Amaravati Art in the Context of Andhra Archaeology
by Sreyashi Ray chowdhuri | 2018 | 90,477 words
This page relates ‘Shilvanaga Jataka’ of the study on Amaravati Art in the Context of Andhra Archaeology, including museum exhibitions of the major archeological antiquities. These pages show how the Buddhist establishment of Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh) survived from 4th century BCE to 14th century CE. It includes references and translations of episodes of Buddha’s life drawn from the Avadanas and Jatakas which are illustrated in Amaravati art.
Śilvanāga Jātaka
[Full title: Jātakas and Avadānas in the Amarāvatī Art: Śilvanāga Jātaka]
Story:-
When Brahmadatta was the king of Banaras, Bodhisattva was born as an elephant living with a herd of 80,000 elephants in the Himalayas. The elephant sensing some sin in the herd lived aloof.
Once a forester came to the forest in search of implements of his craft. He lost his way and began lamenting. Hearing the cry Bodhisattva took him to his dwelling place. After few days the elephant showed the forester the road to Banaras and told him not to disclose the location of the Bodhisattva’s abode to anyone.
After arriving at Banaras he met some ivory workers. He learnt from one of them that living elephant’s tusk is of great worth in comparison to a dead one. Hearing this he undertook a journey to the dwelling of the royal elephant and requested for a bit of elephant’s tusk to sell for his livelihood. Bodhisattva gave his pair of tusk to the forester. The forester sold them.
After spending the money he returned to the elephant saying that the money was realized to repay the old debts. He requested the elephant for the rest of the ivory. Bodhisattva agreed to it. The forester sold them and again returned to the elephant requesting for the stumps of his tusks. Again the Bodhisattva agreed to give the stumps. The forester trampled the trunk and sawed the roots of the stumps. Then the mother earth swallowed the forester[1].
Depiction:-
The panel at Amarāvatī which depicts the Losaka jātaka also contains the depiction of the Śilvanāga jātaka. The three important stages namely the forester sitting in front of the elephant with the tusk, forester sitting on the elephant with the saw in order to saw the tusks and the portrayal of the tree spirit are visible[2]. This sculpture is in the Madras Government Museum. Though Sivaramamurti identified the piece as Ghosaka jātaka, B.N Mishra later identified it as Śilvanāga[3].
This jātaka is also chiseled in Nāgārjunakoṇḍa.
Footnotes and references:
[1]:
Cowell E.B, Op.cit, Vol I-II, No. 72 pp 174-177
[2]:
Sivaramamurti C, Op.cit, pp 219-220, pl XLVI, fig 2
[3]:
Subrahmanyam B, Op.cit, p 66, pl 16