batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l11905-l12036
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l11905-l12036
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 THOROUGHBRED. / END OF THE STORY OF THE FORD. / END
OF THE STORY ON CONSTANCY. / END OF THE STORY OF THE BULL WHO WON THE BET.; lines
11905-12036
start: '11905'
end: '12036'
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 describes meritorious acts and their heavenly rewards, the
Bodisat's rebirth as Sakka, Sakka's expulsion of the Titans from the heaven of
the Great Thirty Three, their attempted return, Sakka's compassionate stopping
of his chariot to spare young birds, the Titans' flight after misreading his action,
and later heavenly rewards or lower rebirths connected with prior deeds.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Thoughtful makes a pleasure ground, Pleasing makes a pond with five kinds
of water-lilies, and Well-born does nothing.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Bodisat fulfills seven religious duties, including supporting parents,
honoring age, speaking truth, avoiding harsh speech and abuse, and avoiding selfishness,
envy, and niggardliness.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: At the end of his life, the Bodisat is born again in the heaven of the Great
Thirty Three as Sakka, king of the Gods, and his friends are also reborn there.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Titans dwell in the heaven of the Great Thirty Three before Sakka acts against
them.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Sakka has ambrosia given to the Titans, and when they become like drunken
men they are seized by the feet and thrown down Mount Sineru.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Titans fall to the Abode of the Titans on the lowest level of Sineru,
where a variegated Trumpet-Flower Tree grows.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Titans identify that they are no longer in heaven because the Trumpet-Flower
Tree is blooming rather than the Coral-Tree of heaven.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: The Titans resolve to war against Sakka and swarm up the perpendicular sides
of Sineru.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Sakka fights the Titans from the sky, is worsted, and flees in his Chariot
of Glory.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Sakka's chariot passes through the Silk Cotton Tree Forest, cutting down trees
and causing young Winged Creatures to fall and cry out.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: After Mātali explains the cries, Sakka orders the car stopped and says he
would rather offer his life to the Titans than make living creatures suffer for
supremacy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: When the Titans see Sakka stopping, they think he has received reinforcements
and flee back to the Abode of the Titans.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Sakka re-enters his heavenly city, and the Palace of Glory rises a thousand
leagues in height.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:14
text: 'Sakka places guards in five places between the cities: Snakes, Winged Creatures,
Dwarfs, Ogres, and the Four Mighty Kings.'
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: Piety, Thoughtful, and Pleasing are reborn as Sakka's attendants, and heavenly
structures or places arise corresponding to their earlier gifts.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:16
text: Because Well-born had done no act of virtue, she is reborn as a female crane
in a forest pool; Sakka finds her and brings her to heaven.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bodisat / Great Being / Sakka
description: The Bodisat fulfills religious duties, is reborn as Sakka, king of
the Gods, later fights the Titans and stops his chariot to spare young creatures.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Thoughtful
description: A person who makes a pleasure ground and is later reborn as one of
Sakka's attendants; a pleasure-ground named Thoughtful's Creeper Grove arises
for her.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Pleasing
description: A person who makes a pond with five kinds of water-lilies and is later
reborn as one of Sakka's attendants; a pond named Pleasing arises for her.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Well-born
description: A person who does nothing virtuous in the passage and is reborn as
a female crane in a forest pool before Sakka brings her to heaven.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Titans
description: Beings dwelling in the heaven of the Great Thirty Three who are made
drunk, cast down to the Abode of the Titans, and later attempt to retake the heavenly
city.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Mātali
description: Sakka's charioteer who explains the cries of the young Winged Creatures
and stops the chariot at Sakka's command.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Young of the Winged Creatures / Nestlings
description: Young creatures in the Silk Cotton Tree Forest who fall and cry out
when Sakka's chariot cuts down the trees.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Piety
description: A person reborn as one of Sakka's attendants; because of her gift of
the pinnacle, a jewelled hall of state named Piety arises for her.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Fivefold guards
description: Snakes, Winged Creatures, Dwarfs, Ogres, and the Four Mighty Kings
placed by Sakka to prevent the Titans from coming up again.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Angels / hosts of angels
description: Heavenly beings surrounding Sakka in his heavenly city; the text also
says Sakka performs duties toward angels and men.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: righteous practitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bodisat fulfills the seven religious duties and receives praise as a
righteous man.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: heavenly king
