Overview. Speyer. Arya Sura's Gatakamala

(Jataka art: Borobodur, Indonesia)

Title: The Gatakamala, or Garland of Birth Stories
Author: Aryasura
Translator: J. S. Speyer
Year: 1895

Comments: This is a collection of 34 jataka stories that were rendered into Sanskrit (from Pali) by Arya Sura, perhaps around the first century C.E. You can find out more about the Jataka tradition here: Jataka Tales.

Free Online: See all the links at Freebookapalooza. The links below are to the Internet Archive presentation of the book.

Length: four weeks. I've divided the reading into eight parts: Part A - Part B (one week of reading), Part C - Part D (another week of reading), Part E - Part F (a third week), and Part G - Part H (final week of reading). You do not need to read this in order, and you can use it just for a half-week of reading or one or two or three or four weeks of reading; it's up to you based on what part(s) you are most interested in.

WEEK 1:
Reading A
The Tigress
King of the Sibis
Small Portion of Gruel
Head of a Guild
Avishahya, the Head of a Guild
The Hare
Reading B
Agastya
Maitribala
Visvantara

WEEK 2:
Reading C
The Sacrifice
Sakra
The Brahman
Unmadayanti
Suparaga
The Fish
Reading D
The Quail's Young
The Jar
The Childless One
The Lotus-Stalks
The Treasurer

WEEK 3:
Reading E
Kuddabodhi
The Holy Swans
Mahabodhi
Reading F
The Great Ape
The Sarabha
The Ruru-Deer
The Great Monkey

WEEK 4:
Reading G
Kshantivadin
The Inhabitant of the Brahmaloka
The Elephant
Reading H
Sutasoma
Ayogriha
The Buffalo
The Woodpecker