Lllustrated Classic From India
Amar Chitra Katha - Jataka Tales : Monkey Stories
Script: Meena Talim
Illustrator: Jeffrey Fowler
ISBN: 81-7508-050-7
Vol. No: 543
The Jataka on which this title is based is a collection of five hundred and
fifty stories, included in the Pali canon. They are tales in which the life of
the Bodhisattva in his previous births in narrated. The Bodhisattva is one, who
by performing virtuous, kind and intelligent acts aspires to become a
Buddha.Jataka tales are based on folklore, legends and ballads of ancient India.
We cannot assign a definite date to the Jataka stories. Taking into account
archaeological and literary evidence it appears that they were compiled in the
period, the 3rd Century B.C. to the 5th Century A.D. They give us invaluable
information about ancient Indian civilization, culture and philosophy. The
Jataka stories have been very popular in the Buddhist world. These stories have
been translated almost into almost all the languages of Buddhist countries such
as Chinese, Tibetan, Sinhalese, Siamese, Burmese, Japanese and also many modern
European languages. These stories have encouraged painting and sculpture in
ancient India and other Buddhist countries. Sanchi, Bharhut, Amravati and Ajanta
in India, Borobudur in Java, Pegan in Burma and Sukhodaya in Thailand bear
testimony to the popularity of these tales. This is a collection of Jataka
stories in which the Bodhisattva is born as a monkey. We hope, in the words of
Professor Rhys Davids that “we may still turn with appreciation to the ancient
book of the Buddhist Jataka tales as a priceless+G42 record of the childhood of
our race”.
