¹Theravādists, on the contrary, believe that the Jataka dates from the Buddha’s lifetime, and that its verses, but not its prose, are His very words.

²Here, again, in opposition to this view, the Southern Buddhists maintain that the Jåtaka, in its verses, is the most transcendental part of the Sütta Pitika, and is designed for study by Bodhisattvas rather than for the common people.