batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l12480-l12610
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l12480-l12610
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
12480-12610
start: '12480'
end: '12610'
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 Teacher, seated among disciples, recounts a former birth as a helpless
young quail threatened by a jungle fire. Abandoned by his parents and unable to
fly or walk, the Bodisat relies on the efficacy of truth and virtue, performs
an Act of Truth, and the fire recedes and goes out. The Teacher identifies himself
with the quail and explains the lasting immunity of that spot from fire. The passage
then begins another Jātaka about a monk whose forest hut burns and whose requests
for repair are repeatedly postponed by villagers.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ānanda folds a robe and spreads it as a seat for the Teacher before the disciples
gather around him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The disciples ask the Teacher to make the hidden past known to them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Bodisat is born as a quail in Magadha, emerges from an egg, and remains
in a nest fed by his parents.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The young quail cannot fly with his wings or walk with his legs.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: A jungle fire regularly consumes the place and, on this occasion, approaches
with a mighty roar.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Flocks of birds flee from their nests, and the Bodisat’s parents also flee
in fear of death.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Bodisat recognizes that he has no external help and no bodily means of
escape.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The Bodisat reflects on the efficacy of virtue and truth, remembers past Buddhas,
and resolves to perform an Act of Truth for himself and the other birds.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Bodisat declares that his wings will not fly, his feet will not walk,
and his parents have fled, then commands the fire to go back.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The fire recedes sixteen rods and goes out at the spot, compared to a torch
plunged into water.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The Teacher states that the wood’s immunity from fire is due to the earlier
Act of Truth, not to his present power.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: After the discourse, some listeners attain stages of conversion, and the Teacher
identifies the former quail as himself.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The next story begins with a monk at Jetavana whose forest hut is burned in
the first month of his stay.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: The people repeatedly postpone helping the monk by citing irrigation, sowing,
fencing, cutting, reaping, and treading-out work.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Venerable Ānanda
description: A disciple who folds a robe and spreads it as a seat for the Teacher.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The Teacher
description: The religious teacher who sits among disciples, tells the past-life
tale, proclaims the Truths, and identifies himself with the former quail.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Disciples
description: The body of disciples seated reverently around the Teacher, asking
him to reveal the past.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Bodisat as young quail
description: A newly hatched quail in Magadha, unable to fly or walk, who performs
an Act of Truth against the fire.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Parents of the quail
description: The quail’s parents feed him in the nest but later flee from the fire
in fear of death.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Flocks of birds
description: Birds that rise from their nests and fly away shrieking when the jungle
fire comes.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Buddhas of the past
description: Past omniscient Buddhas recalled by the Bodisat, described as associated
with the Bo-tree, truth, compassion, mercy, longsuffering, and equal love.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: A certain monk
description: A monk who receives a meditation subject, dwells in a forest near a
border village, and loses his hut to fire.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: People of Kosala border village
description: Villagers who give successive agricultural reasons for delaying aid
to the monk after his hut burns.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: attendant preparing seat
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ānanda folds a robe and spreads it as a seat for the Teacher.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: teacher and narrator
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Teacher sits, answers the disciples’ request, and tells the tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: identifier of former birth
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He sums up the Jātaka and states that he himself was the King of the Quails.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: requesting audience
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The disciples ask for the past to be made known.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: vulnerable animal protagonist
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Bodisat is a young quail unable to fly or walk while fire approaches.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: performer of Act of Truth
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Bodisat makes a solemn asseveration and utters the Act of Truth verse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: nest-feeding parents
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The parents make the young quail lie still in the nest and feed him with
food brought in their beaks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: fearful abandoners
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The parents leave the Bodisat and flee because of fear of death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: fleeing birds
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The flocks rise from their nests and fly away shrieking when the fire comes.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:10
label: remembered exemplars of truth and compassion
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Bodisat recalls the attributes of past Buddhas before performing the
Act of Truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: monastic sufferer of burned dwelling
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The monk’s hut is burned, and he lives in discomfort in the open air.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: delaying householders
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The people repeatedly cite agricultural tasks and allow three months to pass.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire
literal_form: Jungle fire and hut fire
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: water
literal_form: Water appears in the simile of fire going out like a torch plunged
into water.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: Bo-tree
literal_form: The tree under which Buddhas become Buddhas, as recalled in the Bodisat’s
reflection.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: egg and shell
literal_form: The Bodisat is born in an egg and gets out of the shell as a young
quail.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:5
label: nest
literal_form: The young quail lies still in a nest where his parents feed him, and
other birds flee from their nests.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: robe-seat
literal_form: Ānanda folds a robe in four and spreads it as a seat for the Teacher.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Teacher seated and asked to reveal the past
summary: Ānanda prepares a robe-seat, the Teacher sits cross-legged, disciples gather,
and they ask him to explain the hidden past.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Bodisat born as helpless quail
summary: The Bodisat is born as a quail in Magadha, emerges from an egg, remains
in the nest, and is fed by his parents while unable to fly or walk.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Jungle fire and abandonment
summary: A jungle fire approaches; birds flee from their nests, and the quail’s
parents abandon him in fear of death.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Act of Truth stops the fire
summary: The Bodisat recalls truth, virtue, and past Buddhas, utters an Act of Truth,
and the fire recedes sixteen rods and goes out.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Jātaka conclusion and identification
summary: The Teacher explains that the wood’s immunity from fire comes from the
former Act of Truth, proclaims the Truths, and identifies himself as the former
quail.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Burned hut and delayed help
summary: The next Jātaka begins with a monk whose forest hut burns; villagers repeatedly
postpone assistance while they complete agricultural tasks, leaving him in discomfort.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Act of Truth averts destructive fire
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: A helpless quail relies on truth and virtue, performs an Act of Truth, and
the approaching fire recedes and goes out.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference to wisdom is broad; the passage’s explicit term
is an Act of Truth rather than a named wisdom motif.
