jātaka

Jātaka1

neuter

  1. a birth story as found in the earlier books. This is always the story of a previous birth of the Buddha as a wise man of old. In this sense it occurs as the name of one of the 9 categories or varieties of literary composition (MN.i.133; AN.ii.7, AN.ii.103 AN.ii.108; Vin.iii.8; Pp.43. See navanga).
  2. the story of any previous birth of the Buddha, esp. as an animal In this sense the word is not found in the 4 Nikāyas but it occurs on the Bharhut Tope (say, end of 3rd cent. b.c., and is frequent in the Jātaka book.
  3. the name of a book in the Pāli canon, containing the verses of 547 such stories. The text of this book has not yet been edited. See Rh. Davids’ Buddhist India, 189–209, and Buddh. Birth Stories, introd., for history of the Jātaka literature
    ■ jātakaṃ niṭṭhapeti to wind up a Jātaka tale Ja.vi.363; jātakaṃ samodhāneti to apply a Jātaka to the incident Ja.i.106; Dhp-a.i.82. Note. The form jāta in the sense of jātaka occurs at Dhp-a.i.34.
  • -atthavaṇṇanā the commentary on the Jātaka book, ed. by V. Fausböll, 6 vols. with Index vol. by D. Andersen, London, 1877 sq.;
  • -bhāṇaka a repeater of the J. book Mil.341.

jāta + ka, belonging to, connected with what has happened

Jātaka2

masculine a son Ja.i.239; Ja.iv.138.

jāta + ka, belonging to what has been born