Pre-Buddhist India: A Political, Administrative, Economic, Social and Geographical Survey of Ancient India Based Mainly on the Jataka Stories c2.10

c2.10

Now, the actual Jātaka is a story in which the Bodhisatta plays a in one of his former births, whether as the hero of the or as a secondary character or as a spectator only. S it was possible to change into a Jātaka any story told among the people or which was known fro by identifying the best character, according to the Buddhists wh with the Bodhisatta, or the Buddha himself in some previous bi way all kinds of stories, fairy-tales, fables, anecdotes, trad (akkhāna : anussuti) were utilised,² And even the Buddha, the Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka, for instance,³ one of the earlier Bu texts, taught by means of Sūtras, Gāthās, legends and Jātakas.