Question

The Jatakas were stories preserved by _____________

Answer 1

Hint: They were composed by laymen but were preserved by some other group of people. The Buddha would take various forms, ranging from a rabbit to a homeless man.

Complete answer: - Buddhist monks who mostly wrote about the Buddha’s previous births in human and animal form. It contained mentions of Bodhisattvas (In Mahayana tradition, people who in place of attaining nirvana empathize with others’ suffering). This work is also treated as a biography of Gautama Buddha.
- Even in human form, he takes on various social positions, from a king to that of an outcast, and varying economic capabilities.
- It is not limited to prose but takes form in dance, formal recitation and drama. It takes the form of sculpture and carvings (eg. Ajanta caves). In countries like Thailand and Indonesia, they are also mentioned in the celebration of festivals.
- It has been treated as canonical in places like Andhra Pradesh, due to which they have rejected the Theravada version, which dates from before the reign of Ashoka.
- They were extremely popular, and like the faith of Buddhism had travelled internationally. It had been translated to Chinese as early as 434 BCE.
- What is interesting to note about this piece of work is that there exist physical remains of some stories; stupas have been built in places that have been mentioned. They also vary in length, some are short while others can be called essays or novellas.

Note: They were written in Sanskrit and Pali and continue to be popular fables (35 didactic tales) till this day. However, many say the number goes up to 500. Each moral dispensed here is shown in the Budha’s incarnation’s actions.