Tuesday, August 11, 2026 · 天火 · tianmu.org
Jataka and Narrative
Pali Buddhist narrative literature, birth stories, and traditional accounts of the Buddha's past and final lives.
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Texts
NidanakathaThe Introduction to the Jataka — a sweeping chronicle from the Bodhisatta's first vow under Buddha Dipankara through twenty-four Buddhas to the historical life of Gotama, encompassing the entire arc of Buddhist cosmic history.Sasa JatakaA Jataka tale of the Buddha's past life as a selfless hare who offered his own body to a hungry brahmin — the origin of the hare in the moon.The Jataka, Vol. I — tr. Robert ChalmersRobert Chalmers's 1895 translation of the first 150 Jataka birth-stories of the Buddha (Book I, Ekanipata), from the Pali under E.B. Cowell's editorship.The Jataka, Vol. II — tr. W.H.D. RouseW.H.D. Rouse's 1895 translation of Jataka birth-stories 151-300 (Books II-III, Dukanipata and Tika-Nipata), from the Pali under E.B. Cowell's editorship.Vessantara JatakaThe greatest of the Jataka tales — the story of Prince Vessantara, whose boundless generosity cost him his kingdom, his children, and his wife, yet earned him the merit to become the Buddha.