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He is reborn as Sakka, king of the Gods, and later sits as king of the angels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: compassionate self-sacrificing ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sakka says he would rather give his life as a sacrifice than cause living
creatures pain for supremacy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: meritorious donor rewarded in heaven
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:8
basis: Their earlier gifts or works are followed by rebirth as Sakka's attendants
and corresponding heavenly places or structures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: non-virtuous person reborn lower
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The passage states Well-born had done no act of virtue and was reborn as
a female crane.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: displaced rivals for heavenly city
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Titans are expelled from heaven, then resolve to war against Sakka and
win their heavenly city back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: charioteer and responder
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Mātali explains the source of the cries and stops the chariot when Sakka
commands it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: vulnerable creatures spared
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The young Winged Creatures cry out in danger, and Sakka stops the chariot
to prevent their suffering.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: boundary guardians
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Sakka places them in five places to prevent the Titans from coming up again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: heavenly assembly
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Sakka stands surrounded by hosts of angels and later performs duties toward
angels and men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: pleasure ground
literal_form: A perfect pleasure ground with fruit-bearing and flowering trees.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: pond with water-lilies
literal_form: A pond covered with the five kinds of water-lilies.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: heaven of the Great Thirty Three
literal_form: The heaven where the Bodisat is reborn as Sakka and where Titans initially
dwell.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: Mount Sineru
literal_form: A mountain with precipices, a lowest level containing the Abode of
the Titans, and perpendicular sides climbed by the Titans.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
- cosmic_mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Coral-Tree and Trumpet-Flower Tree
literal_form: Contrasting blooming trees used by the Titans to identify whether
they are in heaven or in the Abode of the Titans.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Chariot of Glory
literal_form: Sakka's famous chariot, a hundred and fifty leagues in length, used
during his flight from the Titans.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: Silk Cotton Tree Forest
literal_form: A forest cut down by the swiftness of Sakka's chariot, causing young
Winged Creatures to fall.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:8
label: Palace of Glory
literal_form: A palace that bursts through the earth and rises a thousand leagues
after Sakka's victory.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:9
label: fivefold line of guards
literal_form: Guards of Snakes, Winged Creatures, Dwarfs, Ogres, and the Four Mighty
Kings between two unconquerable cities.
associated_figures:
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:10
label: white canopy and golden throne
literal_form: A throne of gold under a white canopy of state in the jewelled Hall
of Piety.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:11
label: forest pool
literal_form: A pool in a certain forest where Well-born is reborn as a female crane.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Merit, praise, and rebirth as Sakka
summary: Thoughtful and Pleasing create beneficial places, Well-born does nothing,
and the Bodisat fulfills religious duties, receives praise, and is reborn as Sakka
in the heaven of the Great Thirty Three.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Titans expelled from heaven
summary: Sakka gives ambrosia to the Titans, has them cast down Mount Sineru, and
they recognize their displacement by the presence of the Trumpet-Flower Tree instead
of the heavenly Coral-Tree.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: War, flight, and the endangered nestlings
summary: The Titans climb Sineru to retake the heavenly city, Sakka is defeated
and flees in his Chariot of Glory, and the chariot's path through the Silk Cotton
Tree Forest imperils young Winged Creatures.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Sakka stops the chariot and wins without further fighting
summary: Sakka orders Mātali to stop the chariot so the young creatures are not
harmed; the Titans misinterpret the stop as a sign of reinforcements and flee.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Palace and guarded boundary
summary: Sakka returns to the heavenly city, the Palace of Glory rises, and Sakka
places a fivefold guard to prevent the Titans' return.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:8
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Heavenly recompense and Well-born's lower rebirth
summary: Piety, Thoughtful, and Pleasing are reborn as attendants with heavenly
places corresponding to their gifts, while Well-born is reborn as a female crane
until Sakka locates and brings her to heaven.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:10
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Meritorious conduct rewarded by heavenly rebirth
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
- divine_judgment
basis: The Bodisat's religious duties are followed by rebirth as Sakka in heaven,
and the women who made gifts are reborn as attendants with corresponding heavenly
places.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage frames the outcome as rebirth and recompense for deeds; the
available taxonomy term 'divine_judgment' is only approximate because no explicit
judging deity is named.
