King Kusha is an adaptation of e Kusha Jataka, one of the five hundred and fifty stories included in the pali canon. The Jataka tales are woven around the life of the Bodhisattva, who lived many lives on the earth before he evolved into the Buddha, the Enlightened One.

These tales are based on the folklore, legends and ballads of ancient India. We cannot assign a definite date to the Jataka stories. Taking into account archaeological and literary evidence it appears that they were compiled in the period, the 3rd Century B.C. to the 5th Century A.D. 

They give us invaluable information about ancient Indian civilization, culture and philosophy. The Jataka stories have been very popular in the Buddhist world. These stories have been translated almost into almost all the languages of Buddhist countries such as Chinese, Tibetan, Sinhalese, Siamese, Burmese, Japanese and also many modern European languages. 

These stories have encouraged painting and sculpture in ancient India and other Buddhist countries. Sanchi, Bharhut, Amravati and Ajanta in India, Borobudur in Java, Pegan in Burma and Sukhodaya in Thailand bear testimony to the popularity of these tales.