Jatakamala

Buddha surrounded by images from the Jatakamala

Jatakamala (Skt. Jātaka­māla; Tib. སྐྱེས་རབས་འཕྲེང་བ་, kyerab trengwa, Wyl. skyes rabs 'phreng ba) — 'The Garland of Birth Stories' by the master Arya Shura describes 34 of Buddha Shakyamuni's previous lives.

1. The Tigress
2. Shibhi
3. The dumpling
4. The Merchant
5. Avishahya, the Merchant
6. The hare/rabbit
7. Agastya
8. Maitribala
9. Vishvamtara
10. The sacrifice
11. Shakra
12. The brahmin
13. Unmadayanti
14. Suparaga
15. The lord of the fish
16. The young quail
17. The jar full of spirits
18. The man without an heir
19. The lotus stalks
20. The royal treasurer
21. Kuddhabodhi
22. The king of geese
23. Bodhi, the wandering ascetic
24. The great ape
25. The ibex
26. The antelope
27. The king of monkeys
28. Kshantivadin
29. The inhabitant of highest heaven
30. The elephant
31. Sutosama
32. Ayogriha, the prince in the iron house
33. Buffalo
34. Woodpecker

It is said that Arya Shura planned to write 100 stories, ten to illustrate each of the ten paramitas. This project was later taken on by the 3rd Karmapa Rangjung Dorje, who wrote several works on the text, including an expansion to 100 tales.

Tibetan Translation

The Tibetan translation can be found in the Tengyur, in 'The Buddha's previous lives' section, Toh 4150.

Modern Translations

• Ārya Śūra, Once the Buddha Was a Monkey, translated by Peter Khoroche (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1989)
• Āryaśūra, The Marvelous Companion: Life Stories of the Buddha (Dharma Publishing, 1983)
• Āryaśūra, Garland of the Buddha’s Past Lives, Vol. 1 & Vol. 2, translated by Justin Meiland, (Clay Sanskrit Library, NYU Press, 2009)

External Links

• Verses on the Buddha's Previous Lives (A Summary of the Jatakamala) by Arya Shura