Ancient folktales of India come down to us primarily in two collections of stories, many of which are about animals. These are the Buddhist tales of the former lives of the Buddha known as the Jatakas and the Panchatantra. Many of the original stories probably predate the Buddha, but the Jatakas were organized into verses about the Buddha and placed into his biography starting about the fourth century BC, though the whole collection with its prose stories and commentaries was not completed for several centuries.

The Jataka tales always begin with an incident in the life of the Buddha, usually a sermon he is giving which he illustrates with a story from one of his previous lives. After the tale is told he often indicates who were the other characters in the story of their previous existence. In this way the law of karma, or the consequences of actions, is illustrated, and the deep patterns of different souls can be seen. The Buddha, who is referred to as the Bodhisattva in the stories since he is then a future Buddha, is usually the most heroic and wisest character. He is often an animal or a tree spirit and is frequently the leader of his group. He never seems to be a female, and in fact there is a strong bias against women in many stories. The Jatakas are primarily moral tales illustrating the wisdom and goodness of the Bodhisattva figure, and, with the exception of the prejudice against women, the ethical lessons are usually quite good.

The Devadhamma-Jataka (#6) is a good example. This story resembles that of Rama. The Bodhisattva is the eldest prince of Benares followed by Prince Moon and, when their mother died, Prince Sun, whose mother was given a boon by the king. This queen being naturally wicked plots against the others and demands that her son be made king for her boon. The Bodhisattva and Prince Moon go off to live in the forest, but they are joined by Prince Sun as well. A water-sprite imprisons Prince Sun and Prince Moon when they answer that what is truly godlike is the sun and moon and the four quarters of heaven; but the Bodhisattva wisely states that the godlike are the white-souled votaries of the Good who shrink from sin. The water-sprite offers him one of his brothers, and he chooses the youngest because the queen had asked for the kingdom for him; if he chose Prince Moon instead, no one would believe that Prince Sun had been devoured by a demon. Impressed by his wisdom the demon returns both brothers, and the Bodhisattva explains that the demon is suffering the consequences of his evil deeds and is continuing the pattern. However, the demon is converted; when the father dies, the brothers return to Benares with the Bodhisattva as king, Prince Moon as viceroy, and Prince Sun as general. The tale ends with the usual conclusion that he lived correctly until he passed away to fare according to his deeds. Then the Buddha explains that the demon was the monk who had been hoarding extra clothes.

Devadatta is often cast as the villain in the tales. In the Mahilamukha-Jataka (#26) a follower of the Buddha is seduced into eating the luxurious food of Devadatta's schismatic group. The Buddha tells how in a past life he was an elephant named Damsel-face, who heard the evil talk of robbers and went on a rampage, killing everyone in sight until the Bodhisattva, the king's counselor, figures out that it was the influence of bad talk and advises the king to have Brahmins talk of goodness in the elephant's stall. The oldest part of the tale is usually the moral verse, which in this story runs thus:

The Kulavaka-Jataka (#31) is an elaborate tale that shows the progression of several lives of a woman called in the first Highborn. The Bodhisattva does good and wins over friends, who keep the five commandments; but their good works clearing roads take away the graft of the headman, who accuses them of villainies. Condemned to be trampled by an elephant, the great beast flees from them, making the king think he has a spell. The Bodhisattva explains that their spell is not to destroy life, nor take what is not given, nor commit misconduct, nor lie, nor drink alcohol, and to be loving, show charity, level the roads, dig tanks, build a public hall, and so on. In the Bodhisattva's house are four women - Goodness, Thoughtful, Joy, and Highborn. In their next lives the first three from their good works have pleasant situations with Sakka (the Buddha again), but Highborn not having performed any act of merit is reborn as a crane. However, she is taught to keep the commandments and proves her worthiness to Sakka and then is reborn in the family of a potter. Once again she keeps the commandments and is reborn as the beautiful daughter of an Asura king. This story makes the important Buddhist point that it is one's actions not one's birth that determines the future.

The Mahasilava-Jataka (#51) shows how a good king can overcome a violent villain, who is an earlier incarnation of Devadatta. This minister is sent away from Benares for dealing treacherously in the king's harem. He persuades the king of Kosala to attack Benares, knowing that they will be rewarded with gifts and get off free. Sure enough when brought before King Goodness of Benares, he asks them why they made this raid; and hearing that they could not make a living, he gives them presents and warns them not to do it again. To prove the point other raiders are sent, and the result is the same. So the king of Kosala decides to attack Benares, but King Goodness refuses to fight and orders the city gates opened. Captured and buried alive up to the neck, King Goodness teaches his fellow captives to shout in order to frighten away the jackals who come at night to eat them. No longer scared, the jackals come, but King Goodness bites the neck of the jackal leader and manages to get his hands free. They escape, and King Goodness wins the friendship of two ogres, who are fighting over a corpse by dividing it equally for them. Using their magical powers he miraculously appears in the royal bedchamber and wins over the king of Kosala, ending up with more ministers and a larger kingdom than before.

Often a prince the Buddha did not always assume the kingship in his previous lives. In the Asadisa-Jataka (#181) Prince Peerless allows his younger brother to rule so that he can renounce the world. When a slander made his brother fear he wanted to take over the kingdom, he secretly returned as a hired archer, proving his skill by severing a mango branch with an arrow on its downward flight, directed by a second arrow that entered heaven and was caught by the deities. When his brother was surrounded by seven attacking kings, he sent for Prince Peerless, who shot an arrow with a message that landed in the golden dish where the seven kings were eating. Frightened he would kill them all, they fled. Thus without shedding even as much blood as a fly might drink, the situation was resolved. Then Prince Peerless renounced his lusts and the world to cultivate the faculties and attainments, and when his life ended came to Brahma's heaven.

The Daddabha-Jataka (#322) is told against heretics who practice excessive austerities, the Buddha denying the merit of unnecessary suffering. In this story the Bodhisattva as a lion stops a panic started by a hare, who heard the sound of fruit falling and began running away, causing other hares to run in fear and eventually all the animals of the forest. By roaring the lion stops the panic and then investigates to find the harmless source of all the fear.

Jataka #330 compares desire to birds fighting over a piece of meat such that whichever bird picks up the meat suffers attack from other birds. In a second example a female slave anxiously awaits the coming of her lover; but when she gives up hope that he will come, she sleeps peacefully. He concludes that in this world and in the next there is no happiness greater than the bliss of meditation.

In many stories, such as the one in which the Bodhisattva solves nineteen problems (#546), the Buddha-to-be uses his intuitive intelligence to figure out and solve or explain difficult dilemmas, complicated problems, or mysteries. Some of these may be the earliest detective stories, and the message is always that justice and goodness prevail when the Bodhisattva is involved.