batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l12321-l12478
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l12321-l12478
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
12321-12478
start: '12321'
end: '12478'
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 closes a quail Jātaka by identifying the foolish quail with
Devadatta and the wise quail with the Buddha. It then tells the Maccha Jātaka:
a monk tempted by his former wife is told of a past life in which a male fish,
following his wife, was caught by fishermen and lamented that his wife might think
he had deserted her. The Bodisat, then a royal chaplain who understood animal
speech, saved the fish and released it. The passage then begins the Vaṭṭaka Jātaka:
while the Buddha and monks are traveling in Magadha, a jungle fire approaches;
some monks propose a counter-fire, while others appeal to the Buddha. The fire
stops before reaching the Buddha, and he explains that this is due to a former
act.'
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Master concludes a lesson against quarrelling among relatives and identifies
the foolish quail as Devadatta and the wise quail as himself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A monk says he is love-sick because of the touch of the hand of the woman
who was formerly his wife.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Master says the former wife harms the monk and that in a former birth
the monk was nearly killed through her before being saved by the Master.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: In the past-life tale, the Bodisat is the private chaplain of Brahma-datta
in Benāres.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: A female fish smells a net, circles around it, and escapes, while a male fish
following her enters the net.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Fishermen pull up the net, seize the male fish alive, throw him on the sand,
and prepare fire and a spit to cook him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The fish laments that his greatest distress is that his wife may think he
deserted her for another.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The chaplain understands the language of all animals and hears the fish’s
lament.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The chaplain thinks the fish will be reborn in hell if he dies in an unhealthy
state of mind, and decides to save him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The chaplain obtains the fish from the fishermen, exhorts it to sin no more,
and throws it back into the water.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: The Teacher identifies the female fish as the former wife, the fish as the
depressed monk, and the chaplain as himself.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: While the Master journeys through Magadha with disciples, a great jungle fire
arises and spreads toward them.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:13
text: Some unconverted monks fear death and begin to make a counter-fire with fire-sticks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: Other monks rebuke the attempt to make a counter-fire and urge the group to
go to the Master because of the power of the Buddhas.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: obs:15
text: The jungle fire reaches within about sixteen rods of the place where the Master
stands and then goes out, leaving a space it cannot pass.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:16
text: The monks praise the qualities and might of the Buddhas after the fire stops.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- id: obs:17
text: The Teacher says the fire did not go out through his present power but through
a former act, and that no fire will burn in that spot through the whole kalpa.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Master / Teacher / Buddha
description: Religious teacher who tells the Jātaka tales, identifies past-life
figures, travels with monks, and stands where the jungle fire stops.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Devadatta
description: Identified as the foolish quail in the concluded quail story.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Wise quail
description: Past-life quail identified by the Master as himself.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Depressed monk
description: A monk who is love-sick for his former wife and is identified with
the male fish in the past-life tale.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Former wife
description: The woman whose hand the monk longs for; identified with the female
fish in the past-life tale.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Bodisat as royal chaplain
description: Private chaplain of Brahma-datta in Benāres; understands animal speech,
saves the fish, exhorts it, and releases it.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Brahma-datta
description: King reigning in Benāres when the Bodisat is his private chaplain.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Male fish
description: A large fish who follows his wife into a net, is captured by fishermen,
laments, and is released by the chaplain.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Female fish
description: The fish’s wife, who smells the net and escapes it; later identified
with the former wife.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Fishermen
description: Men casting nets into the river who capture the fish and plan to cook
and eat it, then give it to the chaplain.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Unconverted monks
description: Monks frightened by the jungle fire who propose making a counter-fire.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Other monks
description: Monks who tell the frightened monks to rely on the Master rather than
make a counter-fire.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:13
name_or_label: Whole body of disciples
description: The disciples who gather around the Master before the approaching jungle
fire.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
roles:
- id: role:1
label: teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:6
basis: The Master gives discourses and identifications; the chaplain exhorts the
fish not to sin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- ev:13
- id: role:2
label: foolish past-life counterpart
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Devadatta is identified as the foolish quail.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: wise past-life counterpart
