Jatakas (Birth Stories)

Gautama Buddha was born around 567 BC and died in 487 BC. Though not much is known about Gautama's early life, his followers believed that Jatakas were written to convey the many earlier lives that the Buddha had lived and also to convey the message of the Buddha.

Jatakas (Birth stories) are tales of Buddha's earlier births in the form of animals.

The tales recount over five hundred episodes that supposedly occurred during previous incarnations of Buddha and form a fascinating component of Buddhist culture and literature.

The Jatakas consists of fairy tales, fables, ballads and anecdotes that have been the source for inspiration for great art throughout Asia for over two thousand five hundred years.

Each story in the group embodies a lesson which Buddha tries to teach his followers.

The 'Jatakas' became very popular. These Indian fables and animal tales are excellent for reading out to younger children.

The Jatakas were originally written in the Pali language; The Dhammapada' (Verses on the Buddhist Doctrine) is also considered an excellent example of moralistic Indian literature.