batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l10046-l10202
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l10046-l10202
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: END OF THE STORY OF THE BANYAN DEER. / END OF THE STORY OF THE DART OF LOVE.
/ END OF THE STORY OF THE SWIFT ANTELOPE. / END OF THE STORY OF THE DEER WHO WOULD
NOT LEARN.; lines 10046-10202
start: '10046'
end: '10202'
translation: Buddhist birth stories; or, Jataka tales, Volume 1
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: The passage presents Jātaka tales in which the Bodisat, first as a stag,
teaches his nephew deer-survival devices that allow the nephew to escape a hunter
by feigning death; then as a hermit, resolves a dispute between a lion and tiger
about when cold occurs by explaining that cold comes whenever the wind blows.
Frame passages connect these past lives to Rāhula and two monks. The excerpt then
opens a tale about killing sheep and goats for offerings to deceased relatives.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Master tells the story of the Cunning Deer at the Badarika monastery in
Kosambi in connection with Rāhula, who is described as over-anxious to observe
the Rules of the Order.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: In the past-life tale, the Bodisat is born as a stag, lives in the forest,
and is attended by a herd of deer.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The stag’s sister brings her son to him and asks him to instruct the nephew
in the devices of deer; the nephew attends at the appointed time and receives
instruction.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: The young stag is caught in a snare while wandering in the wood, cries out,
and the herd informs his mother.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Bodisat reassures his sister that the nephew has learned the devices of
deer and says the nephew has six tricks with which he will outdo the foe.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The trapped young stag does not struggle, lies down, stretches out his legs,
throws up earth and grass with his hoofs, hangs out his tongue, wets his body
with spittle, swells his belly, breathes through one nostril, stiffens his body,
and appears like a corpse.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Bluebottles and crows gather around the young stag while he is presenting
the appearance of a corpse.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The hunter believes the stag is already putrid, loosens the bands, and begins
collecting leaves and branches to dress the body on the spot.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: After being released, the young stag rises, shakes himself, stretches out
his neck, and swiftly returns to his mother.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The Jātaka conclusion identifies the young stag as Rāhula, the mother as Uppala-vaṇṇā,
and the uncle as the Teacher himself.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:11
text: In the frame to the Wind story, two monks named Dark and Light disagree about
whether cold comes in the dark half or the light half of the month and ask the
Master.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: In the past-life tale of the Wind story, a lion and a tiger are friends living
in a cave at the foot of a hill, while the Bodisat lives nearby at the foot of
the same mountain as a hermit.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:13
text: The tiger says cold occurs in the dark half of the month, while the lion says
it occurs in the light half; they ask the Bodisat to resolve the question.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:14
text: The Bodisat says cold occurs whenever the wind blows, whether in the dark
half or the light half, because cold is caused by wind; this pacifies the two
friends.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: obs:15
text: The Jātaka conclusion identifies the tiger as Dark, the lion as Light, and
the ascetic answerer as the Teacher himself; the two monks are said to attain
the Fruit of Conversion.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: obs:16
text: The next tale opens at Jetavana with people killing sheep and goats in large
numbers for a Feast of the Dead in honor of deceased relatives, and monks ask
the Teacher whether there can be any advantage in that.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Master
description: Teacher in the frame narratives who tells the Jātaka stories and later
identifies past-life figures.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:14
- ev:15
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Rāhula
description: The Master’s son, described in the frame as over-anxious to observe
the Rules of the Order; identified with the young stag in the past-life tale.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Bodisat as stag uncle
description: A stag living in the forest who instructs his sister’s son in the devices
of deer.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Sister of the stag / mother of the young stag
description: She brings her son to the Bodisat stag for instruction and later asks
whether he had learned the devices of deer.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Young stag nephew
description: The instructed nephew of the Bodisat stag, caught in a snare and released
after feigning death.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Herd of deer
description: The herd associated with the Bodisat stag; they flee after the captive
cry and inform the young stag’s mother.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Hunter
description: The person who finds the trapped young stag, believes him dead and
putrid, and loosens the bands.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Dark
description: A monk in the frame story who says cold comes in the dark half of the
month; identified with the tiger.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:14
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Light
description: A monk in the frame story who says cold comes in the light half of
the month; identified with the lion.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:14
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Tiger
description: A friend of the lion living in a cave; says cold occurs in the dark
half of the month and asks the Bodisat for an answer.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:14
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Lion
description: A friend of the tiger living in a cave; says cold occurs in the light
half of the month and asks the Bodisat for an answer.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:14
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Bodisat as hermit / ascetic
description: A hermit living at the foot of the same mountain who answers the lion
and tiger’s question about cold.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: People offering Feast of the Dead
description: People who kill sheep and goats in large numbers to provide a feast
in honor of deceased relatives.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: fig:14
name_or_label: Sheep and goats
description: Animals killed in large numbers for the so-called Feast of the Dead.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: fig:15
