Jatakas in stone: The boy and the monkey

Siddharth Tiwari

Jatakas in stone: The boy and the monkey

We’ve all heard of Jataka tales, the tales of virtue and morality of the previous life of Buddha before he was born as Prince Siddhartha. Buddha appears in various roles in these tales, as a king, a monkey, an elephant or a prince. While these tales are a piece of literature, they also make for a beautiful subject for stone reliefs. And the Buddhist stupa at Sanchi is filled with these reliefs.

The beautifully carved gateways of Sanchi stupa are rich with stories; Image source: Flickr

More often than not, when we visit a place like the Sanchi Stupa, we lack the tool to understand the stories they are telling. And these ancient marvels of architecture and art are amazing storytellers. Especially the beautifully carved pillars and architraves (an architrave is an arch around the door at the top) of Gateways of Sanchi stupa. They are filled with narrative panels that tell stories of Buddha’s life and miracles, the stories of jatakas and the stories of buddha’s devotees.

And in the upcoming days, I am going to familiarize you with all these stories and their symbols, so that the next time you visit Sanchi, you might find yourself appreciating its stories.

Let’s begin with the story of Syama Jataka. This Jataka is depicted on the western gateway. At the top panel of the inner face of the left pillar. The story of Syama Jataka follows Syama (Buddha in his previous life), a pious son of a blind hermit and his wife. Syama is a dedicated son and his blind parents entirely depend on him for support.

One day he goes to fill water in the river, while his parents are at home. The king of Benaras, who is out hunting, mistakes Syama for an animal and shoots him. However, when the king realizes his mistake he immediately begins to regret his decision. Feeling sorry for the king and the blind parents of Syama, Lord Indra brings him back to life and restores his parent’s eyesight.

You might find this story similar to the story of Shravan Kumar, the obedient son who carries his blind parents on his shoulders and was shot dead by King Dasharatha by mistake. Both of these stories are stories of filial piety.

However while in Syama Jataka, Syama comes back to life, in Shravan Kumar’s story, Dashrath’s mistake led to the blind parents cursing him to be separated from his child just like they were. Setting up the events that would lead to Lord Ram’s exile in the epic Ramayana. Despite this difference, it is possible that the Syama Jataka was inspired by the story of Shravan Kumar.

The stories of Jataka are always aimed at explaining moral concepts and inspiring people to act in a noble and just manner. Stories are the best way to reach a mass audience and by depicting them in stone, the makers of Sanchi stupa had immortalized these stories, ever-present for the devotees visiting the Sanchi stupa.

In the upcoming days, we will explore more of these stories, their depiction and symbolism and how these grand architectural marvels are some of the oldest storytellers of India.

The second story is the story of Mahakapi Jataka. It is also depicted in the western gateway. At the top panel of the front face of the right pillar. In the Mahakapi Jataka, Buddha was born as a monkey king who ruled over 80,000 monkeys and lived near Ganga, eating fruits of a mango tree. However, Brahmadatta, the king of Benaras, was greedy and wanted to possess all the mangoes. Thus, he surrounded the tree with soldiers and ordered them to kill all the animals. However, the monkey-king stretched his body to form a bridge across the stream of Ganga so that his tribe can escape to safety.

However, among the monkeys were also the previous incarnation of Devdutt, the wicked cousin of Buddha who was jealous of him. Seeing an opportunity to get rid of his enemy, he jumped on the back of the monkey king and broke his heart.

Meanwhile, the King of Benaras is moved by the monkey king’s selfless dedication towards his tribe and he tends to his wound. The monkey king gives King of Benaras advice on how to become a noble ruler, before passing away from his wounds. The king of Benares honours him with a royal funeral.