batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l5243-l5330
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l5243-l5330
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: TABLE VII. / THE BODISATS. / TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH.; lines 5243-5330
start: '5243'
end: '5330'
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 future Buddha resolves to become a Buddha, leaves the heaven of Joy,
and is conceived in Lady Mahā Māyā. Before conception she observes festival rites,
charity, purity, and the Eight Commandments, then dreams that world-guardians
and their queens carry and purify her in a Himalayan setting. The future Buddha
appears as a white elephant holding a white lotus and seems to enter her womb
through her right side. The king asks Brāhmans to interpret the dream; they foretell
a son who will become either a Universal Monarch or a Buddha. At the incarnation,
the worlds tremble and many auspicious omens appear throughout the cosmos and
nature.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The future Buddha grants the deities' prayer by saying that the time has arrived
for him to become a Buddha.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: After leaving the heaven of Joy, the future Buddha is conceived in the womb
of Lady Mahā Māyā.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Lady Mahā Māyā participates in the Midsummer festival without intoxication,
bathes in perfumed water, gives large gifts, eats pure food, vows to observe the
Eight Commandments, and sleeps on a royal couch.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: In the dream, four archangels who are Guardians of the world lift Lady Mahā
Māyā in her couch, carry her to the Himalaya mountains, and place her beneath
the Great Sāla-tree.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The queens of the Guardians take Lady Mahā Māyā to Lake Anotatta, bathe her,
dress her in heavenly garments, anoint her, and adorn her with heavenly flowers.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The future Buddha appears in the dream as a superb white elephant holding
a white lotus flower in his trunk.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The white elephant enters the golden mansion, bows three times to Lady Mahā
Māyā's couch, strikes her right side, and seems to enter her womb.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The rāja summons sixty-four eminent Brāhmans, provides ritual hospitality
and gifts, and asks them to interpret the dream.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Brāhmans say that the queen has conceived a male child who will become
either a Universal Monarch if he remains a householder or a Buddha if he leaves
home for religious life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: At the moment of incarnation, the ten thousand world-systems quake, tremble,
and are violently shaken.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Auspicious signs include light, restoration of sight and hearing, speech by
the dumb, freedom of prisoners, extinguishing of hellfire, food and drink for
hungry ghosts, softened animal behavior, music sounding by itself, rain out of
season, fresh ocean water, blossoming flowers, and world-systems gathering like
a wreath.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Future Buddha
description: The being who resolves to become a Buddha, departs the heaven of Joy,
is conceived in Lady Mahā Māyā, and appears in the dream as a white elephant.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Deities
description: The beings whose prayer the future Buddha grants before leaving the
heaven of Joy.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Angels of the heaven of Joy
description: Angels who attend the future Buddha and remind him of acquired merit
before his departure.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lady Mahā Māyā
description: The queen in whose womb the future Buddha is conceived; she observes
vows and dreams the conception dream.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Four archangels, Guardians of the world
description: Four guardians who lift Lady Mahā Māyā in her couch and carry her to
the Himalaya mountains in the dream.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Queens of the Guardians
description: Queens who bathe, clothe, anoint, and adorn Lady Mahā Māyā in the dream.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The rāja
description: The king who hears Lady Mahā Māyā's dream and summons Brāhmans to interpret
it.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Sixty-four eminent Brāhmans
description: Brāhmans summoned by the rāja to interpret the dream after receiving
hospitality and gifts.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Bodhisattva before final birth
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He resolves that the time has arrived to become a Buddha and then departs
to be conceived.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: Dream elephant and entering child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He appears as a white elephant in the dream and seems to enter Lady Mahā
Māyā's womb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: Petitioning deities
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Their prayer is granted by the future Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: Merit-reminding heavenly attendants
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They attend the future Buddha and remind him of acquired merit before departure.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: Mother of the future Buddha
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The future Buddha is conceived in her womb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: Purified and adorned dream recipient
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:6