- id: motif:2
label: Helpless young animal saved without physical escape
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The young quail cannot fly or walk, is abandoned by his parents, and survives
through the Act of Truth rather than bodily flight.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level narrative pattern, not linked here to a supplied
taxonomy family.
- id: motif:3
label: Lasting sacred exception to natural disaster
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The spot where the Act of Truth occurred is said to have escaped being overwhelmed
by fire throughout the kalpa and is called a kalpa-enduring miracle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes a lasting miracle at a location, but no explicit
supplied taxonomy category exactly matches it.
- id: motif:4
label: Former-birth identification in a Jātaka frame
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Teacher connects the past tale to the present by identifying his former
parents and stating that he himself was the King of the Quails.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a structural Jātaka pattern rather than one of the supplied motif
families.
- id: motif:5
label: Delayed aid after burned dwelling
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: In the following story opening, the monk’s hut burns and villagers defer
action for three months by citing agricultural tasks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: Only the opening of this story is present in the passage, so the larger
function of the pattern is not yet shown.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The quail episode belongs to a Buddhist Act of Truth miracle pattern, since
the passage itself names the act, quotes scriptural verses about truth’s power,
and presents the act as causing the fire to withdraw.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Buddhist Act of Truth miracle pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supports the named pattern internally, but no external
parallels are provided in the supplied text.
- id: claim:2
claim: The teaching frame follows a Jātaka former-birth identification pattern,
with a present discourse, a past-life animal tale, and a final identification
of the Teacher as the former quail.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jātaka former-birth narrative frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is limited to the narrative function visible in this passage
and does not infer historical development.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 12480-12488
quote_or_summary: Ānanda spreads a folded robe as a seat; the Teacher sits cross-legged;
disciples gather and ask him to reveal the hidden past; he begins the tale.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: 12490-12497
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat is born as a quail in Magadha, comes out of the shell,
is kept in the nest, is fed by his parents, and cannot fly or walk.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 12499-12504
quote_or_summary: A yearly jungle fire comes with a roar; birds flee shrieking from
their nests, and the Bodisat’s parents abandon him and fly away in fear of death.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 12506-12515
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat sees the conflagration approaching and reflects that
he cannot escape by wing or foot, has been left alone, and has no help from others
or himself.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 12517-12533
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat reflects that virtue and truth have efficacy, recalls
omniscient Buddhas and their attributes, and resolves to perform an Act of Truth
to drive back the fire and protect himself and other birds.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: 12547-12553
quote_or_summary: "“Wings I have that will not fly, / Feet I have that will not
walk; / My parents, too, are fled away! / O All-embracing Fire--go back!”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: 12555-12569
quote_or_summary: Before the Bodisat and his Act of Truth, the Element goes back
sixteen rods and goes out at the spot, like a torch plunged into water; the place
is called a kalpa-enduring miracle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 12573-12583
quote_or_summary: The Teacher explains that the wood’s immunity from fire comes
from the former Act of Truth, proclaims the Truths, and identifies his former
parents and himself as the King of the Quails.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 12587-12610
quote_or_summary: 'The next Jātaka begins: a monk receives a meditation subject,
dwells in a forest near a Kosala border village, his hut burns, and villagers
delay assistance for three months by citing agricultural work.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; excerpt summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The Holy Quail narrative is complete in the supplied passage, supporting
high-confidence extraction for that section. The following Sakuṇa Jātaka is only
beginning, so motifs from it are provisional.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Taxonomy references are limited to available refs and are included only where directly supported or cautiously applicable.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l12480-l12610
passage_sha256=a62a0687214bb7273dd7e85e0a230da688c7f3a9df3b537427bd6a1e7308cbeb