batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l1457-l1503
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l1457-l1503
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: INDEX 339 / INTRODUCTION. /
THE KALILAG AND DAMNAG LITERATURE. / THE BARLAAM AND JOSAPHAT LITERATURE.; lines
1457-1503
start: '1457'
end: '1503'
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 discusses possible transmission routes and comparative evidence
for a judgment tale found in Buddhist, Hebrew, Chinese Buddhist, and medieval
European contexts. It notes similarities and differences among versions, rejects
Solomon’s sea trade with Ophir as a likely means of tale migration, and suggests
an overland commercial route through Palmyra and Mesopotamia as more plausible
if such transmission occurred before the captivity.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Dr. Dennys is said to have given a Chinese Buddhist version of a similar judgment,
probably derived from a Northern Buddhist Sanskrit original.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Chinese Buddhist version is described as late and as differing substantially
from both the Pāli and Hebrew tales.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: A similar tale is said to occur in the Gesta Romanorum, a medieval work connected
in the passage with Barlaam and Josaphat and indirectly with Buddhist sources.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Gesta Romanorum tale is said to base the judgment on a son’s love for
his father rather than a mother’s love for her son.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage argues that the compilers of the Gesta Romanorum could not have
taken the altered tale directly from the Bible.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The passage identifies Ophir as probably in India or as an entrepot for Indian
trade, partly because Hebrew names for apes and peacocks are described as corruptions
of Indian names.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Solomon’s sea expedition is described as unprecedented, hazardous, dependent
on Phoenician sailors, and not renewed by the Hebrews until after the judgment
account was recorded in Kings.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The passage concludes that Solomon’s sea contact with Ophir was probably not
the means by which the tale migrated.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The passage presents overland communication through Palmyra and Mesopotamia
as a more likely route for early East-West tale transmission.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Goods named as moving westward by the overland route include gold of Ophir,
ivory, jade, and Eastern gems.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Dr. Dennys
description: Author cited as giving a Chinese Buddhist version of a similar judgment
in Folklore of China.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Chinese Buddhist version
description: A late version of a similar judgment, probably derived from a Northern
Buddhist Sanskrit original, but differing from Pāli and Hebrew tales.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Gesta Romanorum compilers
description: Orthodox medieval compilers associated with a similar tale whose altered
kinship basis is argued not to derive from the Bible.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Solomon
description: Ruler associated with coasting-vessels, Ophir, and an account of a
judgment recorded in the Book of Kings.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Phoenician sailors
description: Sailors whose aid is said to have been necessary for Solomon’s hazardous
sea expedition.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Jews and Buddhists
description: Groups named as possible tellers, hearers, or transmitters of the Indian
or Hebrew judgment story.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: cited comparative source
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage cites Dr. Dennys as providing a Chinese Buddhist version of the
judgment tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: variant tale witness
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Chinese Buddhist version is treated as a late but relevant witness to
a similar judgment tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:3
label: medieval adaptors or transmitters
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The compilers are discussed in relation to a tale in the Gesta Romanorum
and its possible borrowing from somewhere other than the Bible.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: royal figure linked to judgment and trade route
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Solomon is linked both to the judgment account in Kings and to a maritime
expedition to Ophir.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: maritime assistants
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The sea expedition is described as impossible without Phoenician sailors.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: possible cultural transmitters or recipients
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The passage asks whether Jews heard or told the Indian story and discusses
possible communication routes between India and the Jews.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Ophir
literal_form: Land or port associated with India, Indian trade, and Solomon’s vessels.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: Solomon’s coasting-vessels
literal_form: Sea vessels said to have brought apes and peacocks from Ophir.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: Apes and peacocks
literal_form: Animals whose Hebrew names are described as corruptions of Indian
names.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Overland East-West route
literal_form: Commercial route by way of Palmyra and Mesopotamia.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: Eastern trade goods
literal_form: Gold of Ophir, ivory, jade, and Eastern gems moving westward.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Comparison of judgment-tale witnesses
summary: The passage compares a Chinese Buddhist judgment tale, Pāli and Hebrew
tales, and a Gesta Romanorum tale, emphasizing both similarity and differences.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Rejection of Ophir sea-route transmission
summary: The passage considers whether Solomon’s maritime contact with Ophir could
explain tale migration, then rejects it because the expedition was exceptional,
difficult, linguistically limited, and not repeated in time.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Overland route proposed as more likely
summary: The passage suggests that if Jews and Indians exchanged the story before
the captivity, overland commercial routes through Palmyra and Mesopotamia are
more likely than sea contact.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Judgment tale testing kinship affection
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage centers on a similar judgment tale whose versions differ in whether
the decisive affection is mother-to-son or son-to-father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is discussing comparative literary evidence rather than narrating
the full tale; the exact plot mechanism of the judgment is not given here.
