batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l6059-l6161
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l6059-l6161
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 6059-6161
start: '6059'
end: '6161'
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 eats begged scraps despite revulsion, refuses a king's offer
of a kingdom because he seeks complete enlightenment, studies and leaves trance-teachers,
undertakes the Great Struggle at Uruvela, practices extreme fasting for six years,
is sustained by angels, collapses and is falsely reported dead, recovers, abandons
penance as not the way to Wisdom, resumes ordinary food, regains the signs of
a Great Being, is abandoned by five mendicants, and the passage closes by introducing
Sujātā's fulfilled vow to a Nigrodha-tree.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Great Being collected scraps of food, sat facing East under the shadow
of the Paṇḍava rock, admonished himself, and ate despite revulsion.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A king approached after hearing his messengers' report and offered the Bodisat
all his kingdom.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Bodisat refused wealth and sinful pleasures, saying he had left all in
hope of complete enlightenment.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The king predicted the Bodisat would become a Buddha and requested that he
come first to the king's kingdom after Buddhahood.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The text says its account of the Renunciation is concise and refers to the
Pabbajjā Sutta and its commentary for the fuller account.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Bodisat joined Āḷāra Kāḷāma and Uddaka, son of Rāma, acquired their systems
of ecstatic trance, then left that practice because he saw it was not the way
to wisdom.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Bodisat went to Uruvela, called the spot pleasant, took up residence there,
and devoted himself to the Great Struggle.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Five mendicants, including Kondanya, stayed by the Bodisat for six years and
served him while expecting him to become a Buddha.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Bodisat attempted uttermost penance by living on one seed or grain, and
even by fasting entirely.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Angels gathered the sap of life and infused it into him through the pores
of his skin during his fasting.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Through fasting the Bodisat became skeletal, dark in color, lost the Thirty-two
signs of a Great Being, and fainted while walking in meditation.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Some angels said the mendicant Gotama was dead, while others said his condition
was that of Arahats.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: Suddhodana refused to believe the report of his son's death before Wisdom,
because he remembered earlier miracles connected with the Jambu-tree and Kāḷa
Devala.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: The Bodisat recovered consciousness and stood up, and angels reported his
wellness to the king.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:15
text: The Bodisat perceived penance was not the way to Wisdom, resumed ordinary
material food, and regained the Thirty-two signs and a gold-like bodily color.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:16
text: The five attendant mendicants judged him lost in the Struggle, left him, took
their robes and bowls, and went to Isipatana.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:17
text: Sujātā, daughter of the house of Senāni the landowner, prayed to a Nigrodha-tree
for marriage into an equal-rank family and a firstborn son, promising a yearly
offering if fulfilled.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Great Being / Bodisat / Siddhattha / mendicant Gotama
description: The central renunciant figure who eats begged food, refuses kingship,
seeks complete enlightenment, studies trance systems, undertakes penance, collapses,
recovers, and abandons penance for ordinary food.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The king who approaches the Bodisat
description: A king who hears reports from his men, approaches the Bodisat, offers
him a kingdom, predicts Buddhahood, and asks for a future visit after Buddhahood.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Āḷāra Kāḷāma
description: A teacher with whom the Bodisat joins and from whom he acquires a system
of ecstatic trance.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Uddaka, son of Rāma
description: A teacher with whom the Bodisat joins and from whom he acquires a system
of ecstatic trance.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: The five mendicants, including Kondanya
description: Five mendicants who serve the Bodisat for six years during the Great
Struggle, then leave him for Isipatana after he resumes ordinary food.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:10
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Angels
description: Divine beings who infuse sap of life into the fasting Bodisat, debate
whether he is dead, and report his condition to Suddhodana.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Suddhodana the king
description: The king addressed by angels as the Bodisat's father; he refuses to
believe that his son died before attaining Wisdom.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Sujātā
description: A girl born in the house of Senāni the landowner who prays to a Nigrodha-tree
and vows an annual offering if her marital and childbirth wishes are fulfilled.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: renunciant seeker of complete enlightenment
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bodisat says he has left all in hope of attaining complete enlightenment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: ascetic practitioner in the Great Struggle