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The wise quail is identified by the Master as himself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: love-sick or attached figure
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:8
basis: The monk longs for his former wife; the fish laments over what his wife may
think.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: role:5
label: wife associated with attachment
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:9
basis: The former wife is the source of the monk’s longing and is identified with
the female fish.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: savior from danger
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:6
basis: The Master says he saved the monk in a former birth; the chaplain saves and
releases the fish; the fire stops before the Master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- ev:12
- id: role:7
label: knower of animal speech
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The chaplain is said to understand the language of all animals.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: king
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Brahma-datta is described as reigning in Benāres.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: captive animal
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The fish is caught in a net, thrown on sand, and prepared for cooking.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: captors
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The fishermen capture the fish and prepare to cook it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: fearful disciples
assigned_to:
- fig:11
basis: Some unconverted monks fear death and begin to make a counter-fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:12
label: admonishing disciples
assigned_to:
- fig:12
basis: Other monks rebuke the counter-fire plan and direct the group to the Master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: role:13
label: assembled disciples
assigned_to:
- fig:13
basis: The disciples crowd together and stand around the Master as the fire approaches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- ev:12
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: net
literal_form: fishing net
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: fire for cooking
literal_form: fire prepared by fishermen to cook the captured fish
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: spit
literal_form: spit prepared for cooking the fish
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: river water
literal_form: river and water into which the fish is returned
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: jungle fire
literal_form: great jungle fire with smoke and flame spreading toward the monks
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: sym:6
label: counter-fire
literal_form: fire proposed by frightened monks to stop the conflagration
associated_figures:
- fig:11
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: sym:7
label: fire-sticks
literal_form: fire-sticks taken out by monks to get a light
associated_figures:
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:8
label: protected ground
literal_form: space around the place where the Master stood that the fire could
not pass
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:13
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Conclusion of the quail quarrel story
summary: The Master applies a lesson against quarrels among relatives and identifies
the foolish and wise quails with Devadatta and himself.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Monk tempted by former wife
summary: At Jetavana, a monk admits he is love-sick for the woman formerly his wife,
and the Master says she harmed him in a former birth also.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Fish caught in the net
summary: In the past-life tale, a female fish avoids a net, while a male fish following
her is caught by fishermen and prepared for cooking.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Fish’s lament
summary: The captured fish says the fire, cold, net, and spit are not his true distress;
he is distressed that his wife may think he has gone to another.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Chaplain saves the fish
summary: The Bodisat as chaplain hears the animal speech, fears the fish’s bad rebirth
if it dies in that state, obtains it from the fishermen, exhorts it, and returns
it to the water.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Jātaka identifications for the fish tale
summary: The Teacher identifies the female fish with the former wife, the male fish
with the depressed monk, and the chaplain with himself.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:7
label: Jungle fire approaches the traveling community
summary: During a journey through Magadha, a jungle fire approaches; fearful monks
prepare a counter-fire, while others urge reliance on the Master.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:11
- fig:12
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: scene:8
label: Fire stops before the Master
summary: The fire reaches near the place where the Master stands and goes out; the
monks praise the Buddhas, and the Teacher attributes the event to a former act.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:13
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Past-life animal counterpart explains present attachment
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Master links the monk’s present longing for his former wife to a former
birth in which he was a fish attached to his wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The label is descriptive and not a supplied taxonomy family.
- id: motif:2
label: Holy figure understands animal speech and saves an animal from death
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat as chaplain understands animal language, interprets the fish’s
state of mind, and rescues it from fishermen.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The supplied taxonomy has only the broad family 'wisdom'; the more specific
animal-speech rescue motif is descriptive.
- id: motif:3
label: Captured animal laments relational misunderstanding rather than bodily pain
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The fish says heat, cold, net, and spit are not his central suffering; he
fears his wife will think he deserted her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-specific motif candidate without a supplied taxonomy
reference.
