batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l12185-l12319
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l12185-l12319
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
12185-12319
start: '12185'
end: '12319'
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 concludes the story of a peacock whose boastful dance causes
the Golden Goose to refuse him his daughter and give her to another goose. It
then begins the Sammodamāna Jātaka, where the Master teaches that quarrelling
among relatives is destructive. In the tale, the Bodisat is born as a quail and
teaches a flock to escape a fowler's net by lifting it together and dropping it
on a thorn bush. When quarrelling later breaks out, the Bodisat leaves with his
followers, and the remaining quails fail to cooperate and are captured.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The peacock says the assembly has not seen his greatness, spreads his wings,
dances, and exposes himself.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The royal Golden Goose says the peacock lacks modesty and decency and refuses
to give his daughter to him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The king gives his daughter to a young goose, his nephew, and the peacock
flies away in shame.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Teacher identifies the peacock of the former time with the luxurious monk
and the King of the Geese with himself.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Master admonishes his relatives that quarrelling among relatives is unbecoming
and says animals were safe while united but destroyed after falling out.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Bodisat is born as a quail and lives in a forest at the head of a flock
of many thousands.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: A quail-catcher imitates a quail's cry, casts a net over assembled quails,
crushes them together, places them in a basket, and sells them.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The Bodisat instructs the quails to put their heads through the net meshes,
lift the net together, carry it to a thorn bush, drop it there, and escape from
underneath.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The quails agree to the plan and repeatedly escape by lifting the net together
and dropping it on a thorn bush, leaving the fowler empty-handed.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The fowler tells his wife that the quails escape because they live in harmony
but that when they dispute they will fall into his clutches.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: A quarrel begins after one quail accidentally treads on another's head, and
the quails taunt one another about lifting the net.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The Bodisat decides safety cannot depend on quarrelsome companions and leaves
with his immediate followers.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: When the fowler later casts the net, the quarrelling quails call on each other
to lift it; the hunter instead lifts it, bundles them into his basket, and takes
them home.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: peacock
description: A boastful dancer who displays himself before the assembly and is rejected
as a bridegroom.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: royal Golden Goose / King of the Geese
description: The father who judges the peacock immodest, refuses him his daughter,
and is later identified with the Teacher.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: daughter / fair gosling
description: The daughter whom the Golden Goose refuses to give to the peacock and
gives to another goose.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: young goose, nephew of the king
description: The goose who receives the king's daughter after the peacock is rejected.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Teacher / Master
description: The narrator-teacher who draws moral lessons and connects former-life
figures with present figures.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: luxurious monk
description: The present-life figure identified with the former peacock who lost
a wife through immodesty.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Bodisat as quail
description: A quail leader of a very large flock who devises the escape stratagem
and leaves when quarrelling begins.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: quail flock
description: Many thousands of quails who at first cooperate to escape the net and
later quarrel.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: quail-catcher / fowler / hunter
description: A catcher who uses an imitated cry and a net to capture quails and
sell them.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: fowler's wife
description: The wife who complains when the fowler repeatedly returns empty-handed
and to whom he explains the quails' harmony.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Master's relatives
description: The audience admonished by the Master about quarrelling among relatives.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: rejected suitor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The peacock seeks the Golden Goose's daughter but is refused after immodest
dancing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: father and marriage judge
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Golden Goose decides not to give his daughter to the peacock and gives
her to another goose.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:3
label: daughter offered in marriage
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: She is the daughter whom the king refuses to give to the peacock and bestows
on his nephew.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: chosen bridegroom
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The king bestows his daughter on the young goose.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: moral teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:7
basis: The Teacher gives the moral frame; the King of the Geese is identified with
him; the Bodisat as quail instructs the flock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: animal leader and strategist
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Bodisat is head of the flock and devises a cooperative escape strategy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: threatened community
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The quail flock is endangered by the fowler and survives only while acting
together.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:8
label: captor and seller
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The fowler captures quails with a net, baskets them, and sells them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: domestic interlocutor
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The fowler's wife questions his repeated empty-handed returns and receives
his explanation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:10
label: present-life counterpart
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The Teacher identifies the luxurious monk with the former peacock.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:11
label: admonished kin audience
