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BOOK REVIEWS
PaFFasa-Jitaka or Zimme Palnasa (in the Burmese Recension) Vol. II (Jataka,f
26-50)
Edited by Padmanabh S. Jaini. Published by the Pali Text Society, London
1983 pp. xliii 309 - 584 (Pali Text Society Text Series No. 173).
A collection of birth-stories of the Buddha, th ltaka, is included in the
Klu
ddaka-Nikaya of the Pali Canon. V Fausboll's edition of the Jataka together
with its commentary, entitled the Jatakatthm'allanli, was published by the Pali
Text Society, London, in six volumes with an index volume forming the seventh,
between the years 1877 and 1897. This was reprinted in 1962-1964. Fausboll's
edition of the Jataka contains 547 stories, though the number generally given
is 550 in referring to the Jataka collection.
Besides this 'canonical' collection of the Jatakas, there are a large number
of birth-stories of the Buddha, which have not been included in the Canon.
Leon Feer used the term 'extra- canonical' to refer to these, in the article he
contributed to the Journal Asiatique in 1875 under the title Eludes Bouddhiquej:
LeJ JalOkas, an English translation of which, made by G. M. Foulkes, has been
published by Susil Gupta (India) Private Ltd., in Calcutta in 1963. In his article,
Feer gave information about isolated 'extra canonical' jatakas, and one 'extra
canonical' collection, fragments of which written in Cambodian characters, were
found at the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris, among Pali manuscripts from Siam
(Thailand). Feer identified the title of this collection as PaFFimJitaka, the
Fifty Jatakas.'
It is an edition of the Burmese recenSIOn of the Patiisa-Jilaka which
is the subject of our concern here. Jatakas 1-25 of this recension, edited
by Padmanabh S. Jaini, Professor of Buddhist Studies, University of California,
Berkeley, was published by the Pali Text Society, London in 1981 as No. 172
of its Text Series (PJ. I hereafter). The preliminary remarks he made in this
volume and the bibliography and the introduction in Vol. II under review here
PJ. II hereafter) give much information ahout previous studies relevant to the
o-
pafFisa-Jalaka, which information can profitably be recapitulated here.
Louis Finot gave a concordance of three recensions of the stories I the
PaiFasa-J ataka in his article, ';Recherches slir fa litteralure laotimne"
published in Paris in 1917, in Vol. XVII of the Bulletin de L'ecole Franraise d'
Extreme-Orient (BEFEO). One of these recensions is in Laotian, and the other
two, the Cambodian-Thai and the Burmese, are in Pali. Jaini informs us that
of three Pali versions of the PaFiiasa-Jataka originating in Cambodia, Thailand and
Burma, the Cambodian and Thai collections seem to draw upon a common
source, as the texts of both are almost identical (PJ. I p.v.) The PaFF4sG-Jitaka
was not known to Buddhist tradition outside the countries of Southeast Asia.
189
BOOK REVIEW
~
+,
For information about the Laotian version of the Pannasa-Jataka, Jaini
refers
us to H. Deydier's publication of 1952 (PJ. II. p. xl) which, h
o
wever, is not
1 isted in the bibliography. The reference here is possibly t: Deydier's Introduc
tion
d la conna;ssance du Laos, which Jaini mentions elsewhere as giving a brief descrip_
tion
of the Laotian version of the PannasaJi1aka (Bulletin of the School o
f
Oriental and African Studis (BSOAS) Vol. XXIX, 3,1966 P 534 note 8)_ Venera
ble
H:'11alave Saddha[issa gives i'1formation about the Laotian version of some of
the
stories of the Pannisa-Jalak4 in his contribution on Pali Uterature
from Lao$ to
the
Memorial Volume publ ished in honor of Bhikkhu Jagdish Kdshyap (Studies
il
Pali fnd Buddhism ed A. K. Narain, Delhi, B. R. Publishing Corporation 197
9
pp 327 -40)_
The Pali text of the first twenty-five stories of the Cambodian-Thai recen
sion of the Pafnasa Jatuka was published by the Iitut Bouddhique (Phnom Penh)
in f ive volumes, during the years 1953 -1962. Prince Damrong made an abridged
Siamese translation of this recension and published it with the original
Pali
verses in Bangkok in 1926. This translation was published again in 1956, in two
. vo lumes, under the title Pannya- Chudok (Pafiisa J ifaka), by the Fine Arts
Department of the National Library, Bangkok (BSOAS XXIX p 535 note 11). This
second edition contains 61 storis instead of the traditional 50 found in the
Cambodian version. laini reports that D. M. Fickle's doctoral dissertation of 1979
An Historical and Structural Study of the Paifasa J.taka (Microfilms International
Ann Arbor, Michigan, publication No_ 79-8731) contains long summaries of the
Thai stories based on Prince Damrong's translation PJ_ II. p. xl).
