(‘birth-story’). A story of the previous incarnations of the
Buddha
. Many of these stories exist, and it is thought that some may originally have been Indian, pre-Buddhist, fables and fairy tales. Some are found virtually unchanged in Aesop's collection. In the
Therav
din
Tripi
aka
, a collection of 547 J
takas forms part of the
Khuddaka Nik
ya
.
J
takam
la
.
A collection of thirty-four stories dealing with assorted former lives of the
Buddha
(
j
taka
).
Jath
(Pañj
b
, ‘armed band’). Squad of Sikhs. In the 18th cent., the Sikh army divided into five jath
s to counter Muslim aggression in
Pañj
b
. In the 20th cent. Sikh jath
s marched, demanding reform of
gurdw
r
management and in protest at the partition of Pañj
b.