BUDDHIST BIRTH STORIES;
OR,
JĀTAKA TALES.
THE OLDEST COLLECTION OF FOLK-LORE EXTANT:
BEING
THE JĀTAKATTHAVAṆṆANĀ,
For the first time Edited in the Original Pāli
BY V. FAUSBÖLL,
AND TRANSLATED
BY T. W. RHYS DAVIDS.
TRANSLATION.
VOLUME I.
LONDON: TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL. 1880. [_All rights reserved._]
HERTFORD: PRINTED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN AND SONS.
TO
GEHEIM-RATH PROFESSOR DOCTOR
STENZLER
MY FIRST GUIDE IN ORIENTAL STUDIES
IN CONGRATULATION ON HIS ‘DOCTOR JUBILÄUM’
AND IN DEEP RESPECT FOR HIS PROFOUND SCHOLARSHIP
THIS WORK IS DEDICATED BY
HIS GRATEFUL PUPIL
THE AUTHOR.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
TRANSLATOR’S INTRODUCTION. PAGE
PART I.
The Book of Birth Stories, and their Migration to the West.
Orthodox Buddhist belief concerning it. Two reasons for the value attached to it i-iv
Selected Stories.--1. The Ass in the Lion’s Skin v
2. The Talkative Tortoise viii
3. The Jackal and the Crow xii
4. The Wise Judge xiv
5. Sakka’s Presents xvi
6. A Lesson for Kings xxii
The Kalilag and Damnag Literature xxix
Origin of ‘Æsop’s’ Fables xxxii
The Barlaam and Josaphat Literature xxxvi
Other Migrations of the Buddhist Tales xli
Greek and Buddhist Fables xliii
Solomon’s Judgment xliv
Summary of Part I. xlviii