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: The Master admonishes his relatives against quarrelling.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: peacock display dance
literal_form: spread wings, dancing body, exposed display
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: fowler's net
literal_form: net thrown over assembled quails
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:3
label: thorn bush
literal_form: thorn bush onto which the quails drop the lifted net
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: basket for captives
literal_form: basket into which the captured quails are stuffed or crammed
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: imitated quail cry
literal_form: the fowler's imitation of a quail's cry to gather the birds
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Peacock's immodest dance and rejection
summary: The peacock boasts, dances before the assembly, and is rejected by the
Golden Goose as unfit to receive his daughter.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Daughter given to another goose
summary: The Golden Goose gives his daughter to his nephew, and the peacock flies
away in shame.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Teacher's former-life connection
summary: The Teacher explains that the peacock was the luxurious monk and the King
of the Geese was himself.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:4
label: Admonition against quarrelling
summary: The Master tells his relatives that quarrelling among kin is unbecoming
and introduces an animal tale about unity and destruction.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:11
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:5
label: Fowler's threat to the quails
summary: The Bodisat lives as leader of a large quail flock while a fowler captures
quails by imitated cry, net, and basket.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:6
label: Cooperative lifting of the net
summary: The Bodisat teaches the flock to lift the net together and drop it on a
thorn bush, allowing repeated escape.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:7
label: Quarrel and departure of the Bodisat
summary: After an accidental insult, the quails quarrel; the Bodisat foresees danger
and leaves with his close followers.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:8
label: Capture of the divided quails
summary: The fowler casts his net again; the quarrelling quails refuse coordinated
action and are bundled into the basket.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Immodesty causes loss of a bride or prize
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The peacock's boastful and indecent dance leads the Golden Goose to deny
him the daughter he sought.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents this as a moral lesson, but the available taxonomy
has no more specific modesty or marriage-prize motif.
- id: motif:2
label: United animals escape a trap together
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The quails survive the fowler's net by all lifting it together and dropping
it on a thorn bush.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the literal motif is cooperative escape
from a hunter's net.
- id: motif:3
label: Quarrel destroys collective safety
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Master states that animals were safe while united and destroyed when
divided; the quails are captured after quarrelling prevents coordinated lifting
of the net.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a moral pattern explicitly stated in the passage rather than an
inferred mythic symbol.
- id: motif:4
label: Wise leader withdraws from a doomed quarrelsome group
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat foresees that the quarrelling quails will no longer lift the
net and leaves with his immediate followers before the fowler returns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not narrate the later fate of the Bodisat's departing
group within the excerpt, only his departure and reasoning.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage itself frames the animal narratives as wisdom exempla for human
or monastic conduct: immodesty explains a monk''s loss, and the quarrelling quails
teach relatives to avoid discord.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Jātaka animal exemplum / wisdom teaching pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal functional comparison supported by the passage's
framing; it does not establish historical contact with any external tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 12185-12198
quote_or_summary: The peacock boasts that his greatness has not been seen, dances
with spread wings, exposes himself, and the Golden Goose says he lacks modesty
and decency and cannot receive the daughter.
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 12199-12214
quote_or_summary: The king gives his daughter to a young goose nephew; the peacock
leaves in shame; the Teacher says the peacock was the luxurious monk and the King
of the Geese was 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:3
type: summary
locator: lines 12215-12234
quote_or_summary: At the Banyan Grove near Kapilavatthu, the Master admonishes his
relatives that quarrelling among relatives is unbecoming and says animals conquered
enemies while united but were destroyed after falling out.
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 12235-12245
quote_or_summary: In Benares, the Bodisat is born as a quail leading many thousands;
a quail-catcher imitates quail cries, throws a net over gathered birds, crushes
them together, baskets them, and sells them.
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 12246-12258
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat tells the quails to put their heads through the net
meshes, lift it together, carry it to a thorn bush, drop it there, and escape;
they agree and perform the plan.
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 12259-12283
quote_or_summary: The quails continue escaping, and the fowler returns empty-handed;
he explains to his wife that they live in harmony and says that once they dispute
they will fall into his clutches.
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 12284-12304
quote_or_summary: After one quail accidentally treads on another's head, the birds
quarrel and taunt one another about lifting the net; the Bodisat decides quarrelsome
companions are unsafe and leaves with his close followers.
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 12305-12319
quote_or_summary: The fowler returns, imitates the quail cry, and casts his net;
the quails tell one another to lift it, but the hunter lifts the net himself,
bundles them into his basket, and goes home.
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: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The extraction uses only the provided excerpt. Motif labels are close to
explicit moral statements in the passage; taxonomy mapping to 'wisdom' is broad
and should be reviewed.
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: |-
The supplied locator label mentions several story endings, but the provided passage text includes the conclusion of the Dancing Peacock story and the opening narrative of the Sammodamāna Jātaka.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l12185-l12319
passage_sha256=72837b8cfd05d9c79bb4bf72089cc7642a90649c559e8cc19496fcdb3a64e900