Topic Research: Jataka Monkeys

Tayodhamma-Jataka:
Devadatta is formed as the lord of a tribe of monkeys, Bodhisatta is born deeper in the woods, fathered by Devadatta. Bodhisatta returns to the tribe. Devadatta, afraid of having his seat usurped by his son, sends Bodhisatta to harvest lilies from an Ogre-possessed lake. Bodhisatta outsmarts this Ogre, returns home, and Devadatta upon witnessing Bodhisatta's return falls dead.



Vanarinda-Jataka:
Devadatta, formed as a crocodile, is urged by his wife into tricking and killing Bodhisatta, formed as a monkey, in hopes of stealing away his heart to eat. Devadatta lies in wait as a rock, ultimately Bodhisatta recognizes this and tricks him multiple times - getting his goal fruit and keeping his life.



Aramadusaka-Jataka:
When Brahmadatta was king in the Benares, he proclaimed a large festival - the king's gardener asked nearby monkeys to water his trees so that he could enjoy the festival. The monkeys agreed, but in carrying out their duties they destroyed the garden. As they watered, they pulled each tree from the soil to check root size to prioritize water usage. A wise man comes by and tells them the folly of their ways - they don't heed this warning and ultimately kill out the garden.



Nalapana-Jataka:
Bodhisatta is formed as a king of monkeys- he leads his followers to a lake to drink. In this lake lives a water ogre, the current form of Devadatta, the ogre promises to eat any and all who drink from his domain. Bodhisatta has a workaround, he hollows out a long cane, and many more, and all his followers are able to drink from a safe distance. Devadatta, defeated, returns to the depth of his domain.


Sumsumara-Jataka:
Bodhisatta again is formed as a king of monkeys and in his comings and goings he's spotted by a pair of crocodiles. The wife reptile asks her husband to lie in wait to capture this king of monkeys. Devadatta is the male crocodile, he offers to carry Bodhisatta to the foreign fruit across the ganges, then begins to sink midway across. Bodhisatta convinces Devadatta his heart lays outside his body, in the fig trees back across the ganges; when they're close enough to the shore of origin bodhisatta leaps from the crocodile's back. Bodhisatta leaves him with a few harsh words explaining the error of his thinking.



Essentially it seems the common thread here is that the monkeys are either portrayed as wily and resilient or good-intentioned and bumbling. We consistently see monkeys as the thematic underdog contextually, able to outsmart the stronger beast(s) to still achieve their goals. The outlier to this trend is the third listed story, wherein the monkeys kindly agree to perform a task for the gardner, but are concerned with being wasteful and so they do their due diligence to be sure water is used efficiently. However, this effort ultimately is their undoing, as in checking root depth they ~uproot~ the trees, ensuring the death of the garden. I believe an analytical retelling of these stories with focus on the conceptual strength of the monkeys could be a fun storybook project and is currently my plan for the semester.


Bibliography:
Jataka Tales 

Photo Credit:
Jatakamala Manuscripts | Daderot