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Buddha's Previous Life as a Woodpecker: Javasakunda Jataka
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Scenes from the past lives of the Buddha were among the major themes found on early Buddhist monuments. This one exemplifies his acts of kindness and his intelligence in one of his past lives when he was a born as a woodpecker and helped dislodge a bone from a lion's throat.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineBuddha's Previous Life as a Woodpecker: Javasakunda Jataka, c. 175–225 CE. Southern India, Andhra Pradesh, possibly Amaravati, Satavahana period (100s BC-AD 200s). Limestone; overall: 30.7 x 54.2 x 9.6 cm (12 1/16 x 21 5/16 x 3 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of George P. Bickford, 1970.350
