The Jataka Tales or Jatakas

It refer to a voluminous body of literature native to India

concerning the previous births of Bodhisattva.
Part of the canon of sacred Buddhist literature, this
collection of some 550 anecdotes and fables depicts
earlier incarnations -- sometimes as an animal,
sometimes as a human -- of the being who would
become Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha.
The Jataka tales are dated between 300 BC and 400 AD.
Many of the tales are set in or near Benares, now called
Varanasi, a city in north central India on the Ganges
River.
The major purpose of these stories is to develop the
moral and ethical values of the reader.
The Theravada Jataka Tales

The largest collection of Jataka Tales that is in Pali
Canon, they are found in Sutta-pitaka (basket of sutras).
The Khuddaka Nikaya of the Sutta-pilaka contains 547
poems that were arranged in order, from shortest to
longest.
Some stories are adapted from Hindu text around 200
BCE
Alternative versions of some of the stories can be found
in another book of the Pali Canon, the Cariyapitaka.
The overall purpose of the Pali Jatakas is to show how
the Buddha lived many lives with the goal of realizing
enlightenment

The Mahayana Jataka Tales
It is also called as the apocryphal.
These stories, usually in Sanskrit, were written over the
centuries by list of many different authors.
One of the best known collections are The Jatakamala,
composed in the 3
rd
or 4
th
century.
The Jatakamala contains 34 Jatakas written by Arya
Sura, the stories focus on the perfections, especially
those of generosity, morality, and patience.


Reference:
http://buddhism.about.com/od/sacredbuddhisttext
s/a/The-Jataka-Tales.htm


History
The Jatakas were originally amongst the earliest
Buddhist literature, with metrical analysis methods
dating their average contents to around the 4th century
BCE
According to A.K. Warder, the Jatakas are the
precursors to the various legendary biographies of the
Buddha, which were composed at later dates
Although many Jatakas were written from an early
period, which describe previous lives of the Buddha,
very little biographical material about Gautama's own
life has been recorded


Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jataka_tales
From The Jataka Tales
Picture Reference:
http://www.kelvi.net/books/comics/index.php?album=I
ndian%20children%20stories/Jataka%20Tales-
The%20Mouse%20Merchant
Some important people:Ananda: Ananda was a relative of
the Buddha, and one of his earliest and most devoted
disciples
Cinca: Cinca was a woman who claimed to be having an
affair with the Buddha and to be pregnant with his child; her
deceit was exposed and the Buddha was vindicated
Devadatta: Like Ananda, Devadatta was a family relation of
the Buddha and an early disciple, but when the Buddha did
not name Devadatta as his successor, Devadatta was bitterly
resently and plotted to kill the Buddha, but all of his plots
failed
Kokalika: Kokalika was a monk who eventually became a
follower of the renegade Devadatta
Moggallana: Moggallana was one of the most favored and
important disciples of the Buddha
Rahula: Rahula was the only son of the Buddha; he became
a monk and follower of the Buddha

Some important places:
Ganga (Ganges): one of the great rivers
of India
Himalaya: a great mountain range in
India
Jetavana: a park in Savatthi which was
the Buddha's residence for many years
during the rainy season
Savatthi: the capital town of Kosala in
India, where the Buddha's main residence
(Jetavana) was located

Moral Lesson:
With energy and ability, great
wealth comes even from small
beginnings.