Animal Omens in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature: The call of the crow, the howl of the jackal, and the knowledge of the wagtail

This paper examines three sets of omen verses from the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna, which offers the earliest account of Astral Science (jyotiḥśāstra) in Buddhist literature. The omen verses that are translated and analysed for the first time from a newly edited text represent an antique form of thinking preserved in Buddhist literature. Not only do the reveal a tradition of bird watchers and diviners in the north-western Buddhist areas of the Indian subcontinent around the beginning of the Common Era, but they likewise provide a good deal of insight into the customs and beliefs of the people who used these omens.