batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l5958-l6057
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l5958-l6057
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 5958-6057
start: '5958'
end: '6057'
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 Bodisat travels with Channa and Kanthaka to the river Anomā, crosses
it, sends Channa back with his ornaments and horse, cuts off his hair and diadem,
and receives mendicant requisites from Ghaṭikāra. Sakka preserves the hair and
diadem in heaven. Kanthaka dies from grief and is reborn in Tāvatiŋsa heaven.
The Bodisat spends seven days near Anūpiya, then enters Rājagaha to beg, where
his appearance causes wonder.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Bodisat reaches the bank of the river Anomā after travelling thirty leagues
in one night.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Celestial beings cast down garlands and flowers so thickly that Kanthaka is
slowed and his flanks are hidden.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: After learning the river's name, the Bodisat declares that his renunciation
will also be called Anomā, meaning illustrious in the passage.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Kanthaka leaps across the river, described as five or six hundred yards broad,
and lands on the opposite bank.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: On the sandy beach, the Bodisat gives Channa his ornaments and Kanthaka and
says he is going to become a hermit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Channa asks to become a hermit too, but the Bodisat refuses the request three
times.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Bodisat cuts off his own plaited hair and diadem with his sword, leaving
his hair two inches long and curled to the right.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The Bodisat throws the hair and diadem toward the sky as a test of whether
he will become a Buddha; they remain suspended in the air.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Sakka receives the hair and diadem in a casket and places them in the Tāvatiŋsa
heaven in the Dāgaba of the Diadem.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Ghaṭikāra provides the Bodisat with eight mendicant requisites, after which
the Bodisat dresses in the signs of an Arahat and the garb of renunciation.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Kanthaka dies from grief after thinking he will not see his master again and
is reborn in Tāvatiŋsa heaven as an angel named Kanthaka.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The Bodisat stays seven days in the mango grove Anūpiya, then goes to Rājagaha
and begs for food from door to door.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The guards and king are uncertain whether the begging figure is a god, a man,
a Nāga, a Supaṇṇa, or another kind of being.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bodisat
description: The future Buddha who crosses the Anomā, renounces the world, cuts
off his hair, adopts mendicant garb, and later begs in Rājagaha.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Channa
description: The Bodisat's attendant, who asks to renounce the world but is sent
back with the ornaments and Kanthaka.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Kanthaka
description: The horse who carries the Bodisat, leaps over the Anomā, is sent back
with Channa, dies from grief, and is reborn in Tāvatiŋsa heaven.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Angels, Snakes, and Winged Creatures
description: Celestial or nonhuman beings who cast garlands and flowers before the
travelling Bodisat and horse.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sakka
description: The thousand-eyed sky god or archangel who receives the Bodisat's hair
and diadem and places them in Tāvatiŋsa heaven.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Ghaṭikāra
description: An archangel and former friend of the Bodisat in the time of Kassapa
Buddha, who gives him the eight requisites of a mendicant.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: King of Rājagaha
description: The king who watches the Bodisat from his palace and orders guards
to determine what kind of being he is.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Guards of Rājagaha
description: Guards who report the remarkable begging figure to the king and are
sent to observe him.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: renouncer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bodisat says he is going to become a hermit, gives away ornaments and
horse, cuts his hair, and adopts mendicant garb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: future Buddha
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage calls him a future Buddha when explaining that no one else should
cut his hair and includes his test concerning becoming a Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: attendant sent back
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Channa is instructed to return with the ornaments and Kanthaka and to assure
the Bodisat's parents of his safety.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: devoted horse
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Kanthaka carries the Bodisat, leaps the river, and dies from grief after
separation from his master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: celestial celebrants
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They cast garlands and flowers from heaven in abundance along the route.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: divine receiver of relic-like token
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Sakka receives the Bodisat's hair and diadem in a casket and places them
in heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: provider of mendicant requisites
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Ghaṭikāra gives the eight requisites of a mendicant to the Bodisat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: witnesses to extraordinary appearance
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: The guards report uncertainty about the Bodisat's nature, and the king watches
and orders further observation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Anomā river crossing
literal_form: River Anomā, five or six hundred yards broad
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: hair and diadem
literal_form: Plaited hair and jewelled turban cut off by the Bodisat and thrown
skyward
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: casket and Dāgaba of the Diadem
literal_form: Jewel or golden casket and heavenly Dāgaba where Sakka places the
hair and diadem
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: eight mendicant requisites
literal_form: Three robes, alms bowl, razor, needle, girdle, and water strainer
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: sacred garb of renunciation
literal_form: Outward signs of an Arahat and sacred garb of Renunciation
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:6
label: mango grove Anūpiya
literal_form: Mango grove near the place of renunciation where the Bodisat spends
seven days
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Journey to the Anomā
summary: The Bodisat and Kanthaka travel thirty leagues in one night while celestial
beings scatter flowers and garlands so thickly that the horse is delayed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Crossing and naming the renunciation
summary: At the river Anomā, the Bodisat learns the river's name, applies it to
his renunciation, and Kanthaka leaps across the wide river.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Sending Channa back
summary: On the far bank, the Bodisat declares his intention to become a hermit,
refuses Channa's request to join him, and sends him back with the ornaments and
horse.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Cutting and offering the hair
summary: The Bodisat cuts off his own hair and diadem, casts them toward the sky
as a sign-test, and Sakka receives and enshrines them in Tāvatiŋsa heaven.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Receiving mendicant requisites
summary: Ghaṭikāra brings the eight requisites of a mendicant, and the Bodisat adopts
the garb of renunciation before instructing Channa to report his safety.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Kanthaka's death and rebirth
summary: Kanthaka grieves over separation from the Bodisat, dies out of sight, and
is reborn in Tāvatiŋsa heaven; Channa returns weeping.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Begging in Rājagaha
summary: After seven days at Anūpiya, the Bodisat enters Rājagaha to beg; the city
is stirred, and the king and guards try to determine what kind of being he is.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Great renunciation and departure from former life
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The Bodisat crosses beyond kingdoms, gives away his ornaments and horse,
refuses Channa's companionship, and declares he is becoming a hermit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage names the act as renunciation; the broader life-story context
is not used beyond this passage.
