Sacred books of the Buddhists, vol. 1

The Gâtakamâlâ; Or, Garland of Birth-Stories

The 'Garland of Birth-stories' belongs to the Canon of the Northern Buddhists. For the discovery of this work we are indebted to Mr. Brian H. Hodgson, who as early as 1828 mentioned it among the interesting specimens of Bauddha scriptures communicated to him by his old Patan monk, and also procured copies of it. One of these was deposited in the library of the college of Fort William, now belonging to the Bengal Asiatic Society, and was described, in 1882, by Rgendralla Mitra. Another was forwarded to the Paris library. Burnouf, who thoroughly studied other works belonging to the Stra and Avadna classes, which form part of the Hodgson MSS. in Paris, seems to have had a merely superficial acquaintance with the Gtakaml, if we may judge from the terms with which he deals with it in his 'Introduction l'histoire du Bouddhisme indien.' p. 54 of the second edition: 'Je dis les livres, quoiqu'il n'en existe qu'un seul dans la liste npalaise et dans la collection de M. Hodgson, qui porte et qui mrite le titre de Djtaka (naissance); c'est le volume intitul Djtakaml ou la Guirlande des naissances, qui passe pour[7] un rcit des diverses actions mritoires de kya antrieurement l'poque o il devint Buddha.' In fact, he has never given a summary, still less a detailed account of its contents. It was not until 1875 that M. Fer gave such an account in the Journal Asiatique, VIIe Sr., t. 5, p. 413. Moreover, Burnouf's statement is not quite correct with respect to the Nepal list. Not one, but three Gtaka works are named there[8], the Gtakvadna (No. 32), the Gtakaml (No. 33), and the Mahgtakaml (No. 34). Of these only one, indeed, is extant, viz. No. 33, our 'Garland of Birth-stories.' No. 34 may be the work, containing 550 or 565 Gtakas, spoken of by the Bauddha monk who imparted so much valuable[xxii] information to Hodgson[9], or, perhaps, the original of the Tibetan collection of 101 tales, including also our Gtakaml, to which two Russian scholars, Serge d'Oldenburg and Ivanovski, have of late drawn the attention of the public[10]. As to No. 32, its title, Gtakvadna, allows the supposition that it is either a collection of Gtakas and avadnas, or that it contains 'great religious exploits' (avadna) performed by the Bodhisattva, who afterwards became Buddha, the Lord. Nothing is more common than the use of both terms in a nearly synonymous manner. Our Gtakaml bears also the appellation of Bodhisattvvadnaml[11]. In translating Gtaka by 'birth-story,' I comply with the general use and official interpretation of that term by the Buddhist Church. The original meaning must have been simply 'tale, story,' as Prof. Kern has demonstrated in his 'History of Buddhism in India[12].' Additional evidence of this statement may be drawn from the fact, that in several of the old and traditional headings of these stories the former part of the compound denotes not the Bodhisattva, but some other person of the tale, as Vyghrgtaka, 'the Story of the Tigress,' or a thing, as Kumbhagtaka, 'the Story of the Jar;' Bisagtaka, 'the Story of the Lotus-stalks,' which are respectively Nos. I, XVII, and XIX of this collection; or an action, as Slavmamsa(ka)gtaka, the common heading of Nos. 86, 290, 305, and 330 in Fausbll's Pli Gtaka, Nakkagtaka, ibid., No. 32, or a quality, as Slnisamsagtaka, ibid., No. 190. Some time after M. Fer's compte-rendu of the Paris MS. was published two new MSS. of the Gtakaml came to Europe. They belong to the valuable set of Sanskrit Buddhist works which Dr. Wright acquired for the Cambridge University Library, and are described by Prof. Cecil Bendall in his excellent Catalogue (1883). Prof. Kern was the first to appreciate the great literary merits of the Gtakaml, and soon planned an edition, availing himself of the two Cambridge MSS. (Add. 1328 and 1415) and the Paris one[13]. This editio princeps was published at the end of 1891 as the first volume of the Harvard Oriental Series of Prof. Lanman. It has every right to bear the name of 'princeps,' not only because rya Sra's work has never been edited before, but on account of[xxiii] the critical acumen and the untiring care of the editor, whose exertions have almost purged the text from the clerical errors and blunders which greatly encumber the Nepal manuscripts[14]. Thus, thanks to Prof. Kern, this masterpiece of Sanskrit Buddhist literature is now accessible to Sanskritists in an excellent edition. I have undertaken to translate it, as I consider it a most valuable document for the knowledge of Buddhism. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 46984
Author: Aryasura
Release Date: Sep 28, 2014
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Editor: Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max), 1823-1900

Translator: Speyer, J. S. (Jacob Samuel), 1849-1913