batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l6163-l6257
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l6163-l6257
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 6163-6257
start: '6163'
end: '6257'
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: Sujātā prepares concentrated milk-rice on the May full-moon day in the
sixth year of the Great Being’s penance. Miraculous signs accompany the milking
and cooking, and divine beings guard and empower the food. Puṇṇā finds the Bodisat
radiant beneath a tree and reports to Sujātā, who brings the milk-rice in a golden
vessel, mistaking him for the tree-god. The Bodisat accepts the offering, bathes
in the Nerañjarā river, eats forty-nine portions, and then lives for forty-nine
days near the Tree of Wisdom on meditative joy rather than further food.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Sujātā prepares an offering on the full-moon day of May in the sixth year
of the Great Being’s penance by concentrating milk through successive groups of
cows.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The calves stay away from the udders without being driven, and milk streams
into new vessels when they are placed ready.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: While the rice-milk boils, bubbles turn to the right and circle together,
no drop is lost, and no smoke rises from the fireplace.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Four guardian angels watch by the fireplace, Brahma holds a canopy, Sakka
lights the fire, and gods infuse the milk-rice with Sap of life.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Sujātā sends Puṇṇā to watch by the holy place after seeing the wonders of
the day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The Bodisat has seen five dreams during the night and concludes that he will
become a Buddha that day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Puṇṇā sees the Bodisat seated at the foot of the tree, illuminating the eastern
region, and sees the tree become gold-colored from rays issuing from his body.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Puṇṇā interprets the radiant seated figure as the household god descended
from the tree to receive the offering.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Sujātā places the milk-rice in a golden vessel, carries it on her head to
the Nigrodha-tree, bows, and stands near the Bodisat with sweet-scented water
in a golden vase.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The Bodisat’s earthenware pot disappears, he stretches out his right hand
to receive water, and Sujātā places the vessel of milk-rice in his hand.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: Sujātā asks the Bodisat to accept the offering and depart as he sees fit,
and wishes him joy equal to her own.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The Bodisat leaves the tree on his right hand, goes to the Nerañjarā river
at the Supatiṭṭhita ferry, places the vessel on the bank, descends into the river,
and bathes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:13
text: The Bodisat sits facing east, divides the milk-rice into forty-nine balls,
eats them without water, and has no other food for forty-nine days after becoming
a Buddha.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:14
text: During the forty-nine days he does not bathe, wash his teeth, or feel natural
cravings, but lives on joys associated with intense Meditation, the Noble Path,
and its Fruit.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sujātā
description: Woman who prepares and offers the milk-rice, sends Puṇṇā to the holy
place, brings the golden vessel to the Nigrodha-tree, and places the offering
in the Bodisat’s hand.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Puṇṇā
description: Sujātā’s slave-girl, sent to watch by the holy place; she sees the
radiant Bodisat at the tree and reports back to Sujātā.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Bodisat / Great Being
description: Ascetic in the sixth year of penance who foresees Buddhahood, sits
radiant at the foot of the tree, accepts Sujātā’s offering, bathes in the Nerañjarā,
eats forty-nine balls of milk-rice, and later remains near the Tree of Wisdom.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Cows and calves
description: Cows whose milk is successively concentrated for the offering; the
calves keep away from the udders of their own accord.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Four guardian angels of the world
description: Divine beings who come from the four points of the compass and keep
watch by the fireplace.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Brahma
description: Archangel who holds a canopy of state over the cooking milk-rice.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Sakka
description: Archangel who puts the sticks together and lights the fire.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Gods
description: Divine beings who gather Sap of life and infuse it into the vessel
of milk-rice.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Ghaṭikāra
description: Archangel previously associated with the Bodisat’s earthenware pot,
which disappears at the moment of the offering.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: ritual food preparer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sujātā milks the cows, cooks the rice-milk, and prepares the golden vessel
of food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: donor of offering
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: She places the milk-rice in the Bodisat’s hand and verbally asks him to accept
it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: messenger and witness
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Puṇṇā is sent to the holy place, sees the radiant figure at the tree, and
reports to Sujātā.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: Bodisat approaching Buddhahood
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He interprets five dreams as indicating that he will become a Buddha that
