batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l10450-l10575
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l10450-l10575
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 DART OF LOVE. / END OF THE STORY OF THE SWIFT ANTELOPE.
/ END OF THE STORY OF THE DEER WHO WOULD NOT LEARN. / END OF THE STORY ON FOOD
OFFERED TO THE DEAD.; lines 10450-10575
start: '10450'
end: '10575'
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 Bodisat makes canes hollow by solemnly appealing to the Ten Great
Perfections and commanding all canes around a pond to be perforated. Monkeys then
drink safely through the canes, escaping a water-demon. The Teacher identifies
the figures of the former birth. A second Jātaka begins: monks discuss Devadatta’s
attempts to kill the Teacher; the Teacher says Devadatta tried the same in a former
life. In the tale, the Bodisat is a Kurunga antelope who detects a hunter hidden
in a fruit tree, avoids the trap, warns the hunter of hellish consequences, and
escapes.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Bodisat has a Naḷa-cane brought to him, appeals solemnly to the Ten Great
Perfections, blows into the cane, and the cane becomes hollow throughout.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Bodisat commands that all canes growing around the pond be perforated
throughout, and the passage states that this command is fulfilled.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The hollow canes around the pond are listed among four Kalpa-lasting Wonders.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Bodisat and eighty thousand monkeys each take a cane, sit around the pond,
and drink water safely through the canes from the bank.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The water-demon fails to get any of the monkeys into his power when they drink
and returns sorrowfully to his own place.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Teacher identifies the water-demon as Devadatta, the eighty thousand monkeys
as the Buddha’s retinue, and the monkey king as himself in a former birth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Monks discuss Devadatta’s wickedness and list attempts involving archers,
a rock, and the elephant Dhanapālaka.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The Teacher says Devadatta had formerly gone about to slay him and had been
unsuccessful.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: In the former tale, the Bodisat becomes a Kurunga antelope living in a forest
and feeding on fruits.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: A deerstalker observes deer tracks at fruit trees, builds a platform above,
and wounds deer with a javelin when they come to eat fruit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The Bodisat antelope pauses at a distance and reconnoitres instead of going
hastily to the foot of the tree.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The hunter throws down fruit so that it falls in front of the antelope.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The antelope infers that a hunter must be in the tree, discerns him, and speaks
as if addressing the tree about its changed fruit-falling behavior.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: The hunter hurls his javelin at the antelope and says he has lost him this
time.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:15
text: The Bodisat antelope says the hunter has not escaped the hells and torments
resulting from his conduct, then escapes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bodisat as monkey king
description: The Bodisat in the Naḷapāna story, identified by the Teacher as the
monkey king, clever in resource.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Eighty thousand monkeys
description: The troop who each take canes and drink safely from the pond; identified
as the Buddha’s retinue.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Water-demon
description: A being at the pond who fails to get the monkeys into his power; identified
as Devadatta.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Teacher
description: The Teacher who gives the discourse, connects the former birth, and
introduces the Kurunga-miga Jātaka in response to the monks.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Devadatta
description: Named by the monks as attempting to slay the Sage and identified in
the prior story with the water-demon.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Monks or mendicants
description: The assembled monks who discuss Devadatta’s wickedness in the lecture
hall.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Brahma-datta
description: King reigning in Benares at the time of the Kurunga antelope tale.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Bodisat as Kurunga antelope
description: The Bodisat in antelope form, living in the forest, feeding on fruits,
detecting the hunter’s trap, and escaping.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Deerstalker or hunter
description: A village deerstalker who hides on a platform in a fruit tree with
a javelin to wound deer, then throws fruit and hurls the javelin at the Bodisat
antelope.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: miracle-working leader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He makes canes hollow, commands all canes around the pond to be perforated,
and leads the monkeys in drinking safely.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: resourceful Bodisat
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:8
basis: The monkey king is called clever in resource, and the antelope avoids the
hidden hunter by observation and inference.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: protected troop
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The eighty thousand monkeys drink from the bank through canes and are not
taken by the water-demon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: hostile antagonist
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:9
basis: The water-demon tries to get the drinkers into his power, Devadatta is described
as trying to slay the Sage, and the hunter tries to kill the antelope.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: narrating interpreter
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Teacher explains the former command, connects the figures of the Jātaka,
and introduces the former-life tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: audience and question occasion
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The monks’ conversation about Devadatta occasions the Teacher’s story.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: background king
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Brahma-datta is named as reigning in Benares when the tale occurs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: intended prey who escapes
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The hunter prepares to kill deer at the tree, but the antelope detects the
danger and escapes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:9
label: deceptive trap-setter
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The hunter hides on a platform and throws fruit down to draw the antelope
nearer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: hollow Naḷa-cane
literal_form: Naḷa-cane made hollow throughout and used as a drinking tube
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: pond water
literal_form: water in the pond, drunk through canes from the bank
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Kalpa-lasting Wonders
literal_form: four enduring marvels, including the hare in the moon, a fire-extinguished
place, an arid potter’s place, and hollow canes around the pond
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: Sepaṇṇi fruit tree
literal_form: fruit-bearing Sepaṇṇi tree where the hunter hides and the antelope
