Composed around 300 B.C, the Jataka tales are an interesting collection
of short stories that have been very popular among folklores and
legends. These stories are an interesting way to teach the values and
morals of life and good living. Each and every Jataka story has a moral
to learn and these stories have been passed from generation to
generation and are still popular in the contemporary world as they serve
as bedtime tales for children. These tales were written in Pali language
and are often called as Jataka Buddhist tales, since Pali is the
language of ancient Buddhist scriptures.
These tales are said to have inspired further fables and tales like the
Arabian Nights, Aesop's Fables and Adventures of Sindbad. These stories
talk of the incarnations of Lord Buddha in different forms like human,
animals and teach some of the most important lessons of life. They talk
about perseverance, self-respect, respect for others, wisdom, honesty,
morality, etc. and many other important goals of life that can be easily
realized through hard work and determination.
The Jataka tales have much educational value and were used to teach
youngsters the important morals and goals of life. These fables are
around 547 in number and are very interesting to read. Most of the tales
have an Indian backdrop and are said to have the backdrop of the
northern parts of India, near the holy city of Varanasi near the river
Ganges.
Morals written around 300 B.C in a language called PALI, which were
later translated and distributed to people across the world. These
stories are mainly about past incarnations of Buddha, and are meant to
teach the values of self-sacrifice, honesty, morality and other didactic
values to a common person. They are a total of 547 in number. They
really make interesting reading just like the counterparts in
Panchatantra.
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