Q. Consider the following statements:

1. Jataka stories are based on the previous lives of Buddha.
2. Earliest Buddhist texts were written in the Pali language.

Which of the statements given above is/are incorrect?
Answer: Neither 1 nor 2
Notes: It is believed that Buddha passed through 550 births, some in the animal form, before being born as a Gautama. Each birth story is a ‘Jataka’ story. So, statement 1 is correct. Earlier Buddhist texts were written in Pali, a language spoken in the South Bihar area. Later, with the rise of Mahayana Buddhism, Sanskrit took over. So, statement 2 is also correct.