- id: motif:4
label: Miraculous fire boundary around the Buddha
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The jungle fire reaches near the Master and goes out, leaving a space it
cannot pass; the Teacher links the event to a former act.
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: Although fire is a supplied symbol reference, no precise supplied motif
family matches this event.
- id: motif:5
label: Reliance on Buddha’s power instead of ordinary protective action
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Some monks propose a counter-fire, while others rebuke them for failing to
attend to the Buddha’s power; the fire then stops near the Master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
confidence: medium
cautions: The motif is inferred from the sequence of speeches and events; the taxonomy
reference is broad.
- id: motif:6
label: Former act produces present miracle
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Teacher states that the fire’s stopping is due not to present power but
to a former act, and that the miracle endures through a kalpa.
evidence_refs:
- ev:13
confidence: high
cautions: The relevant former act is not narrated within the supplied passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly maps present-life figures in the frame story to past-life
animal figures in the Jātaka narrative, assigning the former wife to the female
fish, the depressed monk to the male fish, and the Master to the chaplain.
claim_level: same_function
target: Present-life frame and past-life animal tale within the Maccha Jātaka
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal comparison made by the passage, not evidence of
comparison with another tradition.
- id: claim:2
claim: The fire episode is explicitly compared by the Teacher to a former act, presenting
the present miracle as the effect of earlier action.
claim_level: same_function
target: Present jungle-fire miracle and an unnamed former act within the Vaṭṭaka
Jātaka frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The former act itself is not included in the supplied passage, so the
comparison cannot be specified further.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 12321-12328
quote_or_summary: The Master concludes that relatives should not quarrel and identifies
the foolish quail as Devadatta and the wise quail as himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 12334-12351
quote_or_summary: At Jetavana, a monk says he is love-sick for his former wife;
the Master says she harms him and that in a former birth he was almost killed
through her before being saved.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 12355-12357
quote_or_summary: In the past, while Brahma-datta reigns in Benāres, the Bodisat
becomes his private chaplain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 12359-12364
quote_or_summary: Fishermen cast nets in the river; a female fish smells the net
and escapes, but the male fish goes into it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 12366-12368
quote_or_summary: The fishermen pull up the net, seize the fish alive, throw it
on sand, and prepare a fire and spit to cook it.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: 12370-12381
quote_or_summary: The fish laments that the heat, cold, net, and spit are not the
worst pain; the worst is that his wife may think he has gone to another.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short summarized quotation content.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 12383-12391
quote_or_summary: The chaplain comes to bathe at the ford, understands the language
of all animals, hears the fish, and thinks it may be reborn in hell if it dies
in that state of mind.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 12393-12408
quote_or_summary: The chaplain asks the fishermen for the fish, takes it, exhorts
it to sin no more, throws it into the water, and returns to the city.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 12412-12416
quote_or_summary: After teaching, the Teacher identifies the female fish as the
former wife, the fish as the depressed monk, and the chaplain as himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: 12427-12440
quote_or_summary: During a journey through Magadha, a great jungle fire approaches;
some unconverted monks fear death and begin making a counter-fire with fire-sticks.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 12442-12458
quote_or_summary: Other monks rebuke the plan to make a counter-fire, compare it
to failing to see obvious great things, and urge the group to go to the Master
and recognize the power of the Buddhas.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:12
type: summary
locator: 12460-12470
quote_or_summary: The disciples gather around the Master; the jungle fire comes
near but goes out within about sixteen rods of where he stands, leaving a space
it cannot pass; the monks praise the Buddhas.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: 12472-12478
quote_or_summary: The Teacher says the fire goes out there through the power of
a former act of his, and that no fire will burn on that spot through the whole
kalpa.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels
are mostly descriptive because the available taxonomy contains only broad families
and a limited symbol list. Comparison claims are limited to explicit internal
Jātaka mappings and the stated relation between a former act and present miracle.
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 sources or unprovided taxonomy identifiers were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l12321-l12478
passage_sha256=b40a251dd0cdcc7e262b8c3df7ca87c08dd822a3eb4c12e02c9f6a48b8c6eba8