Sources Of The Jataka Tales
- The numerous sources of the Jataka Tales include The Tripitaka, Gandharan Buddhist texts, the Theravada Jataka collection containing 547 Jatakas in mixed verse, Atthakatha (Pali commentaries), The Buddhavamsa, Mahavastu, Vinayavastu, Jatakamala, Mahayana sutras, etc.
- These contained the early Jataka tales or canonical Jatakas. They are treated as the “official” Jatakas.
- There are late Jatakas too that were compiled as late as the 19th century.
- To name a few, Jatakas: The Jackal and the Otters (Dabbhapuppha Jataka), The Swan with Golden Feathers (Suvaṇṇahaṃsa Jataka), Vessantara Jataka, The elephant girly-face, The Foolish, Timid Rabbit (Daddabha Jataka), etc.
Buddhist Literature and Stories Related to The Birth Of Buddha
Buddhism is one of the oldest and more prominent religions in the world. Buddhism was founded in the 6th century BC by Gautama Buddha. Originally named Siddhartha, his royal living didn’t make him content, and he was tortured by observing sickness, suffering from the old, and death around him. He became a wanderer searching for solutions to mankind’s miseries and finally abandoned everything to meditate under a pipal tree and attained ‘Supreme Knowledge‘ on the 49th day of his continuous meditation. He became known as Buddha, and his teachings were described in the ‘Four Noble Truths‘ and ‘Eightfold Path‘.