What is Urdu? ” A Persian- Turkish word, Urdu originally meant the camp of the Uurkish Army.1 It has its beginning when Md. Bin Qasim raid Sindh and Buddhist king Dahir was taken captive. A process of religious assimilation between the two relingious Buddhism, and Islam began. At that time, the Bajrias roamed about from Assam to Baluchistan, singing songs and preaching in Pali which was derived from Magadhi. The language of Sindh migled with language of Arabia and persia. This process remained alive but dormant.

In 11 th century again Muslims from western Asia started pouring in India. They came along with their Persian and Arabic languages. They made India their homeland and settled here. By this time, most of the monuments of Buddhist religion had become extinct and in northern India they were mostly occupied by Muslim sufis who adopted Hindavi as their language of preaching and propagation of Islam. Slowly but imperceptibly this form of present Urdu and became the language of the rulers by 17 th century replacing persians and produced many good writers, thinkers and poets – Amir Khusro, Mirza Ghalib, Modh Iqbl, Firaq Gorakhpuri and so many. The Urdu writers also translated the Hindi and Sanskrit Classics like Katha Sarit, Ragar, Bhagwat Gita and so many Hindu booksof religion.

But they mostly left the Buddhist scriptures. I always had a great desire to know the fact that why Buddhist literature was not translated in Urdu, although all over India and mostly in north were present the Buddhists and historically, Muslims came after Buddhist rule. So a direct contact must have been in vogue in past.

( 2)The Juvaka factor- In about 1966, Bhikkhu Jagdish Kasaap came to my Farhat clinic a long with Dr. N. Prass, Dr, N.D. Tamari and others. He had pain in the back. I treated him well. He glad and told me” You are my Jivaka.” I required about Jivaka. Jivaka was pysician and surgeon to Lord Buddha, he informed. He said Jivaka was thrown on roadside, outside the road of Rajgriha. King Abhay Kumara “Jival.” The courtiers replied “Jivato.”

Jivaka grew at Rajgriha, went to Taxila for medical education and returned back to Rajgir. He became king Bimbasara’s court physician and surgeon and also became desciple of Lord Buddha.

I wanted to know more about him. His name appeared in many stories of Jatakas. And so from Jivaka, I came to Jataka stories.

(iii) What is Jataka? The jataka contains the tales of the previous existences of Lord Buddha. The word jataka (derived from Jan) means birth. Jatakas are stories of former births of Lord Buddha or Bodhisatta stories. There are 550 Jatakas which describe buddha’s past creer. Most of the jatakas are composed in prose and verse. So scholars believe that original Jatakas contained the “Gatths” only and commentary stories were added later.

In my search for jatakas, I first came in contact of professor E.B.Cowell’s book of jatakas in Englashi.

He has said Professor Rhys Davids first commentary a translation of the Jataka in 1880. Professor Cowell’s translation was done by a band of friends by each being responsible for a definite portion to complete the whole within a limited time.

My search continued. There came Shri Bhadant Anand Koshalyan. He had come to Nava Nalanda Mahavihara to attend the Buddhist international conference being held here and met with an accident and came to my clinic. He told me about his translations of Jatakas indetail. His translations have a definite pattern like those of prof. Cowell’s. But it also contains the Pali Gathas. Prof.Cowell has said” each story opens with a preface called the paccuppanna Vatthu or story of the prsent which relates the particular circumstances in Buddha’s life which led him to tell birth story and thus revealed some events in the long series of his previous existences as Bodhisatta or a destined to attain Buddhaship. At he end, there is always given a short simmary where the Buddha identifies the different actors in the story in their present births at the time of his discourse. Every story is also illustrated by one or more Gatthas which are urrered by the Budha. The original Jataka book in Ceylon consisted of the Gathas alone. But the commentary on these Gathas was written in Singhalese. This was translated into Pali about 430 A.D. By Buddha Ghosha. Since then jatakas have been translated into all the confirmed languages of the world like English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Persian, Hindi, Bengali, Siamese, Chinese, and Burmese.

