batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l7002-l7115
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l7002-l7115
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 7002-7115
start: '7002'
end: '7115'
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: Royal messengers sent to the Buddha hear instruction, attain Arahatship,
and do not return with the king’s message. The king sends Kāḷa Udāyin, an intimate
companion of the Buddha, who also becomes an Arahat but asks the Buddha to revisit
his family. Udāyin praises the spring season as suitable for travel, the Buddha
sets out for Kapilavatthu with twenty thousand mendicants, and Udāyin miraculously
travels through the air to inform the king and deliver food from the king to the
Buddha.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A royal messenger travels with a thousand followers, listens to the Sage’s
instruction, attains Arahatship with his retinue, and is admitted to the Order.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: When admitted, the new mendicants appear with robes and bowls created by miracle.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: After attaining Arahatship, the messenger does not deliver the king’s message
because Arahats are described as indifferent to worldly things.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The king repeatedly sends courtiers with retinues, and they also attain Arahatship
and remain silent instead of returning.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The king chooses Kāḷa Udāyin because he is serviceable, intimate, trustworthy,
and born on the same day as the future Buddha.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The king says he wants to see his son before he dies, and Kāḷa Udāyin agrees
to help if allowed to become a recluse.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Kāḷa Udāyin goes to Rājagaha, hears the Master’s instruction, attains Arahatship
with his followers, and is received into the Order.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Kāḷa Udāyin praises the spring season and suitable roads as the time for the
Sage to show favour to his family.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The Buddha agrees to revisit his relations and instructs that the Order undertake
its duty of journeying from place to place.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The Buddha starts from Rājagaha for Kapilavatthu with twenty thousand mendicants,
travelling slowly at a league a day.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: Kāḷa Udāyin rises into the air and appears in the king’s house to report that
the Buddha has started the journey.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: The king gives food intended for the Buddha to Kāḷa Udāyin, who throws the
bowl into the air, rises into the sky, takes the food again, and places it in
the Master’s hand.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Blessed One / Master / Sage / future Buddha
description: Teacher whose instruction leads listeners to Arahatship; son of the
king; agrees to revisit his relations and travels toward Kapilavatthu with mendicants.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The king
description: Father who wishes to see his son before death, sends messengers, receives
Kāḷa Udāyin, and sends food to the Buddha.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Kāḷa Udāyin / the Elder
description: Trusted companion born on the same day as the future Buddha; becomes
a recluse and Arahat, asks the Buddha to favor his family, reports the journey
to the king, and miraculously carries food to the Master.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Royal courtiers and messengers with retinues
description: Men sent by the king who hear instruction, attain Arahatship with their
followers, and do not return with messages.
role_refs:
- role:7
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Mendicants / disciples / the Order
description: Religious community gathered around the Master; later twenty thousand
mendicants accompany him on the journey to Kapilavatthu.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: religious teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Master gives instruction and discourse heard by the messengers and Udāyin.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: king’s son
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The king calls him his son and desires to see him before death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: journeying leader
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He sets out from Rājagaha toward Kapilavatthu with twenty thousand mendicants.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: father seeking reunion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He says he desires to see his son before dying.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: royal sender and provider
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He sends messengers and later provides food to be given to the Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:10
- id: role:6
label: trusted companion
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He is described as intimate, trustworthy, and the Buddha’s playfellow and
companion.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: messenger who becomes a recluse
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: Messengers sent by the king hear instruction, attain Arahatship, and enter
the Order.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: miraculous intermediary
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He rises into the air to inform the king and later carries the king’s food
to the Master through the sky.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: retinue of converts
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Groups of followers accompanying courtiers attain Arahatship along with them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:10
label: religious community on journey
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Order is told to journey, and twenty thousand mendicants attend the Buddha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: miraculously created robes and bowls
literal_form: robes and bowls created by miracle
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: bowl of food
literal_form: bowl filled with food from the king for the Buddha
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:3
label: air and sky
literal_form: rising into the air and sky
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: sym:4
label: spring blossoms compared to fires
literal_form: trees with bright blossoms seeming as glowing fires
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: fresh green earth and flowers
literal_form: earth covered with fresh grass, woods full of flowers, roads fit for
walking
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Messengers attain Arahatship and do not return
summary: The king’s messengers and their retinues hear the Sage’s instruction, attain
Arahatship, enter the Order, and fail to return with the royal message.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: The king chooses Kāḷa Udāyin
summary: The king, wanting to see his son before death, asks trusted Kāḷa Udāyin
to help; Udāyin agrees on condition that he may become a recluse.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Kāḷa Udāyin becomes an Arahat and petitions the Buddha
summary: Udāyin hears instruction, enters the Order, then praises the spring conditions
for travel and conveys that the Buddha’s father wants to see him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: The Buddha begins the return journey to Kapilavatthu
summary: The Buddha and twenty thousand mendicants set out from Rājagaha, travelling
slowly toward Kapilavatthu over two months.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Udāyin’s aerial report and food delivery
summary: Udāyin rises into the air to appear in the king’s house, announces the
Buddha’s journey, receives food from the king, and miraculously delivers it to
the Master.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: worldly mission abandoned after enlightenment
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Messengers sent on the king’s business attain Arahatship and then neglect
or do not deliver the worldly message.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage frames the change as Arahatship
and indifference to worldly things rather than a generic wisdom tale.