name_or_label: Monks observing the Feast of the Dead practice
description: Monks who see the killing of animals and ask the Teacher whether there
is any advantage in it.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
roles:
- id: role:1
label: instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:12
basis: The Master teaches through Jātaka discourse; the stag instructs his nephew;
the hermit gives the answer about cold.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:13
- id: role:2
label: obedient learner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:5
basis: Rāhula is linked with devotion to instruction, and the young stag attends
at the appointed time and receives training.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: past-life Bodisat animal
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Bodisat comes to life as a stag in the forest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: concerned mother and sister
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: She asks for her son to be instructed and later asks whether he had learned
the devices of deer after hearing he was caught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: captive who escapes by feigned death
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The young stag is caught in a snare, imitates a corpse, is released by the
hunter, and returns to his mother.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: wise arbiter
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:12
basis: The Master and the Bodisat hermit resolve questions by giving explanatory
answers to those who cannot solve them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: role:7
label: messenger herd
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The herd flees after the captive cry and lets the mother know her son has
been caught.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: hunter antagonist
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The hunter comes to the trapped stag and releases the bonds because he believes
the stag is putrid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: disputant
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
basis: Dark and Light, and their past-life counterparts tiger and lion, disagree
about when cold occurs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- id: role:10
label: ritual offerer
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The people kill animals in order to provide the Feast of the Dead for deceased
relatives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: role:11
label: ritual victims
assigned_to:
- fig:14
basis: Sheep and goats are killed in large numbers for the Feast of the Dead.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
- id: role:12
label: ethical questioners
assigned_to:
- fig:15
basis: The monks ask the Teacher whether the animal-killing practice has any advantage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: snare
literal_form: trap or bands catching the young stag
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: corpse appearance
literal_form: a living stag lying stiff, wet with spittle, tongue out, belly swollen,
breathing through one nostril, with flies and crows nearby
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: cave
literal_form: cave at the foot of a hill where the lion and tiger live
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: mountain or hill foot
literal_form: foot of a hill or mountain where the cave and the hermit’s dwelling
are located
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: sym:5
label: wind
literal_form: wind identified as the cause of cold
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- id: sym:6
label: Feast of the Dead animals
literal_form: sheep and goats killed for food offered in honor of deceased relatives
associated_figures:
- fig:13
- fig:14
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Frame for the Cunning Deer
summary: The Master tells a story at Badarika monastery about Rāhula’s devotion
to instruction.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Deer instruction in the forest
summary: The Bodisat stag receives his sister’s son and trains him in deer-survival
devices.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Capture, feigned death, and escape
summary: The young stag is caught in a snare, uses learned tricks to appear dead,
deceives the hunter, is released, and returns to his mother.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:4
label: Jātaka identification for the Cunning Deer
summary: The Master connects the past-life figures with Rāhula, Uppala-vaṇṇā, and
himself.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Frame question about cold
summary: Two monks named Dark and Light disagree about when cold occurs and ask
the Master.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: scene:6
label: Lion and tiger dispute at the mountain cave
summary: A lion and tiger living as friends in a cave dispute whether cold comes
in the dark or light half of the month and ask the Bodisat hermit.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: scene:7
label: Resolution and Jātaka identification for the Wind
summary: The Bodisat explains that cold comes whenever wind blows, pacifies the
animal friends, and the Master later identifies the past-life figures with the
present monks and himself.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: scene:8
label: Opening of the Feast of the Dead tale
summary: People kill sheep and goats for offerings to deceased relatives, and monks
ask the Teacher whether this practice has any advantage.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:13
- fig:14
- fig:15
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Instruction in animal cunning enables escape from a hunter
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The young stag obeys instruction, applies learned survival tricks by feigning
death, and escapes after the hunter loosens the bonds.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage’s literal emphasis is practical
instruction and cunning rather than abstract doctrine.
- id: motif:2
label: Feigning death to escape captivity
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The trapped stag imitates a corpse so convincingly that the hunter releases
him as already putrid.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly names this motif.
- id: motif:3
label: Wise mediator resolves a dispute by reframing both sides as partly right
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat hermit explains that cold occurs whenever wind blows, whether
in the dark or light half, and thereby pacifies the lion and tiger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is extracted from the passage’s explicit resolution rather than
from an external classification.
- id: motif:4
label: Past-life tale parallels present-life disposition
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Master says Rāhula was formerly devoted to instruction and identifies
the young stag as Rāhula; in the Wind story, Dark and Light are identified with
the tiger and lion after a similar dispute is resolved.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: This is a narrative-pattern observation within the Jātaka frame, not a
supplied motif-family taxonomy item.
