All living creatures die to be born again, so the Hindus believe. Siddhartha, who became the Buddha, was no exception. It is believed that several lifetimes as a bodhisattva go into the making of Buddha, the Enlightened On. The Bodhisattva is one, who by performing virtuous, kind and intelligent acts, aspires to become a Buddha. The Bodhisattva comes in many forms – man, monkey, deer, elephant, lion. Whatever his mortal body, he spreads the message of justice and wisdom, tempered with compassion.

This wisdom, the wisdom of right thinking and right living, is preserved in the Jataka stories. The Jataka tales, on which this title is based, is a collection of 550 stories included in the Pali canon and are based on the ballads, legends and folklore of ancient India.

According to the Maha Ummagga Jataka, the Bodhisattva was once born as Aushadha Kumar who was endowed with celestial knowledge and superhuman powers. This issue of Amar Chitra Katha presents the second set of tales connected with Aushadha Kumar, and contain his adventures in the court of Mithila. The first set, ‘The Battle of Wits’, had stories form his childhood.