The grateful elephant : $b And other stories translated from the PāliBurlingame, Eugene Watson
Religion
The grateful elephant : $b And other stories translated from the Pāli
Burlingame, Eugene Watson
Buddhist legends
The illustration to Story 7, _Antelope, woodpecker, tortoise, and
hunter_, is taken from Cunningham, Plate xxvii. 9. As the hunter
approaches, the tortoise releases the antelope from the trap, and the
antelope springs to a place of safety. In drawing the trap, the artist
has followed the sculptured model, rather than the description in the
text. The tree in the background is the Sirīsa-tree, _Acacia Sirisa_,
more properly, _Albizzia Lebbek_, the Bo-tree of the Buddha Kakusandha.
See Cunningham, Plate xxix. 3.
The illustration to Story 9, _A Buddhist Tar-baby_, represents the
Future Buddha in the person of Prince Five-weapons casting a spear at
the giant ogre Sticky-hair. The drawing of the ogre follows closely
the description given in the text. The tree in the background is the
Fan-palm, represented in Cunningham, Plate xxx. 4. The trees to the
right and left are specimens of the Banyan-tree, the Nyagrodha, _Ficus
Indica_, the Bo-tree of the Buddha Kassapa. Note the down-growing
roots. See Cunningham, Plates xv. 3, xxvi. 6, xxx. 1 and 2.
The illustration to Story 11, _The anger-eating ogre_, represents
the ogre seated on the Yellowstone throne of Sakka (Indra), king of
the gods, in the heaven of the Thirty-three gods, thereby arousing
the indignation and anger of the gods, of whom two are shown in the
drawing. The tree in the background is probably the Sāl-tree. See note
on illustration to Story 3.
The illustration to Story 14, _King and boar_, represents the boar
flying through the air by the magical power of the gem which he has
just bitten. The power of flying through the air is mentioned in the
oldest texts as one of the several varieties of magical power which may
be acquired by the Practice of Meditation.
The illustration to Story 15, _A Buddhist Henny-Penny_, shows the
Future Buddha, in the form of a lion, setting out with the little hare
on his back to discover the cause of the flight of the animals. The
artist has introduced representatives of the various animals mentioned
in the story, and a few monkeys for good measure. Trees.--Left:
Magnolia. See Cunningham, Plate xxv. 1 (above archer). Centre:
Jack-tree. See Cunningham, Plate xiv. 1 (extreme left), xli. 4, xlii.
8, and xliii. 1. Top: Udumbara-tree, _Ficus Glomerata_, the Bo-tree of
the Buddha Kanakamuni. See Cunningham, Plate xxix. 4. Right middle:
Sirīsa-tree, _Acacia Sirisa_, more properly, _Albizzia Lebbek_, the
Bo-tree of the Buddha Kakusandha. See Cunningham, Plate xiv. 3. In the
illustration to Story 7, the tree is represented in flower. Compare
Cunningham, Plate xxix. 3. Lower right: Rose-apple, Jambu-tree. See
Cunningham, Plate xliv. 8. India is frequently called the Land of the
Rose-apple.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account