day.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: recipient of sacred food
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He receives water and the milk-rice, bathes, divides the rice into forty-nine
balls, and eats it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: role:6
label: miraculous milk source
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Their milk is concentrated for the offering, and the calves keep away while
milk streams into vessels.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: divine guardians
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
basis: The four guardian angels keep watch by the fireplace, and Brahma holds a
canopy over it.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: divine fire-kindler
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Sakka arranges the sticks and lights the fire.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:9
label: divine empowerers of food
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The gods infuse Sap of life into the milk-rice vessel.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:10
label: prior donor or associated divine figure
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The passage identifies the disappearing earthenware pot as having been given
to the Bodisat by Ghaṭikāra.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: milk-rice
literal_form: cooked rice-milk offering made from concentrated cow’s milk
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- milk
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: fireplace and cooking fire
literal_form: fire made by Sujātā and lit by Sakka for cooking the milk-rice
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: Nigrodha-tree / holy tree
literal_form: tree where Puṇṇā is sent, where the Bodisat sits radiantly, and where
Sujātā brings the offering
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: Tree of Wisdom
literal_form: tree at whose foot the Buddha spends seven times seven days after
Buddhahood
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:5
label: golden vessel and golden dish
literal_form: gold vessel worth a hundred thousand, filled with milk-rice and covered
with a golden dish
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: sweet-scented water
literal_form: water brought in a golden vase and received by the Bodisat before
the food offering
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:7
label: Nerañjarā river
literal_form: river at the Supatiṭṭhita ferry where the Bodisat bathes before eating
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:8
label: forty-nine portions
literal_form: forty-nine balls of milk-rice, corresponding to the forty-nine days
afterward
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:9
label: Sap of life
literal_form: life-giving substance gathered by gods and infused into the milk-rice
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Miraculous preparation of the milk-rice
summary: Sujātā prepares the offering from concentrated milk; the milking and boiling
display unusual signs, including self-flowing milk, right-turning bubbles, no
loss of liquid, and no smoke.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Divine attendance at the cooking
summary: Guardian angels, Brahma, Sakka, and other gods attend the cooking and infuse
the prepared food with Sap of life.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Puṇṇā sees the radiant Bodisat at the tree
summary: After Sujātā sends Puṇṇā to the holy place, Puṇṇā finds the Bodisat seated
at the tree, illuminating the region and turning the tree gold-colored with rays
from his body.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Sujātā brings and presents the offering
summary: Sujātā places the milk-rice in a golden vessel, approaches the Nigrodha-tree
with water, and gives the offering to the Bodisat, whom she takes for the tree-god.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Bathing and eating before the post-enlightenment fast
summary: The Bodisat goes to the Nerañjarā river, bathes, sits facing east, divides
the milk-rice into forty-nine balls, eats without water, and afterward has no
other food for forty-nine days near the Tree of Wisdom.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:7
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacred food offering before Buddhahood
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Sujātā prepares a ritually marked food, divine beings empower it, and the
Bodisat accepts it immediately before the bathing and forty-nine-day period associated
with Buddhahood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the exchange within a Buddhist enlightenment narrative;
broader comparative scope is not established by the passage alone.
- id: motif:2
label: radiant holy figure beneath a sacred tree
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_tree_axis
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat sits at the foot of the tree, lights the eastern region, and
later spends seven times seven days at the foot of the Tree of Wisdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage calls the place holy and identifies the Tree of Wisdom, but
it does not explicitly describe the tree as a cosmic axis.
- id: motif:3
label: miraculous nourishment sustaining sacred transformation
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The milk-rice is miraculously produced and divinely infused, then becomes
the Bodisat’s only food for forty-nine days during the period after becoming a
Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The nourishment is literal in the passage; the transformation motif is
inferred from its placement in the Buddhahood sequence.
- id: motif:4
label: ritual bathing at a liminal river place
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: After accepting the offering, the Bodisat goes to a named ferry on the Nerañjarā
river, descends, bathes, dresses in the garb of Arahats, and then eats the prepared
food.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly call the bathing an initiation; the label
is based on sequence and ritual setting only.