- id: motif:2
label: Lower rebirth after lack of virtue
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: Well-born is said to have done no act of virtue and is reborn as a female
crane in a forest pool.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not elaborate on a formal judgment scene.
- id: motif:3
label: Compassionate self-sacrifice by a ruler
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Sakka stops his chariot and declares he would rather give his life as a sacrifice
to the Titans than cause living creatures suffering for supremacy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The sacrifice remains offered or intended; Sakka does not actually die
in the passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Cosmic mountain as vertical boundary between heavens and rival realm
taxonomy_refs:
- cosmic_mountain
- world_center
basis: Mount Sineru has precipices, a lowest level containing the Abode of the Titans,
and sides by which the Titans climb toward the heavenly city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives vertical cosmological geography but does not explicitly
call Sineru a world center.
- id: motif:5
label: Displaced rivals attempt to reclaim heavenly city
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The Titans say Sakka has taken their heavenly city and resolve to war against
him to win it back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is approximate; the passage depicts sovereignty
conflict but not a formal legitimacy ritual.
- id: motif:6
label: Moral wisdom expressed as household and speech duties
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage lists seven religious duties and praises the person who supports
parents, honors seniors, speaks gently, avoids slander, and is true and self-controlled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: This is an ethical-didactic motif rather than a narrative event motif.
- id: motif:7
label: Guarded boundary after victory
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
basis: After Sakka's victory, a fivefold line of guards, including Snakes, Winged
Creatures, Dwarfs, Ogres, and the Four Mighty Kings, is placed to stop the Titans
from coming up again.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: Only the serpent component matches an available symbol taxonomy; the broader
boundary-guardian pattern has no exact supplied taxonomy reference.
- id: motif:8
label: Gift mirrored by heavenly counterpart
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Piety's pinnacle, Thoughtful's pleasure-ground, and Pleasing's pond are followed
by corresponding heavenly structures or places connected with their names.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents karmic consequence rather than an explicit reciprocal
exchange contract.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 11905-11912
quote_or_summary: Thoughtful makes a pleasure ground, Pleasing makes a pond, Well-born
does nothing, and the Bodisat fulfills seven religious duties.
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: 11914-11924
quote_or_summary: A stanza praises support of parents, honor to seniors, gentle
speech, truth, and self-control; the Bodisat is reborn as Sakka in the heaven
of the Great Thirty Three.
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: 11930-11944
quote_or_summary: Sakka has the Titans made drunk with ambrosia and thrown down
Mount Sineru to the Abode of the Titans, where they recognize the Trumpet-Flower
Tree instead of heaven's Coral-Tree.
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: 11946-11956
quote_or_summary: The Titans resolve to recover their heavenly city, climb Sineru,
and Sakka, defeated in battle, flees in his Chariot of Glory.
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: 11958-11971
quote_or_summary: Sakka's chariot cuts down the Silk Cotton Tree Forest; the young
Winged Creatures cry out, and Mātali explains their distress to Sakka.
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: quote
locator: 11973-11982
quote_or_summary: "“Rather will I, for their sake, give my life as a sacrifice to
the Titans. Stop the car!”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 11984-11991
quote_or_summary: Mātali turns back by another way; the Titans think Sakka has stopped
because reinforcements are coming, become terrified, and flee.
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: 11993-12003
quote_or_summary: Sakka re-enters the heavenly city, the Palace of Glory rises,
and he places a fivefold guard of Snakes, Winged Creatures, Dwarfs, Ogres, and
the Four Mighty Kings.
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: 12005-12022
quote_or_summary: Piety, Thoughtful, and Pleasing are reborn as Sakka's attendants;
a Hall of Piety, Thoughtful's Creeper Grove, and the Pond of Pleasing arise in
connection with their gifts.
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: 12024-12036
quote_or_summary: Well-born, having done no act of virtue, is reborn as a female
crane in a forest pool; Sakka discovers her, brings her to heaven, and shows her
the heavenly city and its places.
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: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif taxonomy
assignments are cautious where available taxonomy terms are broader or approximate.
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly
compare this narrative to another corpus or motif family.
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: |-
All evidence is drawn only from the supplied public-domain passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l11905-l12036
passage_sha256=dfeaeb3bad72ce27c2bb895c2201af206bb5d70b865cacda3daed1a648439e2d