basis: Lady Mahā Māyā is bathed, dressed, anointed, and adorned by the queens in
the dream.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: World-guardian transporters
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The four guardians carry Lady Mahā Māyā to the Himalaya mountains and place
her beneath the tree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: Predicted Buddha or Universal Monarch
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Brāhmans predict the male child will become either a Universal Monarch
or a Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: Royal inquirer
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The rāja asks the Brāhmans what will come of the dream.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:10
label: Dream interpreters
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The Brāhmans interpret the dream as a conception and prophecy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Grove of Gladness
literal_form: Heavenly grove in the City of Delight where departing angels are reminded
of merit.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Midsummer festival
literal_form: Festival at Kapilavastu preceding the dream and conception.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Perfumed water and ritual bathing
literal_form: Perfumed water used by Lady Mahā Māyā before sleep and bathing in
Lake Anotatta in the dream.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: Himalaya mountains
literal_form: Mountain setting to which Lady Mahā Māyā is carried in the dream.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:5
label: Great Sāla-tree
literal_form: Seven-league-high tree under which Lady Mahā Māyā is placed in the
dream.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:6
label: Lake Anotatta
literal_form: Lake where Lady Mahā Māyā is bathed to free her from human stains.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:7
label: Silver Hill, Golden Hill, and golden mansion
literal_form: Dream landscape where the couch is placed and the elephant approaches.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:8
label: White elephant
literal_form: The future Buddha in the form of a superb white elephant.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:9
label: White lotus flower
literal_form: White lotus held in the elephant's silvery trunk.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:10
label: Right side entry
literal_form: The elephant gently strikes Lady Mahā Māyā's right side and seems
to enter her womb.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:11
label: Milk-rice with ghee and honey
literal_form: Delicate milk-rice in gold and silver vessels offered to the Brāhmans.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:12
label: Cosmic quake and immeasurable light
literal_form: World-systems quake and an immeasurable light appears at incarnation.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:13
label: Lotuses and universal blossoming
literal_form: Earth, waters, trees, rocks, and skies are covered with lotuses and
flowers among the omens.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:14
label: Rain, overflowing water, and fresh ocean
literal_form: Rain falls out of season, water wells from earth, rivers stop, and
ocean water becomes fresh.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Resolution in the heaven of Joy
summary: The future Buddha grants the deities' prayer, declares the time has come
to become a Buddha, enters the Grove of Gladness, is reminded of merit by angels,
and departs to be conceived.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Mahā Māyā's pre-dream observance
summary: Lady Mahā Māyā takes part in the Midsummer festival, bathes, gives gifts,
eats pure food, vows the Eight Commandments, and falls asleep on a royal couch.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Dream purification in the Himalaya
summary: The Guardians carry Lady Mahā Māyā to the Himalaya mountains beneath the
Great Sāla-tree; their queens bathe, clothe, anoint, and adorn her at Lake Anotatta.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: White elephant conception dream
summary: The future Buddha as a white elephant carrying a white lotus approaches
from the mountain landscape, enters the golden mansion, bows to Lady Mahā Māyā's
couch, strikes her right side, and seems to enter her womb.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
- sym:8
- sym:9
- sym:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Royal consultation and prophecy
summary: The rāja summons sixty-four Brāhmans, gives them food and gifts, and asks
the meaning of the dream; they foretell a son who will become either a Universal
Monarch or a Buddha.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Cosmic omens at incarnation
summary: At the incarnation, world-systems shake and many auspicious signs appear
among beings, heavens, weather, waters, plants, and the arrangement of worlds.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:12
- sym:13
- sym:14
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Sacred conception and birth announcement
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
basis: The passage narrates the future Buddha's conscious descent to conception,
Mahā Māyā's purified dream, the elephant's entry into her womb, and cosmic omens
at incarnation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes conception rather than the actual birth event.
- id: motif:2
label: Miraculous child foretold by dream interpretation
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: The Brāhmans interpret the dream as conception of a male child with extraordinary
alternative destinies, either Universal Monarch or Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The child is foretold before birth; the passage does not yet narrate childhood
miracles.
