batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l7596-l7698
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l7596-l7698
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: TABLE VIII. / THE DISTANT EPOCH. / GLORY BE TO THE BLESSED, THE HOLY, THE
ALL-WISE ONE. / BOOK I.; lines 7596-7698
start: '7596'
end: '7698'
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: "“Disciples! formerly, too, men trusting to their own reason foolishly mistook
for a refuge that which was no refuge...”"
summary: 'The Blessed One introduces a former-birth tale about people destroyed
in a demon-haunted wilderness after mistaking a false refuge for safety, contrasted
with others saved by adherence to right belief. Anātha Piṇḍika asks for the concealed
story. The tale begins in Kāsi at Benares: the Bodisat, born as a merchant, and
a foolish merchant each prepare five hundred carts for trade. The foolish merchant
chooses to go first. He reaches a sixty-league waterless, demon-haunted wilderness,
where a demon plans to make the caravan discard its water and appears in a wet,
lotus-adorned carriage with armed demon attendants.'
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Blessed One says that in a former time some men mistook a non-refuge for
a refuge and were destroyed by demons in a wilderness, while others who held right
belief found good fortune in the same desert.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Anātha Piṇḍika performs obeisance and asks the Blessed One to explain how
the self-sufficient reasoners were destroyed and how those who held to the truth
were saved.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The Blessed One says he has practised the Ten Cardinal Virtues for countless
ages and then reveals a story concealed by change of birth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: In the country of Kāsi and the city of Benares, a king named Brahma-datta
is mentioned, and the Bodisat is born in a merchant’s family.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The Bodisat grows up as a merchant who trades with five hundred bullock-carts,
and another young merchant in Benares is described as stupid, dull, and unskilful.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Both the Bodisat and the foolish merchant load five hundred carts with merchandise
and prepare for a journey.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The Bodisat reasons that the two caravans should not travel together because
the road, wood, water, and grass would not suffice for one thousand carts and
their animals.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: The foolish merchant chooses to go first because he expects an uncut road,
untouched grass, unpicked provisions, undisturbed water, and freedom to set his
prices.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: The Bodisat decides going second is better because the first caravan will
smooth rough places, dig water sources, and establish prices.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: The foolish merchant passes beyond inhabited country and reaches the border
of a wilderness described as demon-haunted and waterless.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: The foolish merchant places large water-pots on his carts, fills them with
water, and enters a desert sixty leagues across.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: A demon dwelling in the desert plans to make the caravan throw away its water
so that their power of resistance will be destroyed and he can eat them.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: The demon creates a beautiful carriage drawn by milk-white bulls and approaches
the merchant as if he were a lord, accompanied by armed demons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The demon and his attendants appear wet, adorned with water-lilies or lotuses,
carrying water-plants, and marked with mud and dripping water.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:15
text: Because a headwind is blowing, the caravan chief rides in front; the demon
turns his carriage aside and greets him kindly, asking where he is going.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Blessed One
description: Teacher who exhorts the disciples and introduces and reveals the former-birth
story.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Disciples
description: Audience addressed by the Blessed One; some are said to have broken
with the best refuge.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Anātha Piṇḍika, the house-lord
description: A householder who bows to the Blessed One and asks him to reveal the
concealed matter.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Brahma-datta
description: King of Benares at the time of the former-birth story.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: The Bodisat as merchant
description: Born in a merchant’s family; grows up and traffics with five hundred
bullock-carts; reasons strategically about whether to travel first or second.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: The foolish young merchant
description: A merchant of Benares described as stupid, dull, and unskilful; leads
five hundred carts into the wilderness.
role_refs:
- role:8
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The desert demon
description: Demon dwelling in the wilderness who plans to make the caravan discard
its water and approaches in a deceptive wet appearance.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Demon attendants
description: Ten or twelve demons bearing bows, arrows, swords, and shields; they
accompany the desert demon and appear wet and lotus-adorned.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: religious teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He exhorts the disciples and instructs them through a former-birth narrative.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: revealer of concealed former-birth story
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He makes manifest what had been concealed by change of birth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: instructional audience
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: They are addressed by the Blessed One and their relation to refuge is discussed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: questioning devotee
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He bows and asks the Blessed One to make the matter known.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: named ruler in setting
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: He is named as king in Benares at the beginning of the tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: wise caravan merchant
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: He evaluates the logistics of travel and chooses to go second for practical
advantages.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: Bodisat in former birth
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The passage explicitly identifies the Bodisat as born in a merchant’s family
at that time.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: foolish caravan leader
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: He is described as stupid, dull, and unskilful and chooses to go first.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: traveler entering dangerous wilderness
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: He passes beyond inhabited country and enters the waterless, demon-haunted
desert with his carts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:10
label: deceptive wilderness demon
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: He plans to deceive the caravan into throwing away its water and appears
in a fabricated wet guise.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:11
label: predatory antagonist
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: He intends to destroy the caravan’s resistance and eat them all.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:12
label: armed supernatural retinue
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: They accompany the demon with weapons and wet lotus-adorned signs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: water as vital provision
