Part 3 - Meaning of the term of Jātaka

The word Jātaka is derived from the root verb √jan with the first suffix “kta” and the second suffix ‘ka’s.

The verb √jan means—

1) To be produced
2) To false, spring up, grow
3) To be come, happen, take place, occur.

The word “jata” means—

1) brought into existence
2) caused, occasioned
3) felt affected

Jātaḥ means—

1) A son, male offspring

Jātaṃ means—

1) A creature, living being
2) Production, origin
3) Kind, short, class, species
4) A collection of things forming a class
5) A child, a young man.

Since the suffix “kta” might be used in the locative. “Jāta” might also mean the road along which creatures are born in close approximation to Yatani which means the road along which one goes.

The suffix “ka” added to the word “Jāta” might mean “Jata eva”. Jata eva emphasizes on the meaning of the word Jāta only. Or else might be added to a substantive to mean the letter’s smallness

The work Jātaka means—

1) Born or produce
2) A mendicant.

On the other hand the work Jātaka means—

1) Ceremony performed after the birth of a child.
2) Astrological calculation of a nativity
3) An aggregate of similar things.

Thus we may construe the following levels of meaning of the word Jātaka:

1) It speaks of a birth or of one who is born, having particular significance.
2) It speaks of a locus of a being along a sequence of birth.
3) It speaks of the past and future of a being that is born.
4) It is a ritual celebrating birth.
5) It is a kind of narration that celebrates a birth and its past, present and future as a ritual.

According to Saddanīti^[1], one of the later texts of Pāli Grammar, the Jātaka would mean any incident connected with any life or birth the usual meaning derive from the verbal √Jan. Thus from the various interpretation of the term Jātaka it may be summarized that a Jātaka is a something associated with ‘birth-story’ . Here is now a pertinent question as to which birth Jātaka is primarily related.

There is a common and firm belief among the Buddhist that to achieve “Bodhi” (knowledge) one is to pass through a chain of existences and in each existence by performing noble deeds one attains perfection. Gotama, the Buddha also has to take numerous births. In each of this existence or birth he is called a Bodhisatta (Skt. Bodhisattva). The Jātaka tales are such numerous “Bodhisattva stories” which are different, colourful, inspiring and exemplifying events of the earthy existence of the Gotama Buddha till his last existence as Siddhārtha, the prince of the Sākya.

In short—

1) Jātaka are tales of the former births of the Buddha;
2) The reciters of these tales is Buddha Him-self;
3) All these stories contain a moral, a warning, or an example;
4) Each of the Bodhisattva plays the best and prominent part.

According to Buddhist dogmatic Gotama was a Bodhisattva, so long as he was not a Buddha. Bodhisattva is one who like Siddhārtha before his Enlightenment out of deep compassion aspires and strives after perfect Enlightenment in order to sever all living beings from suffering. On the way to this goal of becoming a Buddha for the sake of others such a person cultivates all the virtues technically called ‗Dasa Pāramītā” through innumerable lives of selfless action.

As tradition has it, one day Siddhārtha Gotama when twenty eight years old, sat beneath a large Pipul tree on the bank of the river Nerañjarā in the outskirts of the town of Gayā and vowed that though his bones wasted away, he would not budge from his seat until the riddle of suffering was solved. So for forty-nine days he sat beneath the tree. Māra, the evil spirit of the world and sensual pleasures, the Buddhist devil played trick upon Gotama. But it was of little avail. During these forty-nine days, Siddhārtha Gotama realised the truth. He had found the secret of sorrow, and understood why the world is full of suffering and what man must to do get rid of that. Now he was filly Enlightened One–Buddha.

It is told that Buddha attained three kinds of knowledge in course of his Enlightenment. The first of these is the Buddha’s recollection of his own previous existence Pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇa^[2]. He remembered many former existences, such as one birth, two births, three, four, five, ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, a hundred, a thousand, a hundred thousand births. He could remember, there he had been of such name, colour, livelihood, such pleasure and pains that he had suffered and such was the end of his life. Everything about that too he could remember in minutest details. Passing away thence he had been elsewhere. Everything about that also he could remember in the minute details. Thus could Gotama Buddha remember all his former births. He was a Bodhisattva in all those births and remained one even as Gotama till the day of his Enlightenment under the tree of knowledge.

The Second knowledge, achieved in course of Enlightenment consists of vision of how the whole gamut of beings comes to be and pass away–“Sattānaṃ cutupapātañāṇa”^[3]. All the many denizens of the universe were apparent to him in their various conditions of weal and woe, beauty and ugliness, depending on the karmic value of the deeds. Thus there was an integrated understanding of all experiences of the existence.

The third knowledge achieved by Gotama Buddha was the knowledge that he was free of Āsavas or Cankers–Āsavānaṃkhayañāṇa. Thus free from ignorance, free from the birth and death cycle, and free from sense-pleasure, Buddha as tradition holds, narrated the Jātaka. The Jātaka tales under review, are the stories of the Bodhisattvas become the Buddha of Kapilāvatthu, the Gotama.

Footnotes and references:

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[1]:

Written by Burmese scholar Aggavaṃsa or Agga Paṇḍita in 1154 C.E.

[2]:

Pubbenivāsānussatiñāṇa (Skt. Purvanivāsanusmṛti) i.e. remembrance of former existence. It is one of the six supernormal powers or knowledge (Chalabhiññā) attainable through the utmost perfection in the mental concentration (Samādhi), and through penetrating in sight (vipassanā), other being magical or miraculous power (iddhividhā), divine ear (dibbasota), penetration of the mind of others (ceto-pariyañāṇa), divine eye (dibbacakkhu) and extinction of all cankers (āsavānaṃkkhaya). He remembers, always together with the marks and peculiarities of many a former existence. (Ibid 308). DBDT, p.331.

[3]:

Sattānaṃ cutuppapāta-ñāṇa–The knowledge of disappearance and reappearing (of being) is identical with the Divine eye. The Pure one, he sees beings vanishing and reappearing, low and noble one, beautiful and ugly ones, sees how beings are reappearing according their deeds. Buddhist Dictionary: Manual of Buddhist Terms and Doctrines (Maha Thera Nyanatiloka), p.39; In late commentarial literature Jātissarañāṇa, the knowledge of the decease (cuti) and rebirth (uppāta) of beings, the fifth of the six forms of higher knowledge (abhiññā) and the three fold saving knowledge (tisso vijjā). When one’s mind is made subtle and pliant by attaining to the forth Jhāṇa, one directs one’s mind towards the attainment of this knowledge. Encyclopaedia of Buddhism, Jotitya Dhirasekera & H.G. Weeranratu, Vol. IV, p.274.