- id: motif:5
label: Animal killing for offerings to the dead
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: People kill sheep and goats in large numbers to provide the so-called Feast
of the Dead in honor of deceased relatives.
evidence_refs:
- ev:15
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt ends at the monks’ question, before the Teacher’s full answer;
the classification as sacrifice is based only on the described offering practice.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Cunning Deer frame explicitly compares Rāhula’s present devotion to instruction
with the young stag’s former obedience to instruction.
claim_level: same_function
target: Present-life Rāhula and past-life young stag within the Jātaka frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This comparison is internal to the passage and does not establish a
relationship to an external tradition.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Wind story explicitly parallels the present dispute between monks Dark
and Light with the past dispute between tiger and lion, both resolved by the Teacher/Bodisat.
claim_level: same_function
target: Present-life monks Dark and Light and past-life tiger and lion within the
Jātaka frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is a passage-internal narrative parallel, not a claim of historical
contact or common inheritance.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10046-10055; No. 16 frame opening
quote_or_summary: The Master tells the Cunning Deer story at Badarika monastery
in Kosambi about his son Rāhula, who was over-anxious to observe the Rules of
the Order.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10057-10060; No. 16 past-life opening
quote_or_summary: A king reigns in Magadha at Rājagaha; the Bodisat is born as a
stag living in the forest with a herd of deer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10061-10070; No. 16 instruction
quote_or_summary: The stag’s sister asks him to instruct her son in deer devices;
the nephew comes at the appointed time and receives instruction.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 10071-10078; No. 16 capture
quote_or_summary: The young stag is caught in a snare, cries out as a captive, and
the herd tells his mother that he has been caught.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 10079-10091; No. 16 reassurance and stanza
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat assures his sister that the nephew has learned the
devices of deer and recites that the nephew has six tricks with which he will
outdo the foe.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 10092-10103; No. 16 feigned corpse
quote_or_summary: The young stag lies still, arranges his limbs, throws up earth
and grass, hangs out his tongue, wets his body, swells his belly, breathes through
one nostril, stiffens his frame, and appears like a corpse while flies and crows
gather.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 10104-10110; No. 16 hunter releases bonds
quote_or_summary: The hunter strikes the stag’s stomach, thinks the animal was caught
early and is already putrid, loosens the bands, and begins collecting leaves and
branches to dress the flesh.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 10111-10114; No. 16 escape
quote_or_summary: The young stag rises, stands, shakes himself, stretches out his
neck, and swiftly returns to his mother.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 10116-10123; No. 16 conclusion
quote_or_summary: The Teacher states that Rāhula was formerly also devoted to instruction
and identifies the young stag as Rāhula, the mother as Uppala-vaṇṇā, and the uncle
as himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 10124-10147; No. 17 frame opening
quote_or_summary: At Jetavana, two monks named Dark and Light disagree over whether
cold comes in the dark or light half of the month and ask the Master, who says
he had solved the question for them formerly.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 10149-10154; No. 17 past-life setting
quote_or_summary: In the past-life tale, a lion and tiger live as friends in a cave
at the foot of a hill, and the Bodisat lives nearby at the foot of the same mountain
as a hermit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: lines 10155-10159; No. 17 dispute
quote_or_summary: The tiger says cold comes in the dark half of the month, the lion
says it comes in the light half, and they ask the Bodisat to solve the difficulty.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: lines 10159-10168; No. 17 stanza and resolution
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat states that cold occurs whenever the wind blows, in
either half of the month, because cold is caused by wind; he pacifies the two
friends.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:14
type: summary
locator: lines 10170-10178; No. 17 conclusion
quote_or_summary: The two monks are established in the Fruit of Conversion; the
Master identifies the tiger as Dark, the lion as Light, and the ascetic answerer
as himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:15
type: summary
locator: lines 10180-10202; No. 18 opening
quote_or_summary: At Jetavana, people kill sheep and goats in large numbers for
a Feast of the Dead in honor of deceased relatives; monks ask the Teacher whether
any advantage can come from this destruction of living creatures.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the provided excerpt. Motif candidates are strongest
for the feigned-death escape, instruction, and wisdom-dispute scenes; the Feast
of the Dead motif is less complete because the passage cuts off before the Teacher’s
answer.
reviewer_status:
status: needs_review
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Machine-generated draft from OpenAI Batch; not human-reviewed.
extracted_by: openai_batch:gpt-5.5
extracted_at: '2026-04-28'
notes: |-
No external comparisons or taxonomy IDs beyond the supplied available taxonomy references were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l10046-l10202
passage_sha256=9e3d83a464dbd0b3810d66a96036e5bc706f36c3699cd96f850178beedd37023