The Burmese recension of the Pannasa-Jafaka, popularly known as <,mme
PafJ(sa (Chieng Mai Fifty) was edited anonymously and published by the
Hanthawaddy Press, Rangoon, in 1911. This edition had no introduction, critical
apparatus or variant readings. It has long been out of print and only a few
copies are said to be fOllnd today even in Burma (BSOAS XXIX p. 534 note
10; PJ. I p.v).
In this (
J
ontext, laini's edition of the Panncs,.l-Jitaka is most weIcc.ne al
the first critical study of the work. Only a few stories of the collection had
received the attention of scholars earlier. One of these is the tmuddaghosa
jiitaka, a critical edition and a translation of which, along with an introduction
dealing with the manuscript material of the collections and the peculiarities of
thei language, was published by Mme. G Terral in Paris in BEFEO XLVIII, I
1956 pp 249-351, under the title, Samuddaghosajdtaka: c
o
nte Pall tire du Pannaa
jataka (BSOAS XXIX p. 534 note 8). A translation and an analysis of the
Velimajitaka of the collection appeared in 1959 under the name of Terral
Martini G. (BEFEO XLIX pp 609-16). The Sudhanukumarajitaka of the collection
was studied by laini in relation to the Kinnarijataka of rhe Mahrl'astu, the
Sudhanakumar4vadana of the Divyivad.:ina and some Burmese and Thai theatrical
plays based on the story in his article 'The Story of Sudhana and Manoh
ar
a:
an analysis of the texts and the Borobudur reliefs (BSOAS XXIX 3 1966 pp
533-558). Jaini evaluated the historical importance of another story of tb(
RATNA HANDURUKANDE
190
Pa
inasa-J dtaka, viz. the Va{tungulirajajataka in the article, 'On the Buddha Image'
which he contributed to the JagdiJh Kashyap Mfmorial Volume (ed. A. K. Narain
Delhi 1979 pp. 183-188). This Jataka contains a reference to the first image of
the
Buddha and provides literary evidence lending authenticity for the first time
to
the oral traditions of the Chinese travellers Fa-Hsien and Hiuen-Tsang
per
taining to the existence of a sandal-wood image of the Buddha carved during
the
Buddha's lifetime. Jaini gives the relevant excerpts from the jMaka in his
article.
Jaini says that he first became interested in the problem of the Paiiasa
Ja
taka on reading Terral's study of the Samuddaghosajdtaka. Noting that the
Burmese portion of the article was based solely upon the Rangoon edition of
1911, Jaini looked for manuscripts of the PaFiisa-Jilaka in libraries in Rangoon,
Mandalay and Pagan, during a visit to Burma in 1961. Meeting with little
success, he learnt from an elderly M ahjthera, the chief abbot of Pagan, that the
work was considered apocryphal and disapproved of by King Myndon of Mandalay
(1853-1878), resulting in only a very few manuscripts of the work being found
in
the monasteries of Burma. The abbot's information was based on an oral
tradition current in his young days. Prince Damrong also refers to this tradition
in
his preface to the first edition of the Pannisa-Jdtaka published in 1926. In
1962, Jaini was able to obtain a photocopy of a manuscript dated S akaraj 1169,
i.e. 1807 A. D., found in a monastery in Mandalay. This manuscript
which was not the basis for the Rangoon edition, provided Jaini with material
for t critical edition of the Burmese recension of the PaFnisa Jataka. Using
the Rangoon edition as the main text, Jaini gives variant readings from the
unpublished Mandalay manuscript in the notes to his carefully edited text of
the PaFFasa-Jataka (BSOAS XXIX pp. 534-5; PJ. I pp. v, vi) .
