A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t2.179

v2.c19.s3.t2.179

³ Cf. *Rhys Davids*, Buddhist Birth Stories, p. lxxvii. It was hitherto thought that this Jātaka, which consists entirely of verses, had been preserved in manuscripts. Friedrich *Weller*, however (ZII 4, 1926, pp. 46 ff.), examined three manuscripts of Jātaka verses, and came to the conclusion that these manuscripts only con tain extracts from the Jātaka commentary, but not the ancient verse Jātaka which belongs to the canon. This serves to confirm the hypothesis put forward by J. *Hertel* (ZDMG 64, 1910, 58; WZKM 24, 1910, 23). *Weller* (l. c.; p. 54) raises the question as to whether a verse Jātaka ever existed at all. In the commentary itself, however, a distinction is often made between Pāli and Aṭṭhakathā, and in this case "Pāli" cannot refer to anything but the verse Jātaka. Moreover, the fact that the principle of division of the Jātaka book in 22 sections (Ekanipāta etc.) is based upon the verse Jātaka, and no longer agrees with the number of verses in the Jātaka commentary (see below), is further proof of the existence of the canonical verse Jātaka. *Senart* (JA 1901, s 9, t. XVII, pp. 385 ff., cf. *Oldenberg* NGGW 1911, p. 447f.) adduces still further arguments in favour of the verse Jātaka, arguments which have not been confuted by *Weller*. [^1): Cf. above Vol. I, p. 101 and *Oldenberg*, The Prose-and-Verse Type of Narrative and the Jātakas (translated from NGGW 1911), in JPTS 1910-1912, pp. 19 ff. F. W. *Thomas* (JRAS 1903, pp. 402 f.) says: "The conjunction of a text in itself brief and obscure with an indispensable commentary is, one might say, the prevailing one in all periods of Indian literature down to the present... The figure of the poet who recites his verse in the middle of a prose narrative is still familiar in all parts of India, and may have been familiar to the earliest age." [^2): For instance, the Theragāthās are also classified according to the number of verses.