Jataka

The Jataka, or Jataka tales, are a collection of Buddhist narratives that recount the previous lives of the Buddha, or his incarnations as other beings, before attaining Buddhahood. In these stories, the bodhisattva embodies virtues such as generosity, courage, wisdom, and compassion, gradually accumulating merit. The tales have long been influential across Buddhist cultures and are studied for both their moral teachings and religious significance.

In Theravada Buddhism, the Jataka tales are part of the Pali Canon, traditionally placed in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka. They are also found in various recensions in Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Chinese translations, and in Sri Lankan, Southeast Asian, and East Asian traditions. Collectively, the Jatakas number many dozens to several hundred stories, with numerous cycles and individual fables widely circulated.

Each tale presents a compact plot in which the Bodhisattva adopts a form—human, animal, or divine—and makes a choice that illustrates a moral lesson, such as generosity, honesty, or restraint. Often a brief verse or stanza concludes the story, summarizing the ethical point. The collection functions as ethical instruction as well as devotional literature and is used to illustrate karmic principles and the path to awakening.

Scholars date the canonical redaction of the Jatakas to roughly the 3rd century BCE through the early centuries CE, though the stories likely circulated earlier in oral form and were expanded over time. Because of their breadth, the Jatakas have influenced Buddhist art, theater, literature, and moral education across Asia.

Translations into English and other languages have helped make the Jataka tales accessible to a broad audience, and they remain a common reference for teaching conduct and understanding concepts of karma and rebirth within Buddhist thought.