- id: motif:5
label: recurrent Buddha-pattern on enlightenment day
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The passage states that receiving a golden vessel is proper on the day of
Buddhahood, that many Bodisats bathed at the same ferry on the day of complete
Enlightenment, and that the garb had been worn by many Buddhas.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: This is an internal Buddhist recurrent pattern, not evidence by itself
for cross-cultural comparison.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself frames the Bodisat’s actions as part of a repeated Buddha/Bodisat
enlightenment-day pattern rather than as a unique isolated event.
claim_level: same_motif
target: Internal Buddhist pattern of Bodisats receiving a vessel, bathing at the
Supatiṭṭhita ferry, and wearing the garb of earlier Buddhas on or near complete
Enlightenment
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The claim is limited to recurrence within the passage’s own Buddhist
narrative frame; it does not establish historical contact or comparison with non-Buddhist
traditions.
- id: claim:2
claim: The divinely empowered food has the same narrative function as sacred nourishment
sustaining a holy figure through an exceptional post-enlightenment period.
claim_level: same_function
target: Sacred nourishment motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:9
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage supports functional comparison only; it does not identify
a named external motif family or a source relationship.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6163-6172
quote_or_summary: Sujātā prepares an offering on the May full-moon day by driving
one thousand cows to rich pasture and successively feeding their milk to smaller
groups down to eight cows, called “Working the milk in and in.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6173-6185
quote_or_summary: 'On the same morning she milks the eight cows; calves stay away,
milk streams into vessels, and the boiling rice-milk shows wonders: right-turning
bubbles, no lost drops, and no smoke.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6186-6201
quote_or_summary: Four guardian angels keep watch; Brahma holds a canopy, Sakka
lights the fire, and gods gather and infuse Sap of life into the vessel of milk-rice
for the day of Buddhahood.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6202-6214
quote_or_summary: Sujātā tells Puṇṇā to watch the holy place. The Bodisat, after
five dreams, concludes that he will become a Buddha that day and sits at the foot
of the tree, lighting it with his glory.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6215-6225
quote_or_summary: Puṇṇā sees the Bodisat at the tree, the eastern region lit up,
and the tree gold-colored by rays from his body; she thinks the god has descended
from the tree to receive the offering and reports to Sujātā.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 6226-6240
quote_or_summary: Sujātā puts the cooked milk-rice in a gold vessel, covers it with
a golden dish, carries it on her head to the Nigrodha-tree, and approaches the
Bodisat with sweet-scented water in a golden vase.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 6241-6250
quote_or_summary: The earthenware pot given by Ghaṭikāra disappears; the Bodisat
takes water with his right hand, Sujātā places the milk-rice vessel in his hand,
asks him to accept it, wishes him joy, and departs without valuing the golden
vessel.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 6251-6257
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat rises, leaves the tree on his right hand, carries
the vessel to the Nerañjarā river at the Supatiṭṭhita ferry, places it on the
bank, descends into the river, and bathes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 6257 and following passage text supplied
quote_or_summary: After dressing in the garb of Arahats, he sits facing east, divides
the rice into forty-nine balls, eats it without water, and for forty-nine days
at the Tree of Wisdom has no other food, bathing, tooth-washing, or natural cravings,
living on meditative joys.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 6186-6257
quote_or_summary: 'The passage generalizes several details: gods infuse food in
special ways on the day of Buddhahood and Death; a golden vessel is proper on
the day of attaining Buddhahood; many Bodisats have gone down into the same bathing
place on their day of complete Enlightenment; and the garb was worn by many Buddhas.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain; passage supplied in request.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Literal extraction is strong because the passage is explicit. Motif labeling
is more interpretive, especially for sacred tree axis and initiation; comparison
claims are limited to patterns stated within 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 external sources or unstated taxonomy identifiers were used. Taxonomy references are limited to the supplied 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__l6163-l6257
passage_sha256=da6ac300e767a1df3acd2ac970d12edb7e412568f8eb234828b2c3d453a3881b