Volume I of Jaini's edition of the PaiFisa-Jitaka contains the Pali text of
the following 25 stories, on pages 3-308: Adittarajajitaka; Tulakapa'rilajataka;
Samma
j
illakumirajitaka; Arindama jataka; Sumbhamitta jataka; Samuddaghosajataka;
Danacaga (Cagada'a) fafaka: Dhamrikafa19itarajajataka: Siridharamahare!!hiataka;
Sa
ikhapattarajajaaka; SudhanukuYarajataka; Narajiva
j
(taka; Dasapaihaviso.Uanajataka;
Suruparajajafaka; Kambalarajajataka; Gopalakasulajttaka; Siricudara1irajajataka;
A tthaparikkharajitaka; Sirivipulakittirajljafaka; Sattadhanujita'a; Candakurarajitaka;
Sdhjtl"ajajataka: RatanapajjotajCtaka; DvesisahatSajataka and the Viriyapitajitaka
The pagination of Volume 1 is continued in Volume II, which contains the
next 25 stories on pages 309-568. The titles of the stories in this volume are:
Vipularajajataka: M ahapadurajataka; M ahasurasenarajajataka; Brahragh!sarijajalala;
Setamusikajitaka: Arivachattajataka; Subhaddarijajitaka: Bahalaputtajitaka; Badhira
jitaka; Pradipadanajitaka; Vel amajataka; Vo!!aigu!irajajitaka; Sirasakumara/ataka;
S01anandarajajitaka; Suva,akumarajitaka; Brahrakumarajitaka; Sucikatapasajitaka;
Akkharafikhitajataka; Varrhanajatak
a; Akatanrhjitaka; Dukammaraja jataka; Vivada
jataka; Siddhisiracakkavartijitaka; Si/ajalaka and Mahasudassanajataka.
The introduction which precedes the text in P J. II seeks to trace the origin
of the stories in the PaFnasa-jataka which remained unknown to the Buddhists
191
nOOK REVIEW
of India and Sri Lanka over a long period of time. Jaini observes that the
narrators
o
f the stories h'd inexh'ustible sources to draw from, viz. the Avadana
literature in Sanskrit ani the A!!h1kathtiS in Pali. However, he says that
there
is no doubt that the Mahinipita section (Jitaka Nos 538-547) of the canon
ica
l
Jita'a, which obviously served as the mojel for the form adopted by the auth
ors
of the collection, was the primary source. Stressing the need to identify these
sources, none of which are acknowledged by the authors of the stories, in order
to establish the historical rehtionship of the collection to the extant Budd
hist
literature, Iaini gives a critical analysis of each of the stories in the Pannisa
jitaka. In this analysis, he points out textual similarities between the stories
in the collection itself, traces the connection of the stories with the Pali texts
and their A !!hakathis, and also non - Pali literature; attempts to identify any
motifs in the stories which, not usually found in the extant literature, would
appear to be the innovations of Southeast Asian Buddhists; and draws attention
to places and instances where artistic representations of the stories are found.
laini warns the readers against taking the elements of plot he gives in his
analysis of the stories as anything approaching total plot summaries adding
the good news that a complete summary of each story prepared by him is being
published under the title, Synopses of the Jitakas of the Zimmi Paflisa by the
Center for South and Southeast Asia StUdies, University of California, B.rkeley.