- id: motif:2
label: return to family or native town
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Kāḷa Udāyin asks the Buddha to show favour to his relations, and the Buddha
starts toward Kapilavatthu to see the king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: The passage covers the departure and travel toward Kapilavatthu, not the
actual arrival.
- id: motif:3
label: seasonally auspicious journey
taxonomy_refs:
- seasonal_cycle
basis: Udāyin identifies spring, fresh grass, flowers, and suitable roads as the
proper time for the Sage’s journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The seasonal language motivates travel; it is not developed into a full
seasonal myth.
- id: motif:4
label: miraculous aerial travel by holy intermediary
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
basis: Udāyin rises into the air, appears in the king’s house, later rises into
the sky, and transfers the king’s food to the Master.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
confidence: high
cautions: The motion is aerial travel rather than a described ascent to a heavenly
realm.
- id: motif:5
label: sacred exchange of food through a religious intermediary
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: The king gives food to Udāyin to give to the Buddha, and Udāyin delivers
it miraculously.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the act as provisioning and offering; broader ritual
significance is not explicitly explained.
- id: motif:6
label: miraculous initiation into the Order
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: Those admitted to the Order appear at once with miraculously created robes
and bowls, like long-standing Elders.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
confidence: medium
cautions: The text describes admission to the Order, but does not provide a formal
initiation sequence beyond the miracle.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 7002-7014
quote_or_summary: A messenger with a thousand followers listens to the Sage, attains
Arahatship with his retinue, asks to enter the Order, and appears with miraculously
created robes and bowls.
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 7015-7028
quote_or_summary: Arahats are said to become indifferent to worldly things; the
first messenger does not deliver the message, and later courtiers with retinues
also attain Arahatship and stay away in silence.
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 7029-7036
quote_or_summary: The king searches for someone reliable and thinks of Kāḷa Udāyin,
described as serviceable, intimate, trustworthy, and the future Buddha’s same-day-born
playfellow and companion.
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 7037-7048
quote_or_summary: The king tells Kāḷa Udāyin that he wants to see his son before
he dies; Udāyin says he can help if allowed to become a recluse, and the king
permits it.
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 7049-7054
quote_or_summary: Kāḷa Udāyin receives the king’s message, goes to Rājagaha, hears
the Master’s instruction, attains Arahatship with his followers, and is received
into the Order.
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 7064-7081
quote_or_summary: On the March full moon Udāyin notes that spring has come, crops
and journeys begin, the earth is green, woods are flowering, and roads are fit;
his verses compare red blossoms to glowing fires and say the season is neither
too hot nor too cold.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized with brief quoted imagery avoided.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 7082-7091
quote_or_summary: The Master asks why Udāyin sings of travel; Udāyin replies that
the Master’s father wants to see him, and the Master agrees to favor his relations
and tells the Order to journey.
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 7092-7098
quote_or_summary: The Blessed One, attended by twenty thousand sin-free mendicants,
starts from Rājagaha and travels a league a day toward Kapilavatthu, sixty leagues
away, intending to arrive in two months.
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: lines 7099-7110
quote_or_summary: Udāyin rises into the air, appears in the king’s house, is welcomed
and offered food, and tells the king that the Master has set out with twenty thousand
mendicants to see him.
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:10
type: summary
locator: lines 7111-7115
quote_or_summary: The king has a bowl cleansed and filled with the best food for
the Buddha; Udāyin throws the bowl into the air, rises into the sky, takes the
food again, and places it in the Master’s hand.
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: Passage events and figures are explicit. Motif labels are candidate-level
and use only broad available taxonomy references where directly supported. No
comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not compare this
material to another tradition or motif family beyond the extracted patterns.
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: |-
All details are drawn from the supplied passage and metadata; no external source material was used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l7002-l7115
passage_sha256=37ca2bfe6699c0b2e5136464182077154aa49e0d871a49f81ace2c18816366d6