The Bhikṣuṇī Maṇimēkhalai

50 - How Far Historical in Character?
The miraculous and the supernatural form an integral part of any
narrative or even regular but indigenous history connected with
Buddhism. No present occurrence and not a Buddhist character is [16]
satisfactorily explained, according to them, unless it be by actual
reference to that which had taken place in a previous existence. So
much so that the identical incidents, almost in identical form and
details, are brought in usually to expound occurrences even of a
natural character. One has only to compare what is regarded as the
actual teaching of the Buddha himself to appreciate this position.
Many of the so-called Jātaka stories are based on this understanding,
and if the Buddha could be regarded as being autobiographical in
these stories, it is not difficult to understand that a writer who
attempts to describe any particular period would naturally indulge in
similar fancies. If so, it will not be difficult to separate that which
may be regarded as actual from that which is purely ideal.
The scene of the story is laid, as was already stated, in Tamil India.
An authoritative Tamil tradition again takes it that the story detailed
in the poems has reference to things that took place actually. This
need not necessarily be interpreted to mean that the incidents took
place in the manner that the poet has described them. It is open to the
poets to weave a web of fancy and raise an ideal picture round the
actual incident.
The commentator Aḍiyārkunallār, discussing the sub-divisions of the
work Śilappadhikāram, makes some apt remarks in regard to this
particular point. He refers to the bigger divisions being named
kāṇḍam and the smaller divisions kādai. The Śilappadhikāram
actually consists of three kāṇḍams relating respectively to Puhār,
Madura and Vañji. Each one of these kāṇḍams is divided into books,