Reading Notes: Inayat: Twenty Jataka Tales, Part B

This is a summarization of the second half of the Inayat Jataka Tales as represented by Part B. Both parts focus on the previous lives of the Buddha retold through the lens of Noor Inayat. 

Buddha with One Hundred Jataka Tales. Web Source: Wikimedia Commons

The Two Pigs: 

A little old woman is passing by the end of the village road and she finds two little pigs. She notices the pigs are lonely, so she offers to take them in and care for them as her own. She raises them at her home near Benares and names them Mahatundila and  Cullatundila. One day a big feast is happening and the drunk men of the village run out meat. They ask the woman to give them her pigs to eat, but she refuses. The men make her drink until she is drunk and ask her for the pigs again. This time she offers to give Cullatundila for them to eat. Cullatundila sees the men with ropes and runs in fear to his brother. Mahatundila encouraged him to go answer their mothers call, and he spoke sweet words as he was moved by his brother's tears. Then suddenly the world became bright and the old woman and men holding ropes were no longer drunk; the whole city of Benares was moved with tears. The big brothers were brought to the palace where they were bathed in the sweetest perfume and dressed in silken garments. They dwelt in the palace with the King until death came upon him. The brothers left to dwell in the forest and the city mourned at their departure.

The Patient Buffalo:

A mischievous monkey sees a giant buffalo with mighty horns asleep underneath a tree. The monkey jumps on the buffalo's back, jumps on his head using his horns as a swing, tramples on the grass the buffalo wishes to graze on, and even uses a stick to knock the buffalo's ears. But the buffalo still did not mind the monkey nor did he grow angry. Then a fairy approached him and asked why he does not use his strength and might to crush the monkey. The buffalo responded with kindness and sympathy towards the monkey's lack of intelligence and size. The fairy happily drove the monkey away and used her wand to grant the buffalo a charm to never suffer again by any means.

The Sarabha:

The Sarabha is a deer that lives so deep in the forests, he is never seen. One day a king is hunting in the forest and goes so far as to catch a glimpse of the Sarabha deer. He chases after him hoping to capture him, leaving all of his troops and army behind. The deer leaped over the chasm, but the king did not notice it. His horse saw it stopping at the edge as the king flew off its back and into the chasm. The Sarabha noticed the chase came to a stop and worried about the fallen king, so he goes back to help. The king is surprised the Sarabha is offering him assistance, considering he views the deer as his enemy. But the love and kindness shown by the great deer warms the king's heart as he is carried out of the chasm on the deer's back. The king was so happy that he offered to give the deer anything he wished and to come back with him to his palace. The deer denies the king's offer and instead wishes for no one to hunt in the forest. So the king gladly keeps his promise and publishes a decree that prevents anyone from ever hunting in the forest again.

The Goblin Town:

A crew of 500 men and passengers are surrounded by beautiful sights when their plight is wretched due to nasty angry waves. They see a crowd of women approaching them and are allured by their words. The men became bound by their magical chains and followed the women to their homes where they ate rice out of golden dishes the women had prepared. Then one night as the men were sleeping, one was awake and saw the women had turned into goblins strolling through the town. The man terrified told the others the next morning. But he realized he had been bound with chains and they did not know how to escape. Then a white horse descended suddenly from a flash of light heard their cries and took those back to their homes that believed the man, while others chose to stay with the goblin women.

The Great Elephant:

A beautiful elephant lives far away in a sandy desert with a small oasis with palm trees and flowers. He is enjoying his life when he hears strange voices of unhappy men. He walks in the direction of the voices to see what the men need and are doing. The men explained they had been driven out of their country by their king and there were a thousand of them but many have perished. They were longing for food and water, so the elephant told them where to find a great big elephant that would provide them with food and the stream of sweet water to quench their thirst. The men cried in sadness when they realized the elephant that told them where to go was the elephant standing before them to eat. The men decided to bend their heads in the burning sand and eat the elephant's meat which made them very strong so they could reach the next city. They never forgot the great elephant.