He gives the further information that the late Miss. 1. B Horner worked at
the translation of this text until the last days of her life. It is to be hoped
that the Pali Text Society will take the initiative in having this translation
published, and completed if Miss. Horner had not translated all the stories.
The analysis of the stories in the introduction is followed by a discussion
of the place, date, and authorship of the work and the linguistic peculiarities
of its language. The traditional claim that the Paiifsa-J itaka originated in
Chieng Mai in what is now northern Thailand is indicated by the title of tb
Burmese recension, Zimme Patiisu. However, as many as twenty stories that are
exclusive to the Zimme Pa'1isa as indicated by the concordance of ltakas
given by Finot, may have, in laini's opinion, ben added in Burma to the
original stock. Commenting on the absence in these st
o
ries of any allusion to
events of historical importance of this area, such as wars, or the arrival Of
learned monks from Sri Lanka, laini points out that there is only one stray
reference to Sillaladipa in the Suvafiakumarajdtaka. The lower limit of the date
of the compilation of the Burmese version of th Pannasa-Jdtaka is set in the
twelfh century A D. while the upper limit is given as 1589 A. D., a date
provided by the oldest manuscript which is in Laotian characters.
The introduction..s informative and well--written except for a few odd turns.
of phrase such as: Sakka . . . _ . . . . . departs bad to heaven (p.xx); The story part in .
our text takes place ... (p.xxii); the story is almost word for word identical
with
the Nidlnakathi (p.xxii); The usurper king Pl1ts out a bounty for anyone (p.xxiii);
This AncanavatT has imprisoned there many princesses (p.xxv); Day and night hI
would spend praising the three jewel s (p.xxx). I noted the following printing
RATNA HANDURUKANDE
192
errors in the introduction: cemetary for cemetery (p.xiv); Sakkha for Sakka
(
pp xx,xxii), Samenera for samaera (p.xxiv); Ummadayantisala for Ummadayanti
saHi (p. xxv); yakkhanT for yakkhinT (p. xxv); Ananada for Ananda (p xxix). P xl.
of the introduction gives the date of a publication of the lnstitut Bouddique
(Phnom Penh) as 1953-61 while its date given in the bibliography is 1953-1962.
I am unable to check this. G. Terral's publication of 1956 listed in the
bibliography has to be corrected to read as appearing in BEFEO XLVIII, I
(compare Pl. I p. v and BSOAS XXIX p. 534 note 8) and not XLI, J.
The
following indexes are given at the end of Vol.
II of Jaini's edition
of the PaiFasa-litaka. A. Index of Names (I noted here that the page we are
referred to under the entry Aijanavati contain in fact the reading Aicanavati.
Aijanavati occurs in a note on p 250, which page is not listed in the index.
268 is a misprint for 248 in the list of pages under Arjanavati); B Index of
Words, Forms and Spellings peculiar to Paiiasa lataka; C Index of Minor
Additions; D. Index of Emendations; and E. Index of Variant Readings in the
Rangoon Edition and the Mandalay Manuscript. These indexes will be of value,
as is hoped by the editor, in studies pertaining to the PafiaJa-Jitaka and
linguistic studies of the Burmese usage of Pali.
In the course of his discussions relating to the Paiiasa-Ji
taka, Professor
1aini has repeatedly drawn attention to the need for
a comparative study of
all the known recensions of the tex
t, and a separate study of its language.
He has also pointed out its value which extends far beyond the sphere of
philology, p
articularly with reference to the Sanskrit Avadina literature and to
various
aspects of popular Southeast Asian Buddhism. One must hope that he
who has taken suh pains in studying the text and is conversant with the
problem, will himself undertake these further studies and bring to its culmina
tion the rich contribution he has already made to the study
of Buddhist narrative
literature, m presenting a two-volume edition of the Burmese recension oi' the
Pa1nasa-Jitaka.
Ratna Handurukande