About Dasaratha Jataka

Dasaratha Jataka( Sanskrit: दशरथजातकम् / Pali:दसरथजातकं ) is a Jataka Tale found in Buddhist literature about the previous life of the Shakyamuni (Gautama) Buddha as a prince named Rama. It is found as 461th Jataka story in Khuddaka Nikaya of Sutta Pitaka in the Pali Canon. Apparently, this short story is a Buddhist adaptation of Hindu epic Ramayana. The Thai national epic, 'Ramakien', is claimed to be based on this Jataka.
Bhutanese painted thangka of the Jātakas, 18t–19th century

Jataka tales – The previous births of Gautama Buddha

The Jātakas are a voluminous body of literature native to South Asia which mainly concern the previous births of Gautama Buddha in both human and animal form. Some of these works are also considered great works of literature in their own right. In these stories, the future Buddha may appear as a king, an outcast, a deva, an animal—but, in whatever form, he exhibits some virtue that the tale thereby inculcates. Often, Jātaka tales include an extensive .