151 Jataka Tales

Once, there was a prince named Gautam. When he came of age, he became the king and his father renounced the world and became an ascetic. He lived in a forest on the bank of a river. The river was named after a Naga king. The Naga king was very kind and compassionate. He was […]

Once, the king of Banaras fought and conquered another kingdom. He took all the wealth of that kingdom to his own kingdom. He filled the wealth in iron pots and buried the pots in the royal garden. Now, unknown to him, the prince of that kingdom escaped in disguise. Later, he became an ascetic and

A king had a minister. He was very judicious. The king also had a lawyer who used to take bribes and give wrong decisions in court cases. One day, as usual, he took bribe and gave a wrong decision. The accused came to the minister for help. The minister looked at the case. He fought

Once, a baby was born in a family of Brahmins. This baby was very illustrious. The baby turned into a very educated man in time. One day, he renounced the world and became an ascetic. He performed heavy penances. The stories of his penances and dedication spread everywhere. God also heard about them. He wanted

Once, a merchant and his wife were very religious. They had a son who never prayed or performed any religious duties. One day, his mother sent him to a temple to listen to a saint’s sermons. She hoped that listening to the sermons would change him. She also promised to give him money if he

A king had a very talkative minister. Once he started talking no one could say a word. The king was fed up of him and wanted to teach him a lesson. Now, there was a man who was a wonderful marksman. The king came to know about him. He went to the man and said,

Once, an antelope lived in a forest. It had a favourite tree whose fruits it used to eat every day. A hunter also used to hunt in that same area. One day, the hunter saw the antelope eating fruits from his favourite tree. After that, the hunter observed the antelope for a few more days.

Once, a salesman sold pots and pans and trinkets. A girl wanted to buy a bracelet from him but she had no money. She asked her grandmother, “Can we give our dirty old plate in exchange for the bracelet?” The grandmother agreed. The salesman examined the plate and realised that it was of gold. But

Once, there was a man who had a beautiful wife. He loved his wife very much. But the wife was very cruel. She ill-treated her in-laws who were blind. One day, she said to her husband, “Leave your parents in the forest. I cannot take care of them.” At first, the man refused but due

Once, there was a sacred tree. A holy spirit resided in that tree. Many people came to pray to the spirit and offered precious gifts to it. One day, a poor man brought a loaf of bread to offer to the spirit. But he did not offer it as he felt the spirit would not

Long ago, there was a king. He was known all over for his kind heart. One day, he was taking a round of his kingdom. While on his round, he came upon a couple. The couple was very sad. The king asked the couple, “Why are you so sad?” The couple told him, “We are

A father and a son were traders. One day, during their travels, they took a rest in a deserted house. A man warned them that it was a haunted house. The demon who haunted the house had received a boon from a certain king. The boon was–if any man who entered it should sneeze, the

Once, two brothers earned a lot of wealth. They were returning home via the sea. The younger of the two was greedy. He looked at a sack of gold which belonged to his brother. He replaced the gold sack with a sand sack. After that he threw the sand sack into the water. But, that

A low-caste learned man taught a Brahmin a magic spell through which he could obtain mangoes even when they were out of season. The Brahmin amassed great wealth by using this magic. His name spread far and wide. The king heard about him and asked him, “From where do you get such a lovely fruit

Once there were two merchants, Baku and Raku. They were very good friends. One day, Raku lost all his wealth and became poor. He came to Baku for help. Baku was very kind and generous. He immediately gave away half of his wealth to Raku. The grateful Raku promised to help Baku whenever he needed