- id: motif:2
label: Tale migration through cultural and commercial contact
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage explicitly considers whether the tale wandered between Jews and
Buddhists or between India and the Jews, rejects one maritime route, and proposes
an overland commercial route as more likely.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: This is a transmission pattern rather than a mythic narrative motif in
the passage itself.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The Chinese Buddhist version is treated as a similar judgment tale related
in topic to Pāli and Hebrew tales, but its lateness and differences prevent it
from serving as decisive evidence by itself.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Chinese Buddhist, Pāli, and Hebrew judgment tales
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage explicitly says the Chinese Buddhist version differs too
much to provide an argumentative basis on its own.
- id: claim:2
claim: The Gesta Romanorum tale is presented as a similar judgment tale that may
belong to the same comparative complex, though it changes the emotional basis
from mother-son love to son-father love.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Gesta Romanorum judgment tale compared with Biblical and Buddhist judgment
tales
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage argues from similarity and borrowing context, but the direct
source of the Gesta tale is not identified.
- id: claim:3
claim: Solomon’s maritime contact with Ophir is considered but rejected as a likely
historical route for the migration of the judgment tale.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Possible sea-route transmission between Jews and India/Ophir
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage acknowledges Indian trade associations with Ophir but argues
that this contact was too limited and temporally unsuitable for tale migration.
- id: claim:4
claim: If the Jews heard or told the Indian story before the captivity, the passage
considers overland communication through Palmyra and Mesopotamia more likely than
sea communication.
claim_level: historical_contact
target: Possible overland transmission between India and the Jews
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The claim is explicitly conditional and presented as a more likely
route, not as demonstrated transmission.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1457-1465
quote_or_summary: Dr. Dennys is cited for a Chinese Buddhist version of a similar
judgment, probably from a Northern Buddhist Sanskrit original; it is late and
differs substantially from Pāli and Hebrew tales.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1466-1470
quote_or_summary: A similar tale occurs in the Gesta Romanorum, which quotes Barlaam
and Josaphat and is described as otherwise indirectly indebted to Buddhist sources.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1470-1478
quote_or_summary: The Gesta story bases the judgment on a son’s love for his father
rather than a mother’s love for her son; the passage argues this difference means
it was not taken from the Bible and was borrowed from elsewhere.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1479-1488
quote_or_summary: The passage suggests Ophir was probably in India or an Indian-trade
entrepot; Hebrew names for apes and peacocks brought by Solomon’s vessels are
described as corruptions of Indian names.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1488-1497
quote_or_summary: Solomon’s sea expedition is described as unprecedented, hazardous,
dependent on Phoenician sailors, not renewed until after the judgment was recorded
in Kings, and therefore not the means of tale migration.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1497-1503
quote_or_summary: The passage says that if Jews heard or told the Indian story before
the captivity, communication was more likely overland through Palmyra and Mesopotamia;
Eastern goods still reached the West by that route.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is a scholarly comparative discussion rather than a full narrative
episode. Motif candidates are therefore based on explicitly named tale-types and
transmission arguments, not on narrated plot details.
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 available symbol taxonomy terms were directly supported by this passage; symbol entries are literal trade/contact markers from the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l1457-l1503
passage_sha256=73e91998fb6c29c628e51b328e1a6e9b59084064141f9ec8d7418fea5305a3a3