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JOURNAL^ R.A.S. (CEYLON). [Vol. VIII. 



Jataka was known among the Indian Aryas about the sixth 

 century before Christ, which appears to be the period which 

 the Lalit Vistara describes, when miraculous stories were 

 told by the people and believed in ; when sceptics— the 

 Samsayikas of Panini, the Takkikas of the Jataka stories — 

 attempted to influence the people ; and when any teacher 

 ( Tirtha ) could gather about him a host of disciples. The 

 Katthahari Jataka, therefore, was known in India about the 

 sixth century B.C., and was told and listened to in the 

 earliest Buddhistic monasteries." 



The Popular Acceptance of the Jdtakas as shown in Picture- 

 stories and Sculptures. 

 (By J. F. Dickson, Esq., C.M.G., &o.) 



The oldest and the most important of the Buddhist sculp- 

 tures are those belonging to the gateways and Bharhut Stupa, 

 first discovered in 1873, and made known in 1879 in General 

 Cunningham's magnificent work, "The Stupa of Bharhut," 

 on which the greater part of this paper is based. They belong 

 to the third century before Christ, and were probably com- 

 pleted between 240 and 210 B.C. The importance of these 

 sculptures is derived in great measure from the titles 

 inscribed, in the Asoka alphabet, on many of the sculptural 

 scenes, by which we are able to identify them beyond doubt 

 with scenes or legends in the history of Buddha ; and from 

 them I select for your notice to-night the more striking of 

 those which illustrate the introduction (Nidanakatha) to our 

 book, and some of the first fifty Jatakas to which our atten^ 

 tion is at present specially confined. As you are aware, in the 

 earliest Buddhist period images of Buddha were unknown. 

 Symbols of the religion he taught were recognized, but no 

 object of personal adoration.- The earliest personal symbol 

 was the foot-print (derived probably from a Hindu source). 

 The earliest known statue of Buddha is of the first century j 

 after Christ, and the Bharhut sculptures are of the highest I 

 value in the history of the development, or, if I may be 

 allowed to say so, in the history of the decline of Buddhism 

 from its primitive simplicity, on account of the entire 

 absence of any statue or image or personal representation j 

 of Buddha. This is excellently set forth by Rajendra Lala J 

 in his work on Buddha Gaya (Cap. IV., pp. 128, 129):— 



" If we may rely on the evidence of the great Tope of Bharhut, i 