- id: motif:3
label: Dual destiny of sacred ruler or renunciant sage
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
- wisdom
basis: The interpreters predict that the child will become a Universal Monarch if
he remains a householder, or a Buddha if he adopts religious life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The royal and wisdom taxonomy links are functional classifications; the
passage frames the alternatives through prophecy rather than later fulfillment.
- id: motif:4
label: Descent from heaven into human incarnation
taxonomy_refs:
- descent
- sacred_birth
basis: The future Buddha departs the heaven of Joy and is conceived in Lady Mahā
Māyā's womb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy list does not include a general descent category;
this is connected to sacred birth rather than mapped to a supplied descent motif
family.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 5243-5330, opening section
quote_or_summary: The future Buddha grants the deities' prayer, declares the time
has arrived to become a Buddha, enters the Grove of Gladness in the City of Delight,
is attended by angels who remind departing beings of merit, leaves that realm,
and is conceived in Lady Mahā Māyā's womb.
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 5243-5330, Mahā Māyā before the dream
quote_or_summary: At the Midsummer festival in Kapilavastu, Lady Mahā Māyā observes
festivity without intoxication, bathes in perfumed water, gives four hundred thousand
pieces in largesse, eats pure food, vows the Eight Commandments, enters her chamber,
and sleeps on a royal couch.
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 5243-5330, first part of dream
quote_or_summary: Four archangels, Guardians of the world, carry Lady Mahā Māyā
in her couch to the Himalaya mountains and place her beneath the Great Sāla-tree;
their queens take her to Lake Anotatta, bathe her free of human stains, dress
her in heavenly garments, anoint her, and adorn her with flowers.
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 5243-5330, elephant dream
quote_or_summary: In the dream the future Buddha, as a superb white elephant, wanders
on the Golden Hill, ascends the Silver Hill, approaches from the north holding
a white lotus, enters the golden mansion, bows three times to his mother's couch,
gently strikes her right side, and seems to enter her womb.
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 5243-5330, royal consultation
quote_or_summary: After waking, Lady Mahā Māyā relates the dream to the rāja; he
summons sixty-four eminent Brāhmans, provides seats, milk-rice with ghee and honey
in gold and silver vessels, garments, and cows, then asks what will come of the
dream.
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 5243-5330, Brāhmans' interpretation
quote_or_summary: 'The Brāhmans tell the king not to be anxious: the queen has conceived
a male child, a son who will become a Universal Monarch if he lives as a householder,
but a Buddha who removes ignorance and sin if he leaves home for religious life.'
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 5243-5330, beginning of omens
quote_or_summary: At the future Buddha's incarnation, ten thousand world-systems
quake and thirty-two good omens appear, including immeasurable light, restored
sight and hearing, speech by the dumb, straightening of the crooked, freedom of
prisoners, extinction of hellfire, food for hungry ghosts, allaying of sickness,
kind speech, gentle animal sounds, and instruments sounding by themselves.
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 5243-5330, natural and cosmic omens
quote_or_summary: Further omens include clear heavens, a cool breeze, out-of-season
rain, water rising from the earth, birds ceasing flight, rivers stopping, the
ocean becoming fresh, lotuses and flowers covering earth and water, tree blooms,
lotuses emerging through rocks or descending from the sky, and the ten-thousand
world-systems clustering like a flower wreath.
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: uncertain
notes: The passage is explicit and detailed for sacred conception, dream interpretation,
and cosmic omen patterns. Taxonomy mapping is limited by the supplied taxonomy;
no comparison claims were added beyond candidate motif classification.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage and metadata. Candidate motif:4 mentions descent descriptively but does not assign an unavailable taxonomy reference for descent.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l5243-l5330
passage_sha256=4c0b3aa800adaacd770e9f5227643bbb721c4c9655090ac2f10ad74788fde526