The story of King Udayana and Princess Vasavadatta was very well known in ancient India. This popular story was re-echoed in Pali and Prakrit literature. In Dhamma-pada-atthakatha (5th Century AD), on which the first story in this special issue is based, we get an elaborate account of the story of Vasavadatta and Udayana. King Kusha and The Acrobat are stories included in the Pali canon. Jataka tales are based on the folklore, legends and ballads of ancient India. We cannot assign a definite date to them. Taking into account archaeological and literary evidence, it appears that they were compiled in the period third century BC to fifth century AD. They give us invaluable information about ancient Indian civilization, culture and philosophy. The Jataka stories have been very popular in the Buddhist world. These stories have not only been translated into almost all the languages closely related to Buddhism – Chinese, Tibetan, Sinhalese, Burmese, Japanese – but also into many modern European languages. These stories have also been depicted in the paintings and sculptures of ancient India and other Buddhist countries. Sanchi, Bharhut, Amaravati and Ajanta in India, Borobundur in Java, Pegan in Burma and Sukhodaya in Thailand bear testimony to the popularity of these tales.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR Anant Pai
Anant Pai was the creator of the two most popular comic book series, Tinkle and Amar Chitra Katha. His works deal with the retelling of mythological tales, folk stories, and biographies of historical figures. He has been considered one of pioneer creators of Indian comics.
He has been associated with works like Fact Fantasy, Funtime, and Funland, all of which are education comic strips. Rekha, Ramu and Shamu, Little Raji, and Kapish are some of the comics he had created.
Born in Karkala, he was brought up by his grandfather after the death of both his parents. He then moved to Mumbai and attended the Orient School in Mahim. He had acquired dual chemical technology degrees from the University of Bombay in Chemical Technology. He was also an expert in personality development. He had conducted several personality development classes for teens and children. He had also founded Partha Institute of Personality Development, 1978. He has published several books dealing with this, such as How to Develop A Super Memory, How To Achieve Success, and How Develop Self-confidence. He was awarded by the Lifetime Achievement Award at the very first Indian Comic Convention in 2011. He married Lalita, and the couple lived in Mumbai. On 24th February, 2011, Pai died of a heart attack.
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