Roundel with scenes of the next-to-last life of the Buddha (Vessantara Jataka)

Shown on this roundel (a flat, round object) are scenes from the tale of the Buddha’s next-to-last earthly life. In it, Prince Vessantara perfects the virtue of selfless generosity by giving away his kingdom’s magical rain-bringing elephant, his wealth, his chariot and horses, and eventually even his children and wife. (In the end parents and children are reunited.)

Here, five scenes related to his giving away his children are depicted.

1. A greedy brahman approaches Prince Vessantara and
asks for his little son and daughter, who sit nearby.
2. Vessantara turns the children over to the old man.
3. The terrified children escape momentarily and try to
hide in a lotus pond.
4. The old man, having found the children, leads them away.
5. Meanwhile, Vessantara’s wife is prevented from
returning home in time to stop her husband from giving
away their children by deities disguised as wild beasts.

Buddhists familiar with this tale have found the idea of a parent giving away his children troubling. A common explanation is that expectations are different for a “Great Being” like Vessantara. He is in the final stages of earning buddhahood, and has to live out perfect detachment from worldly ties.

We don’t know why or for whom an object such as this would have been made. This one was acquired in Myanmar by the British colonial official Arthur Morris, who, in 1914, was appointed Provincial Art Officer. Perhaps a Burmese artist made it as a demonstration of skill.