batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l2112-l2201
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l2112-l2201
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 2112-2201
start: '2112'
end: '2201'
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 the relative age of Jātaka verses and prose stories,
the Ceylon tradition about an older verse-only Jātaka Book, the possible addition
of Bodisat roles to older stories, the arrangement of the Jātaka collection by
verse count, and the artificial nature of the number 550 in relation to both stories
and births of the Bodisat.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The passage reports a Ceylon tradition that an original, no longer extant
Jātaka Book consisted of verses alone, with Birth Stories as commentary upon them
and further introductory and explanatory materials as commentary on that commentary.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The author argues that many Birth Stories may have existed before the verses
and that verses were added after the stories had become current.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The author proposes that the Birth Stories were handed down in Ceylon in the
Siŋhalese language, while the verses were preserved in Pāli.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The passage identifies a group of stories in which the Bodisat appears as
a chorus or moralizer only, not as an actor in the story.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The passage says the Bodisat’s part in such stories may have been added when
the story was adopted by Buddhists.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Examples given include the fable of the Ass in the Lion’s Skin and stories
where the Bodisat is a rukkha-devatā, described as the fairy or genius of a tree.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The present Jātaka collection is described as classified by the number of
verses in each story rather than by contents, with the five hundred and fifty
Jātakas contained in twenty-two Nipātas.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The passage states that some Jātakas counted as one story actually contain
several different tales or fables.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Kulāvaka Jātaka is said to consist of seven stories woven into one, and
the Ummagga Jātaka is said to contain a very large number of anecdotes, estimated
at more than one hundred and fifty.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The number five hundred and fifty is described as an artificial round number
that does not indicate the actual number of stories in the present collection.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: The passage estimates that the present collection contains between two and
three thousand independent tales, fables, anecdotes, and riddles.
category: other
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: The number 550 is also said not to exactly record the distinct births of the
Bodisat; the Kulāvaka Jātaka has two consecutive births of the future Buddha,
while six mentioned Jātakas do not represent a distinct birth at all.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bodisat / future Buddha
description: A recurring figure in the Jātakas; in some stories he appears only
as a chorus or moralizer, and in the Kulāvaka Jātaka there are two consecutive
births of the future Buddha.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: rukkha-devatā
description: Described in the passage as the fairy or genius of a tree; in many
stories the Bodisat is such a figure.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ass
description: Named in the title of the referenced fable, the Ass in the Lion’s Skin.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: moralizing chorus
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bodisat is described as appearing as a sort of chorus, a moralizer only,
and not an actor in the play.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: tree fairy or tree genius
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The rukkha-devatā is glossed as the fairy or genius of a tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: recurrent-birth figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage discusses distinct births of the Bodisat and says the Kulāvaka
Jātaka contains two consecutive births of the future Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: tree
literal_form: tree associated with the rukkha-devatā, the fairy or genius of a tree
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: lion’s skin
literal_form: lion’s skin in the fable title Ass in the Lion’s Skin
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: number 550
literal_form: the stated count of five hundred and fifty Jātakas
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Argument about older verses and older stories
summary: The passage reports the Ceylon tradition of an older verse-only Jātaka
Book, then presents the author’s alternative view that many prose Birth Stories
may have existed before the verses were added.
figure_refs: []
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Bodisat as moralizer or tree genius
summary: The passage describes a group of stories in which the Bodisat is not an
actor but a moralizing chorus, with examples including the Ass in the Lion’s Skin
and stories where the Bodisat is a rukkha-devatā.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Artificial arrangement and numbering of Jātakas
summary: The passage explains that the Jātaka collection is arranged by number of
verses, that some counted Jātakas contain multiple tales, and that the number
550 does not accurately represent either story count or distinct Bodisat births.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Bodisat as moralizing witness rather than actor
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage describes stories where the Bodisat functions as a chorus or
moralizer only, not as an actor in the plot.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage is literary-historical analysis rather than a narrative episode;
the role is described generally, not through a full tale.
- id: motif:2
label: Tree genius manifestation of the Bodisat
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage notes many stories in which the Bodisat is a rukkha-devatā, glossed
as the fairy or genius of a tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives only a general description and no individual tree-deity
episode.
- id: motif:3
label: Disguise in animal fable
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The passage names the fable of the Ass in the Lion’s Skin as an example in
the discussed group of stories.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: low
cautions: Only the fable title is present; the passage does not narrate the disguise
or its outcome.
- id: motif:4
label: Multiple births of the future Buddha
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The passage discusses distinct births of the Bodisat and states that the
Kulāvaka Jātaka includes two consecutive births of the future Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage mentions births but does not narrate death, rebirth mechanics,
or a full reincarnation episode.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage supports a cautious comparison between some Jātaka stories and
stories found in the Pāli Piṭakas or in old European collections, because it states
that certain stories occur in those corpora as well.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Pāli Piṭakas and oldest European collections
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage does not list the specific stories in this excerpt, and
it frames the point as evidence for early date rather than as a detailed motif
comparison.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2112-2122
quote_or_summary: The Ceylon tradition is reported to say that the original Jātaka
Book, no longer extant, consisted of verses alone, with Birth Stories and explanatory
materials as layered commentaries.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2124-2142
quote_or_summary: The author argues that many Birth Stories existed before the verses,
that verses were added after the stories became current, and that stories were
handed down in Siŋhalese while verses were preserved in Pāli; he also notes some
stories are found in the Pāli Piṭakas or old European collections.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: quote
locator: lines 2144-2152
quote_or_summary: "“the Bodisat appears as a sort of chorus, a moralizer only, and
not an actor in the play” and in many stories is a “rukkha-devatā--the fairy or
genius of a tree.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2154-2174
quote_or_summary: The collection is described as arranged by number of verses rather
than contents, with the five hundred and fifty Jātakas placed in twenty-two Nipātas,
though the system is not consistently applied.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2176-2192
quote_or_summary: 'Some Jātakas counted as one story contain multiple tales: Kulāvaka
has seven stories, Ummagga is estimated to contain more than one hundred and fifty
anecdotes, and the present collection may contain between two and three thousand
independent pieces.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2194-2200
quote_or_summary: The number 550 is said not to exactly represent distinct births
of the Bodisat; Kulāvaka has two consecutive births of the future Buddha, while
six mentioned Jātakas do not represent distinct births at all.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage is primarily literary-historical and classificatory, so motif
extraction is limited to general roles and examples explicitly named in the passage.
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 figures, symbols, or comparison claims were added beyond those directly supported by the supplied passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l2112-l2201
passage_sha256=741e606217ee5f311b2d6b178a66aef4b760a0a924f8ceb356683332106e519c