Famous Tales of Jataka

Jataka tales, like the tales of Panchatantra, are very old and have a long tradition of being passed on from generation to generation. These stories are tales of wisdom and morals, written around 300 BC in a language called 'Pali', which were later translated into many different languages.

Jataka tales represent former incarnation of Lord Buddha; at times like an animal, a bird and sometimes like an ordinary, human being. The setting of stories is mainly in or around Banaras/Varanasi the holy city in North Central India.

These stories are very enjoyable and meant to teach values of self-sacrifice, honesty and truthfulness. These tales show how good ultimately wins over evil.

Here we present simple but interesting collection of Jataka tales. Hope our young readers will enjoy reading them!