Question

What do you understand by Jatakas

Answer 1

Answer:

The Jātaka tales are a voluminous body of literature native to India concerning the previous births of Gautama Buddhain both human and animal form. The future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a god, an elephant—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates.

Answer 2

The Jataka Tales are moral tales, probably written down in this form in the 4th century, ie probably a 50 to 150 years after the life of Gautama Buddha. Yes, many of these stories predate Buddha. Some of the stories are variants of stories believed to have been told by Aesop in the 7th century .