- id: motif:2
label: Liminal river crossing before renunciation
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The Anomā river crossing immediately precedes the Bodisat's formal acts of
renunciation and his sending back of Channa and Kanthaka.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly describe the river as a symbolic boundary;
the motif reading is based on the sequence of actions.
- id: motif:3
label: Hair cutting and change of clothing as renunciant transformation
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
- departure
basis: The Bodisat cuts off his hair and diadem, rejects royal muslin as unsuitable,
receives mendicant requisites, and adopts renunciation garb.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The term initiation is not used in the passage; it is a candidate pattern
inferred from bodily and social transformation.
- id: motif:4
label: Divine preservation of a renunciant token
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
basis: The cut hair and diadem remain in the air, are received by Sakka, and are
placed in Tāvatiŋsa heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not call the hair and diadem a relic; the label uses
the literal heavenly preservation event.
- id: motif:5
label: Devoted animal companion dies and is reborn in heaven
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: Kanthaka dies of grief after separation from the Bodisat and is reborn in
Tāvatiŋsa heaven as an angel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The rebirth is stated for Kanthaka alone; no broader animal-companion
cycle is established in this excerpt.
- id: motif:6
label: Extraordinary mendicant mistaken for a superhuman being
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat begs in Rājagaha, and the guards and king are unsure whether
he is a god, man, Nāga, Supaṇṇa, or other being.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The wisdom taxonomy reference is broad; the passage emphasizes extraordinary
appearance more than explicit teaching.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 5958-5970
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat travels thirty leagues in one night to the bank of
the Anomā; the horse is slowed by garlands and flowers cast from heaven by angels,
Snakes, and Winged Creatures.
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: 5971-5981
quote_or_summary: At the river, Channa names it Anomā; the Bodisat says his renunciation
will also be called Anomā, and Kanthaka leaps across the broad river.
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: 5982-5992
quote_or_summary: On the sandy beach, the Bodisat tells Channa to return with his
ornaments and Kanthaka because he will become a hermit; Channa asks to join him,
but the Bodisat refuses three times.
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: 5993-6003
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat judges his locks unsuitable for a mendicant and cuts
off his own hair and diadem with his sword, leaving short right-curling hair.
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: 6004-6015
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat throws the hair and diadem toward the sky as a sign
of future Buddhahood; they stop in the air, and Sakka receives them in a casket
and places them in Tāvatiŋsa heaven.
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: 6016-6034
quote_or_summary: Ghaṭikāra, an archangel and former friend, brings the eight requisites
of a mendicant; the Bodisat dresses in the signs of an Arahat and the garb of
renunciation and tells Channa to reassure his parents.
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: 6035-6043
quote_or_summary: Kanthaka realizes he will not see the Bodisat again, dies of grief
out of sight, is reborn in Tāvatiŋsa heaven as an angel named Kanthaka, and Channa
returns weeping.
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: 6044-6051
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat spends seven days in the mango grove Anūpiya, then
walks to Rājagaha and begs food from door to door; the city is stirred by his
beauty.
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: 6052-6057
quote_or_summary: The guards tell the king they cannot tell whether the beggar is
a god, man, Nāga, Supaṇṇa, or something else; the king orders them to observe
how he leaves or eats.
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: high
notes: The basic narrative elements are explicit in the passage. Motif labels involving
departure, initiation, ascent, and death-rebirth are candidate classifications
and require human review.
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 external comparisons were added because the passage itself does not establish a comparative claim beyond internal similes and classifications.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l5958-l6057
passage_sha256=93f7fe21e4c021d22e0349cebe798467fd34b7c10377f7192f6a96d5b6a4b297