batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l1754-l1841
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l1754-l1841
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: THE BARLAAM AND JOSAPHAT LITERATURE. / SUMMARY. / PART II. / ON THE HISTORY
OF THE BIRTH STORIES IN INDIA.; lines 1754-1841
start: '1754'
end: '1841'
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 evidence for the early existence and transmission
of the Jātaka collection, including variant titles on bas-reliefs and in the Pāli
Jātaka Book, examples of moral animal fables, the classification of Jātakas among
nine scriptural divisions, the structure of the received Southern Buddhist Jātaka
commentary, and uncertainty about attributing that commentary to Buddhaghosa.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Inscriptions over bas-reliefs sometimes call Birth Stories by names different
from those in the Jātaka Book of the Pāli Piṭakas.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The passage says the Jātaka Book itself shows uncertainty in titles, with
the same stories called by different names in different parts, and one bas-relief
bearing two distinct names.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: A fable about a lion and a jackal is described as teaching the advantage of
good character and as capable of being titled by either animal or by the moral
lesson.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: A fable about a tortoise is described as teaching the evil results of talkativeness
and as being referred to under both a character-title and a moral-title.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The passage states that Buddhist Scriptures are sometimes divided into nine
divisions, with Jātakas as the seventh division.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: The ninefold division including Jātakas is described as common to Northern
and Southern Buddhist sections and as evidence for an early Jātaka collection.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: The received Southern Buddhist Jātaka Book is described as containing stories,
commentary, introductions to individual stories, conclusions linking personages,
and a general introduction.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: The passage states that the author and date of the received commentary are
unknown and that attribution to Buddhaghosa is uncertain.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Buddhaghosa is described as going to Ceylon around 430 A.D. to translate Sinhalese
commentaries into Pāli after writing the Atthasālinī in India.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: lion
description: An animal in an example fable used to teach the advantage of good character.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: jackal
description: An animal paired with the lion in an example fable used to teach the
advantage of good character.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: tortoise
description: An animal in an example fable used to teach the evil results of talkativeness.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Buddhaghosa
description: A Buddhist literary figure discussed as a possible but uncertain author
of the Jātaka commentary and as a translator of Sinhalese commentaries into Pāli.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Thera Saŋghapāli
description: A teacher under whom Buddhaghosa is said to have studied in Ceylon.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: animal exemplum in moral fable
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: The passage gives animal fables as examples whose titles may derive from
characters or moral lessons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: commentator or translator under discussion
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Buddhaghosa is discussed in relation to commentary authorship and translation
of Sinhalese commentaries into Pāli.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: monastic teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage states that Buddhaghosa studied under Thera Saŋghapāli in Ceylon.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols: []
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Variant naming of Jātaka stories
summary: The passage describes differences between titles on bas-relief inscriptions
and titles in the Jātaka Book, while also noting title variation within the Jātaka
tradition itself.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Moral animal fables and interchangeable titles
summary: The passage illustrates how fables may be titled after animal figures or
after the moral lesson, using examples of a lion and jackal fable and a tortoise
fable.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Jātakas as a scriptural division
summary: The passage identifies Jātakas as one of nine scriptural divisions and
treats the division's presence across Buddhist sections as evidence for an early
collection.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Structure of the received Jātaka Book
summary: The passage describes the received Southern Buddhist Jātaka Book as an
expanded commentary containing stories, explanations, introductions, conclusions,
and a general introduction.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Uncertain attribution to Buddhaghosa
summary: The passage reviews the uncertain attribution of the Jātaka commentary
to Buddhaghosa and summarizes his reported work translating commentaries in Ceylon.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: didactic animal fable teaching moral conduct
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage explicitly describes animal fables used to teach good character
and warn against talkativeness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives examples for a discussion of titles rather than narrating
the full fables.
- id: motif:2
label: interchangeable tale titles from character or lesson
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage explains that a story may receive titles based on its animal
personages or its moral lesson, leading to interchangeable names.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a textual-transmission pattern rather than a narrative motif in
the strict sense.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage states that the scriptural division including Jātakas is common
to both Northern and Southern Buddhist sections, suggesting a shared canonical
classification before or near the period of their division.
claim_level: same_function
target: Northern and Southern Buddhist scriptural classifications of Jātakas
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim concerns canonical classification and textual history, not
direct comparison of a specific narrative motif.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1754-1761
quote_or_summary: Bas-relief inscriptions sometimes use names for Birth Stories
different from those in the Jātaka Book of the Pāli Piṭakas.
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 1761-1768
quote_or_summary: The Jātaka Book itself shows uncertainty in story names, and one
bas-relief has two distinct names inscribed over it.
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 1770-1776
quote_or_summary: A lion-and-jackal fable is described as teaching the advantage
of good character and as allowing titles based on the lion, jackal, or good character.
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 1776-1782
quote_or_summary: A tortoise fable is described as teaching the bad consequences
of talkativeness and as being known under both 'Chatterbox' and 'Tortoise' titles.
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 1789-1796
quote_or_summary: Buddhist Scriptures are sometimes divided into nine divisions,
with Jātakas identified as the seventh division, and this division appears in
several cited works.
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 1796-1803
quote_or_summary: The ninefold classification including Jātakas is described as
common to both sections of the Buddhist Church and as evidence of an early Jātaka
collection.
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 1807-1818
quote_or_summary: The received Southern Buddhist Jātaka Book includes stories, explanatory
commentary, introductions, conclusions connecting characters, and a general introduction;
it is called the Commentary on the Jātakas.
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 1820-1826
quote_or_summary: The author and date of the received work are unknown; Childers
ascribed it to Buddhaghosa, but the passage calls this attribution very uncertain.
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: lines 1828-1841
quote_or_summary: The Mahāvaŋsa says Buddhaghosa wrote the Atthasālinī in India,
went to Ceylon around 430 A.D. to translate Sinhalese commentaries into Pāli,
studied under Thera Saŋghapāli, and was allowed to translate commentaries after
proving his ability.
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: medium
notes: The passage is primarily scholarly and textual-historical. Motif candidates
are limited to the explicit animal-fable examples and title-pattern discussion.
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 taxonomy symbol refs were directly supported by the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l1754-l1841
passage_sha256=328ec3baa9a3691afad0d96728ae7b89d7525c40d402bc0ffbfdcbe1ac1e6fe3