seeks food
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: hunter’s platform
literal_form: platform built on the tree above the deer tracks
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: javelin
literal_form: weapon carried and hurled by the hunter
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: sym:7
label: hells and torments
literal_form: eight Great Hells, sixteen Ussada Hells, and fivefold bondage and
torment named as the result of the hunter’s conduct
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Bodisat makes the canes hollow
summary: The Bodisat appeals to the Ten Great Perfections, blows into canes, and
commands all canes around the pond to be perforated throughout.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Kalpa-lasting Wonders are enumerated
summary: The passage lists four miracles lasting through the Kalpa, including the
hollow canes around the pond.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Monkeys drink safely and the water-demon fails
summary: The Bodisat and eighty thousand monkeys drink pond water through canes
while sitting safely on the bank; the water-demon fails to seize them and leaves
in sorrow.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Teacher connects the Naḷapāna Jātaka figures
summary: The Teacher identifies the water-demon as Devadatta, the monkeys as the
Buddha’s retinue, and the monkey king as himself.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Monks discuss Devadatta and the Teacher frames a former-life tale
summary: The monks discuss Devadatta’s attempts to kill the Sage; the Teacher says
Devadatta also tried unsuccessfully in a former time.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Hunter waits in the Sepaṇṇi tree
summary: In the former tale, the Bodisat is a Kurunga antelope. A hunter builds
a platform in the Sepaṇṇi tree and waits with a javelin after observing the antelope’s
tracks.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Antelope detects the trap and rejects the fruit
summary: The hunter throws fruit down, but the antelope infers danger, sees the
hunter, and announces that it will seek food elsewhere.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Javelin misses and the antelope warns of karmic punishment
summary: The hunter hurls his javelin and admits losing the antelope; the antelope
warns him of hells and torments resulting from his conduct and escapes.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: resourceful wisdom averts danger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monkey king devises a safe way for the troop to drink, and the antelope
uses careful observation and inference to avoid the hunter’s trap.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The two episodes are adjacent in the passage but belong to separate Jātaka
stories.
- id: motif:2
label: former-life antagonist repeats hostility
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Teacher states that Devadatta formerly tried to slay him, and the narrative
presents a prior-life attempt by a hunter against the Bodisat antelope.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The identity connection for the Kurunga tale is introduced here but the
full concluding identification is not included in the supplied passage.
- id: motif:3
label: miraculous transformation of natural objects by Bodisat command
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Bodisat’s appeal to perfections and command cause all canes around the
pond to become hollow throughout and remain a Kalpa-lasting Wonder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: No matching supplied taxonomy family directly names this motif.
- id: motif:4
label: moral consequence announced as hell punishment
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The antelope warns the hunter that hells, bondage, and torment are the result
of his conduct.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage frames this as consequence of conduct; it does not depict
an actual judgment scene.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares Devadatta’s present attempts to slay the
Teacher with a former-life pattern of the same hostile function.
claim_level: same_function
target: Devadatta as recurring antagonist toward the Bodisat/Teacher across Jātaka
framing and former-life tale
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal Jātaka comparison supplied by the passage, not
an external historical or cross-cultural comparison.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Naḷapāna conclusion identifies the water-demon with Devadatta, presenting
the demon’s opposition to the monkey king as a former-life analogue of Devadatta’s
antagonism.
claim_level: same_function
target: water-demon in former birth and Devadatta in the Teacher’s present narrative
frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is limited to the figures explicitly identified in the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 10450-10462
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat appeals to the Ten Great Perfections, blows into Naḷa-canes
so they become hollow, and commands all canes around the pond to be perforated
throughout.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 10464-10473
quote_or_summary: Four Kalpa-lasting Wonders are listed, including the sign of the
hare in the moon, a place where fire was extinguished, an arid potter’s place,
and the hollow canes around the pond.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 10475-10484
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat and eighty thousand monkeys drink water through canes
while seated safely on the bank; the water-demon fails to gain power over them
and returns sorrowfully.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 10486-10492
quote_or_summary: The Teacher says the water-demon was Devadatta, the eighty thousand
monkeys were the Buddha’s retinue, and the clever monkey king was himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 10499-10512
quote_or_summary: At Jetavana, monks discuss Devadatta’s wickedness, including suborned
archers, a hurled rock, and the elephant Dhanapālaka as attempts to slay the Sage.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 10514-10517
quote_or_summary: "“Not now only, O mendicants, has Devadatta gone about to slay
me; formerly, too, he did the same, and was unsuccessful in his endeavour.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; brief quotation used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 10521-10541
quote_or_summary: When Brahma-datta reigns in Benares, the Bodisat is a Kurunga
antelope eating fruit; a deerstalker tracks deer, builds a platform in the fruit
tree, waits with a javelin, and the antelope pauses to reconnoitre for danger.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 10543-10564
quote_or_summary: The hunter throws fruit down in front of the antelope; the antelope
infers that a hunter is above, discerns him, addresses the tree about its abnormal
fruit-falling, and says he will go elsewhere.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 10566-10575
quote_or_summary: The hunter hurls his javelin and says he has lost the antelope;
the Bodisat replies that the hunter has not escaped the hells and torments resulting
from his conduct, then escapes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Passage is explicit about actions, identities in the Naḷapāna conclusion,
and the recurring-antagonist frame. Motif labels are cautious and limited to supplied
taxonomy where supported.
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: |-
Used only supplied passage text and metadata. The locator label appears broader than the passage content; extraction reflects the provided passage only.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l10450-l10575
passage_sha256=bd8a9b789d9862243b38c8d8696071900108345dcbce0f90ff708bec01cc06ed