literal_form: Water stored in large pots on the carts for crossing a waterless desert.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:2
label: demon-haunted waterless wilderness
literal_form: A sixty-league desert described as waterless and inhabited by demons.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: sym:3
label: caravan of five hundred carts
literal_form: Five hundred bullock-carts loaded with merchandise by each merchant.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: wet lotus disguise
literal_form: Water-lilies, white lotuses, red lotuses, wet hair and clothes, mud,
and dripping water displayed by the demon and attendants.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: beautiful carriage with milk-white bulls
literal_form: A beautiful carriage created by the demon and drawn by milk-white
bulls.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:6
label: right refuge contrasted with false refuge
literal_form: The Blessed One’s contrast between a refuge that was no refuge and
absolute, certain, right belief.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Instruction about false and true refuge
summary: The Blessed One tells the disciples that formerly some who trusted their
own reason mistook a false refuge for safety and were destroyed by demons, while
those who held right belief were saved.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Anātha Piṇḍika requests the hidden story
summary: Anātha Piṇḍika bows before the Blessed One and asks him to explain the
destruction of the self-sufficient reasoners and the rescue of those who held
to truth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Two merchants prepare caravans in Benares
summary: In Benares during Brahma-datta’s reign, the Bodisat merchant and a foolish
merchant each prepare five hundred carts of merchandise for travel.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Choice of travel order
summary: The Bodisat proposes that only one caravan go first; the foolish merchant
chooses first place, while the Bodisat reasons that second place will bring logistical
advantages.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:5
label: Entry into the waterless demon wilderness
summary: The foolish merchant leads his caravan beyond inhabited land into a sixty-league
wilderness that is both waterless and demon-haunted, carrying water-pots on the
carts.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:6
label: Demon prepares deceptive encounter
summary: The desert demon plans to make the caravan discard its water and approaches
in a created carriage, with wet lotus-adorned armed attendants, giving the appearance
of travel through water.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: wise adherence to true refuge versus fatal reliance on false refuge
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The frame explicitly contrasts those who mistake a non-refuge for refuge
and perish with those who hold right belief and are saved; the Bodisat is also
positioned as the prudent figure in the embedded tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage begins the tale but does not yet narrate the saved caravan’s
desert crossing in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: perilous caravan journey into supernatural wilderness
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The merchants prepare caravans, leave inhabited country, and enter a sixty-league
desert identified as waterless and demon-haunted.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference is broad; the passage emphasizes travel and danger
more than a full departure-return sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: deceptive supernatural encounter at a boundary place
taxonomy_refs:
- trickster_boundary
basis: The demon inhabiting the desert creates a misleading wet appearance and greets
the caravan chief after planning to make the group discard their water.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The demon’s deceptive speech is only beginning at the end of the excerpt;
the full deception and outcome occur outside this supplied passage.
- id: motif:4
label: life-preserving water threatened by deception
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The caravan carries water to cross a waterless desert, and the demon specifically
intends to induce them to throw it away so they lose resistance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
confidence: high
cautions: No available motif-family taxonomy directly names this pattern; it is
recorded as a candidate motif without taxonomy reference.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 7596-7602
quote_or_summary: The Blessed One says that formerly men trusting their own reason
mistook a non-refuge for refuge, became prey to demons in a wilderness, and ended
disastrously, while those adhering to right belief found good fortune there.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 7604-7614
quote_or_summary: Anātha Piṇḍika rises, bows, praises the Blessed One, and asks
him to explain the destruction of the self-sufficient reasoners and the rescue
of those who held to truth.
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 7616-7624
quote_or_summary: The Blessed One says he practised the Ten Cardinal Virtues for
countless ages to resolve the doubts of the world, urges attentive listening,
and reveals what had been concealed by change of birth.
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 7628-7635
quote_or_summary: The tale is set in Kāsi at Benares under King Brahma-datta; the
Bodisat is born in a merchant’s family and trades with five hundred bullock-carts,
while another young merchant is described as stupid, dull, and unskilful.
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 7637-7647
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat and the foolish merchant each load five hundred carts
for travel; the Bodisat reasons that a thousand carts together would strain the
road, water, wood, and grass, and proposes that one go first.
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 7649-7655
quote_or_summary: The foolish merchant decides to go first, expecting an uncut road,
untouched grass, better provisions, undisturbed water, and freedom to set prices.
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 7657-7667
quote_or_summary: 'The Bodisat sees advantages in going second: the first caravan
will smooth rough ground, consume old grass, dig water sources, and establish
prices.'
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 7669-7678
quote_or_summary: The foolish merchant starts first, reaches the border of the wilderness,
and enters a sixty-league desert identified as demon-haunted and waterless after
filling large water-pots on his carts.
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: quote
locator: lines 7680-7684
quote_or_summary: 'The desert demon thinks: “I will make these fellows throw away
the water they have brought... I will eat them every one!”'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 7686-7695
quote_or_summary: The demon creates a beautiful carriage drawn by milk-white bulls
and approaches with ten or twelve armed demons; he and his attendants appear wet,
muddy, and adorned with water-lilies and lotuses.
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:11
type: summary
locator: lines 7696-7698
quote_or_summary: Because of a headwind, the merchant rides at the front; the demon
turns his carriage aside, greets him kindly, and asks where he is going.
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 passage is clear for figures, setting, and the beginning of the demon-deception
episode. Motif candidates are limited because the supplied excerpt ends before
the demon completes the deception or the contrasting saved caravan is narrated.
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. No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not support an external or cross-traditional comparison.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l7596-l7698
passage_sha256=7f0f11484f88965affef0d8b14a7d9a7699d95dfa0bc01b6c7119c720d5e2fa5