The Quarrelsome Quails:

The cries of many quails are heard as they fear of being caught to be sold by the man from the village. So the quail king offers a solution to their worries. He tells the others to put their heads through the net holes when it is thrown over them and fly up so as to lift the net. But, he also tells them if by any means quarrels arise with one another they will be caught. So the quails listened and every day the man returned home to his angry wife empty-handed. But the wife urged the man that one day the quails would eventually fight. It did occur that one quail stepped on another's head and fighting broke out. The king quail urged the others to fly away so they would not get caught. Some listened to his warning and did not get killed, but the others were caught with the net of the man and met their fate.

The Forest Fire: 

The mother and father of 7 little quails are urged to be good as they go out to find insects and worms for them to eat. All the baby quails eat the insects and worms, except for the 7th quail who only eats grass-seeds. Then one day, the family of quails see fiery red clouds hovering over the distance in the trees. As the glowing flames neared the nest, the family and children flew away from the smoke but the 7th one could not because he did not have wings. So the quail left in the nest spoke to the clouds asking them to go their way because he is left alone. Suddenly, the fire slunk away and disappeared through the trees and the forest became silent. Queen Moon smiled through the trees and so did the quail in the nest, as the forest woke up again.

The End of the World:

A little hare is sitting under a tree thinking about what will happen to him when the world ends one day. At that moment a fruit falls from the tree and the hare runs off as his brother asks why he is running. The hare insists the earth is breaking to pieces and the other hares one by one start running through the jungle. Amidst the running deer, boar, elk, buffalo, oxen, rhinos, tigers, lions, and elephants also start running after hearing the earth is breaking up. However, there was a very wise lion that knew everything taking place in the world. He wanted to save his animals, so he ran as fast as he could to the mountain in their path stopping to ask what was happening. He was told the earth was breaking and asked who had seen it doing so. The lion went through all the animals asking who had seen it, until he had, at last, arrived at the hare who claimed to have. He explained what happened when it started breaking apart, and the lion thought it had to have been a fruit falling to the ground. The hare jumped onto the lion's back to show him the place where it happened and there lay a piece of fruit on the ground underneath the tree. They hurried back to the others to tell what they had seen and all of the animals happily returned to their homes.

The Golden Goose:

Golden clouds are seen passing over the city of Benares. The King looks up in amazement as he sees a great bird golden goose. So the King calls his courtiers and gets garlands of flowers and perfume to honor the beautiful visitor. The flock of geese tell the golden goose the King must wish to be his friend, so he descends to the earth to greet the King. He then rejoins his flock and the next day goes to visit the King as he is walking through the gardens near lake Anokkatta. Then the bird flew away to his kingdom to be with his great flock of ninety thousand. The King constantly longed to see the beautiful golden bird again. One day two of the youngest in the flock ask to take leave to race the sun, even though their flock leader tells them their wings are too weak. The young geese persisted and disobeyed the King's wishes. The King knew they had gone without his permission so he followed them and saved both as their wings were ready to give out. Then the King goose thought about his purpose as he flew all over the world causing the sky to illuminate with gold. He decided to go back to the King of Benares and his people to bring them happiness. He performed his speed in front of the King and told him that time was his fastest opponent. This saddened the King of Benares, but he grew happier as the bird told him they would remain distant friends.

The Noble Horse:
The horse of Brahmadatta was so beautiful with grace as a swan and swiftness of a dear. Many rulers were jealous of the city of Benares and feared its power to assume one day. As seven kings marched toward the city, King of Benares called one of his knights to fight them. The king allowed the knight to take his horse and one by one the knight conquered the armies and their kings. But the sixth time around, the King's horse became greatly injured. The knight was going to ride a new horse, but the wounded horse of Brahmadatta insisted he would surely die on any other horse. So he mustered up courage and strength to continue battling the 6th and 7th kings. He won all of the battles and fell down bleeding to the ground. The King caressed his horse and the horse made him promise to let the King's go under the condition they would never attack Benares again. The horse then died and his memory lived forever in Benares. 


Inayat. Twenty Jataka Tales.
Author: Noor Inayat (Khan)
Web Source: Inayat: Twenty Jataka Tales Part B