The Social Organisation in North-East India in Buddha's Time c11.17

c11.17

¹ Written laws are mentioned often in the Jâtakas. In the Tuṇḍila Jâtaka the Bodhisatta after the death of the king of Benares causes a book to be written "on the right decision" (vinicchaye potthakaṃ likhâpetvâ II. 292) and exhorts the people to see this book for the decision of law suits. In the Tesakuṇa Jâtaka, the ministers make the succession devolve upon the senâpati, he gives up the royal dignity, causes the "doctrine of truthfulness" to be written on a gold tablet (vinicchayadhammam suvaṇṇapaṭṭe likhâpetvâ V. 125) and orders the people to form their decisions in accordance with it. It may remain a disputed question whether we can infer from this mention of "law books" and "law tablets" in the Jâtakas the existence of written laws in earlier pre-Buddhistic times; none of these passages has any reference to the purpose of this story and both can be conceived as later additions.