Dasaratha Jataka
Dasaratha Jataka (Pali: Dasaratha Jātaka) is a Jataka tale found in Buddhist literature about a previous life of the Gautama Buddha. It is found as 461th Jataka story in Khuddaka Nikaya of Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Canon.
Opinions of whether the Ramayana is the book of reference for the Dasaratha Jataka remain controversial with the Buddhist and Hindu sides claiming an older origin in the accordance with their canonical literature. Most Hindus believe the Jataka to be a parody of the Ramayana while revering both the versions.
Some Buddhists hold that the story is not based on Ramayana as Lord Buddha existed before Rama (Buddha was born In 500 BCE-400 BCE) and Lord Rama was born in 5th century BCE-3rd century BCE. Ramayana and other adaptations of it such as the Thai Ramakien, Lao Phra Lak Phra Ram and Burmese Yama Zatdaw are claimed to derive from this Jataka.
