Religion:List of Jatakas

Short description: List of Jataka tales mentioned in Buddhist literature or mythology

The Jataka tales are a voluminous body of literature concerning the stories of previous births of Gautama Buddha. Following is the list of Jataka tales mentioned in Buddhist literature or mythology. The tales are dated between 300 BC and 400 AD.

Thangka of Buddha with the One Hundred Jataka Tales in the background, Tibet, 13th-14th century.

In Pali Canon

The Jātakas are found as a textual division of the Pāli Canon called Jātakapāḷi, included in the Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta Pitaka.

In Arya Śura's Jatakamala

The Jātaka-Mālā of Arya Śura in Sanskrit gives 34 Jātaka stories.

Pannasa Jataka

The Paññāsa Jātaka is a non-canonical collection of 50 stories of the Buddha's past lives.

In Mahavastu

The Mahāvastu is a Vinaya text of the Lokottaravāda school of Early Buddhism. Over half of the text is composed of Jātaka and Avadāna tales.

Haribhatta's Jatakamala

Haribhatta's Jatakamala presents thirty-four accounts of the Buddha's past lives. Some of them are:

Gallery

Here are images illustrating some of the scenes from the Jataka tales:

Jatakamala manuscript 8th-9th century.

• 
  Bhutanese painted thangka of the Jātakas, 18th-19th Century, Phajoding Gonpa, Thimphu, Bhutan.
• 
  Scene from Khudda-bodhi-Jataka, Borobudur.
• 
  The Mankiala stupa in northern Pakistan marks the spot where, according to the Jataka, Siddhartha Gatama, during a past life sacrificed himself in order to feed tigers.
• 
  Scene from Muga-Pakkha Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Mahajanaka Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Sama Jataka (Syama Jataka)
• 
  Scene from Nimi Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Maha-Umagga Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Bhuridatta Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Khandahala Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Maha-Narada Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Vidhura-pandita Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Syama Jataka, Sanchi Stupa 1 Western Gateway.
• 
  Scene from Mahosadh Jataka
• 
  Vessantara Jataka mural, 19th century, Wat Suwannaram, Thonburi district, Bangkok, Thailand
• 
  Vessantara Jataka painting from the 19th century, Thailand. In the collection of the Walters Art Museum.
• 
  Scene from Vessantara Jataka.
• 
  Scene from Vessantara Jataka.
• 
  Scene from the Kukkuta Jataka story from the Bharhut stupa, 150 BCE.
• 
  Scene from Mahakapi Jataka in Bharhut, 2nd century BCE.
• 
  Scene from Tittira Jataka on backside of Tibetan 25 tam banknote, dated 1659 of the Tibetan Era (= 1913 CE).
• 
  Slab with the scene from Shibi Jataka, Gandhara, 2nd–3rd century AD, British Museum.
• 
  Scene from Kacchapa Jataka at Nalanda Temple 2, 7th cent ce.

See also

• Jataka tales
• Mahanipata Jataka
• Pannasa Jataka