Mythical Beasts in Pannasa Jataka: Roles and Significance in Conveying Buddhist Thoughts and Principles

Abstract

The purposes of the study are 1) to study the roles of mythical beasts presented in the Pannasa Jataka tale and 2) to study the significance of those mythical beasts in conveying Buddhist thoughts and principles through the tale. In this study, the concepts of characterization in the elements of narrative frameworks and Buddhist thoughts and principles were applied in analyzing the text. The major findings show that the mythical beasts in the Pannasa Jataka tale are represented in two categories: those representing virtue and those representing negative attributes. In the positive characterization, the mythical beasts present gratefulness, wisdom, sacrifice, and mercy of human. In a negative side, they are characters that are in a lower class and status than human. They are unreasonable and selfish. They have no conscience and morality, and always accuse others of their faults. These creatures play a significant role in conveying Buddhist thoughts and principles, including Bodhisatta ideology, karma, peaceful coexistence, and ultimate reality. the Pannasa Jataka tale is a literary work that represents a writing technique in which a mythical beast is excellently used as characters that run the theme and story. The mythical beasts are presented in the Pannasa Jataka tale are clearly one of the tale compositions that emphasize Buddhist thoughts and principles, similar to Nibata Jataka in Tripitaka, which is a Buddhist literary work that reflects teachings and thoughts in Buddhism.