Bharat Singh Upadaya has divided each story in five sections, 1. Paccuppanna Vatthu 2.Atita vatthu, 3. Gatha, 4. Vyakaran or Athavanna and 5. Samodhan.

But Bhadanta Ananda koshalyan has divided them in four sections. 1.Paccuppanvatthu. 2, Atitva thu, 3. Atha vanna and 4. Samodhan.

(iv) Jataka in Urdu- Since I went through Cowell’s Jatakas and Bhadanta Ananda Koshalyan’s Hindi translation, I wanted to know why these translations were not done in Urdu. I wrote to famous Undu writer of Bihar, having secular appreaches, late Sohail Azimabadi. He wrote back, “Don’t search in past. See the present. The translation has not been done as yet. You shall be the first man to translate Jatakas in Urdu. And so , I took the gudget. I was also inspired by the Burmese edition of the only Tripitka, a set of which was presented by the Burmese government to the library of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara during the prime ministership of U. Basaw. I don’t know Pali. I learnt Pale with deep interest. Then I myself made up a plan to translate jatakas in six sections. (1) Aghaz the beginning (2) Ahawaale Hazir-the present condition (3) sarguzashte Mazi-the past story (4) Tadress -the lesson, the learning . It contains Pali Gatha, written in Urdu script. Then its meaning Urdu is written, (5) the Urdu Gtha. After the translation of Gatha in Urdu in prose, I have the translation in verses also as it can be seen Appannaka jataka (story No. 1)at the end (6) Inkeshaf- the revealation. Here the present is traced back to past and connection is established.

The Pali Gatha is as follow:-

Appannakam Thana meke Dutiyam Aho takakikan

Itwang geey Medhavi Tangunheyalapan nakam

English Gatha

Then some declared the sole

the peerless truth;

But otherwise the false logicians spake

let him that’s wise from this a lesson take,

And firmly grasp the sole the peerless truth.

The Urdu gatha

Haqiqat Beyan Saadique kare

Ulti kahani phalsafi garhe

Aqal mand who hai jo sab ji sune

Sadaqat ko parkhe usi par rahe

And

The random selection is due to the idea that the stories of all should be introduced into Urdu literature soon. They have been given a book form and sent to Bihar Urdu Academy for help in publishing the book

(v) The future Plan – like professor Cowell, I also plan to form a guild of writers to translate all the jataka stories in Urdu. I am in medical and surgical profession and find hardly time to carry on the translation. But still I am carrying on. The real paucity is due to lack of fund to purchase concerning books and to hire paid library hands to carry out this monumental work.

I am very much obliged to the president of the control Board of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, His Excellencey Dr,A. R. Kidwai, the governor of Bihar who has assured me of all possible help and has written a preface of my book, jatakas in Urdu. I am also indebted to Mr. Deepak Kumar Barua, Director of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara who has been encouraging me in this pious efforts.

(vi) The efforts of jatakas’ translation in Urdu literature -Translations of jatakas wil have immense effect on fors ecular approach in our daily life. In my humble opinion, my efforts will no doubt form a bridge of communal harmony and mutual understanding. The inter- religion understanding will enhance which is so much needed when the whole world is becoming a big family and persons are coming closer.

After all, it was Buddhist approach to life that resulted intosufi movement in Islam.

References

•The cultural Heritage of India,Vo; 5,1978,p.642
•The cultural Heritage of India,Vol.1,1973,p.192
•Prof. E.B. Cowell, the jataka, Vol. 1 1973, Prefa ce,p.x
•Ibid Preface,p. vii
•Ibid p.8

On kind advice of professor N. Prasad, the then Director of Nava Nalanda Mahavihara, I have translated altogether 45 jatakas – I to 8 then 10 to 33, 38, 60, 103, 104,105,136, 145, 167,189, 196 and 206.