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He settles at Uruvela, undertakes the Great Struggle, and practices extreme
fasting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: discernment figure rejecting insufficient paths
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He rejects trance systems and later penance as not the way to wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:9
- id: role:4
label: royal offerer and requester
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The king offers his kingdom, predicts Buddhahood, and asks the Bodisat to
visit his kingdom after Buddhahood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: trance-system teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The Bodisat joins them and acquires their systems of ecstatic trance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: attendant mendicants
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The five mendicants stay by the Bodisat for six years and serve him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: disappointed followers who depart
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: After the Bodisat resumes ordinary food, they conclude he is lost in the
Struggle and leave for Isipatana.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: role:8
label: divine sustainers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Angels infuse the sap of life into the fasting Bodisat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: divine reporters
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Angels report the Bodisat's alleged death and later his recovery to Suddhodana.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: royal father who refuses false death report
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Suddhodana refuses to credit the report that his son died before Wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: votive petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Sujātā prays to a Nigrodha-tree and promises a yearly offering if her wishes
are fulfilled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Paṇḍava rock
literal_form: A rock whose shadow shelters the Bodisat as he sits facing East and
eats the scraps of food.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: begged scraps and ordinary material food
literal_form: Scraps of food collected by the Bodisat, later ordinary material food
collected from villages and towns.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: one seed or one grain
literal_form: One seed of the oil plant or one grain of rice, representing the minimal
food of the Bodisat's uttermost penance.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: sap of life
literal_form: A life-sustaining substance gathered by angels and infused into the
Bodisat through the pores of his skin.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: Thirty-two signs of a Great Being and gold-like color
literal_form: Bodily marks and bright color that disappear during extreme fasting
and return after the Bodisat resumes ordinary food.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:9
- id: sym:6
label: Jambu-tree
literal_form: A tree at whose foot earlier miracles were seen, cited as a reason
Suddhodana disbelieves the death report.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: Nigrodha-tree
literal_form: A tree to which Sujātā prays with a conditional vow of annual offering.
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Eating scraps under the Paṇḍava rock
summary: The Great Being gathers enough scraps to support himself, sits facing East
under the Paṇḍava rock, overcomes revulsion by self-admonition, and eats.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Royal offer refused
summary: The king, moved by the Bodisat's dignity, offers his kingdom; the Bodisat
refuses because he seeks complete enlightenment; the king asks for a future visit
after Buddhahood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Trance-teachers and departure to Uruvela
summary: The Bodisat studies with Āḷāra Kāḷāma and Uddaka, rejects their Attainment
as not the way to wisdom, and takes residence at Uruvela for the Great Struggle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Six years of attendant service
summary: Five mendicants, including Kondanya, meet the Bodisat and serve him for
six years while expecting his Buddhahood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Extreme fasting, divine sustenance, and collapse
summary: The Bodisat performs uttermost penance with minimal or no food; angels
sustain him with sap of life; his body deteriorates and he faints.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: False death report and recovery
summary: Angels disagree about whether Gotama is dead; Suddhodana refuses to believe
a death before Wisdom; the Bodisat recovers, and angels report that he is well.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Abandonment of penance and departure of mendicants
summary: The Bodisat sees penance is not the way to Wisdom, resumes ordinary food,
regains the signs and gold-like color, and is abandoned by the five mendicants
who go to Isipatana.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: scene:8
label: Sujātā's vow to the Nigrodha-tree
summary: Sujātā vows an annual costly offering to a Nigrodha-tree if she marries
into an equal-rank family and has a son as firstborn; the passage says the prayer
took effect.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: renunciation and departure from worldly privilege
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The Bodisat contrasts former privileged food with his chosen mendicant life,
refuses a kingdom, and says he has left all for enlightenment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage is a narrative segment within a larger renunciation account
and does not recount the initial palace departure in full.
