OPINE THAT JESUS SPOKE IN ARAMAIC. OUR LORD THE BUDDHA SPOKE IN PALI. WHY DID I SAY THE BUDDHA?
WHY DID I SAY THE BUDDHA? THE WORD LITERALLY MEANS - THE ENLIGHTENED ONE. AND THE BUDDHIUSTS CLAIM THATTHERE WERE MANY BUDDHAS WHO CAME BEFORE THE BUDDHA WE ARE TALKING OF. ALSO THERE WILL BE OTHER BUDDHAS AFTER THE BUDDHA. HISTORY HAS ITS LIMITATIONS . .BE THAT AS IT MAY THERE IS NO SO CALLED HISTORICAL EVIDENCE OF ANY BUDDHA AS THE FORERUNNER OF THE BUDDHA. THE JAINS ALSO IN THE. SELFSAME WAY CLAIM THAT THERE WERE A NUMBER OF TIRTHANKARS WHO APPEARED BEFORE MAHAVIR MAHAVIR IS THE ACKNOWLEDGED PROPOUNDER OF JAINA RELIGION BUT ONE OF HIS PREDECESSORS PARSVANATH WAS A HISTORICAL PERSONAGE.