- id: motif:2
label: quest for Wisdom beyond inadequate paths
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat rejects trance attainments and later penance as not the way to
wisdom, while aiming at complete enlightenment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes discernment and rejection of practices, not the
final attainment itself.
- id: motif:3
label: ascetic ordeal as testing struggle
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The Bodisat undertakes the Great Struggle, practices extreme fasting for
six years, is served by attendants, collapses, and later changes course.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The text names the practice as the Great Struggle; classifying it as initiation
is interpretive and should be reviewed.
- id: motif:4
label: deathlike collapse followed by recovery
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The Bodisat is reported dead after fainting in extreme penance, Suddhodana
refuses the report, and the Bodisat recovers consciousness and stands up.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage explicitly says he fainted and recovered; it does not present
an actual death and resurrection.
- id: motif:5
label: divine sustenance during ordeal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Angels gather sap of life and infuse it into the fasting Bodisat through
his skin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No supplied taxonomy family directly matches this motif.
- id: motif:6
label: votive exchange with a sacred tree
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Sujātā prays to a Nigrodha-tree and promises an annual offering if marriage
and childbirth wishes are granted; the prayer is said to take effect.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the vow and fulfillment briefly; later ritual details
are outside the provided passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage identifies its own renunciation episode as a concise version
of a fuller account found in the Pabbajjā Sutta and its commentary.
claim_level: same_motif
target: 'Pabbajjā Sutta and its commentary: Renunciation account'
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage only points to the fuller account and gives its opening
phrase; it does not provide the full parallel text here.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6059-6073
quote_or_summary: The Great Being collects scraps, sits facing East under the Paṇḍava
rock, feels revulsion, admonishes himself by recalling his wish to live by begging,
and eats.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6075-6086
quote_or_summary: A king comes after hearing his men, offers the Bodisat his kingdom;
the Bodisat refuses wealth and pleasures in hope of complete enlightenment; the
king predicts Buddhahood and asks for a future visit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6088-6091
quote_or_summary: The text says the account is concise and refers readers to the
Pabbajjā Sutta and its commentary for the full account beginning with a verse
on the Renunciation.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6093-6101
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat grants the king's request, studies the ecstatic trance
systems of Āḷāra Kāḷāma and Uddaka, rejects them as not the way to wisdom, and
goes to Uruvela for the Great Struggle.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6103-6109
quote_or_summary: Five mendicants, including Kondanya, meet the Bodisat, stay by
him for six years, serve him, and repeatedly expect that he will become a Buddha.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6111-6121
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat performs uttermost penance with one seed, one grain,
or complete fasting; angels infuse sap of life; he becomes skeletal and dark,
loses the Thirty-two signs, suffers pain, faints, and falls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6123-6137
quote_or_summary: Some angels say Gotama is dead, others compare his state to that
of Arahats; a death report reaches Suddhodana, who refuses to believe his son
could die before Wisdom, recalling earlier miracles at the Jambu-tree and with
Kāḷa Devala.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6139-6142
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat recovers consciousness and stands; angels report to
the king that his son is well, and the king says he knew his son was not dead.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 6144-6148
quote_or_summary: The six years' penance becomes widely known; the Bodisat perceives
penance is not the way to Wisdom, resumes ordinary food, and regains the Thirty-two
signs and gold-like color.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 6150-6157
quote_or_summary: The five attendant mendicants judge that he failed despite six
years' penance and is lost in the Struggle; they leave with robes and bowls and
go to Isipatana.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 6159-6161
quote_or_summary: Sujātā of Senāni's household prays to a Nigrodha-tree for marriage
into an equal-rank family and a firstborn son, promising a yearly offering; the
prayer takes effect.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Literal extraction is supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels involving
initiation, death-rebirth, and sacred exchange are candidates requiring human
review because they abstract beyond the literal phrasing.
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. Taxonomy refs are limited to the provided motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l6059-l6161
passage_sha256=68ef67b8d72d35843ccbb68ae801c0230f3d68dc1bd7ab4a050dd30ce9375a93