batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l8418-l8527
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l8418-l8527
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: GLORY BE TO THE BLESSED, THE HOLY, THE ALL-WISE ONE. / BOOK I. / END OF THE
STORY ON HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. / END OF THE STORY OF THE SANDY ROAD.; lines 8418-8527
start: '8418'
end: '8527'
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: "“Roadling, multiplying himself a thousand fold, / Sate in the pleasant Mango-grove
till he was bidden to the feast.”"
summary: 'Jīvaka brings presentation water to the Buddha, who says there are monks
in the monastery despite Great Roadling’s denial. Little Roadling fills the Mango-grove
with a thousand distinct monks, all claiming to be Little Roadling, until the
messenger takes the first by the hand and the rest disappear. Little Roadling
pronounces a concise benediction expressing the spirit of the Scriptures. Monks
praise the Buddha for making Little Roadling an Arahat with intellectual powers
after his brother had dismissed him as dull. The Buddha enters the hall, receives
their explanation, and says Little Roadling has become great in religion through
him now and formerly became great in riches through him. The narrative then begins
a past-birth account in Benares: the Bodisat, called Chullaka, is a wise treasurer
who reads omens, sees a dead mouse, and says a discerning young man could begin
trade with it; a poor young man takes the mouse, gives it for a cat’s use, and
receives a farthing.'
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Jīvaka brings the water of presentation to the Buddha, and the Buddha questions
whether there are monks in the monastery after Great Roadling says there are none.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Little Roadling responds to his brother’s denial by filling the Mango-grove
with a thousand monks, each unlike the others and engaged in monastic tasks or
recitation.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:3
text: When summoned, the thousand monks all answer that they are Little Roadling;
the messenger takes the first claimant by the hand, after which the others disappear.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:4
text: After the meal, Little Roadling is given his bowl and pronounces a short benedictive
discourse said to compress the spirit of all the Scriptures.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:5
text: The monks say Little Roadling’s elder brother had expelled him as a dullard,
while the Buddha gave him Arahatship and intellectual powers in the space of a
single meal.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:6
text: The Buddha enters the hall, sits on the prepared throne, emits six-coloured
rays, and the assembly becomes silent before he speaks.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:7
text: The Buddha says that Little Roadling has now become great in religion through
him and formerly became great in riches through him, then begins to reveal what
was hidden by change of birth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:8
text: In the past-birth narrative, the Bodisat is born in a treasurer’s family in
Benares, is called Chullaka, and is described as wise, skilful, and able to understand
omens.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:9
text: Chullaka sees a dead mouse on the road and says that a young man with discernment
could pick it up, start a trade, and support a wife.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:10
text: A poor young man of good birth hears Chullaka, takes the mouse, gives it away
for a cat’s use in a shop, and receives a farthing.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Buddha / Teacher / Master / Blessed One
description: The Buddha directs the messenger, receives praise from the monks, enters
the hall, teaches, and frames the present and former greatness of Little Roadling.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Jīvaka
description: A nobleman who brings the water of presentation to the Buddha and sends
a man to check for monks at the monastery.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Great Roadling
description: He says there are no monks in the monastery; the monks later refer
to Little Roadling’s elder brother as having expelled him as a dullard.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Little Roadling / the Elder
description: A monk who manifests a thousand monks in the Mango-grove, returns with
the messenger after the other forms disappear, and pronounces the benediction.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Messenger / man sent by Jīvaka
description: He is sent to see whether monks are present, reports the grove full
of monks, later summons Little Roadling, and takes the first claimant by the hand.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: The thousand monks in the Mango-grove
description: A thousand monks, each unlike the other, appear in the Mango-grove
and all claim to be Little Roadling before disappearing.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Assembly of mendicants / monks
description: The monks gather in the hall of instruction, praise the Buddha’s power,
fall silent when he enters, and answer his question.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Bodisat / Chullaka
description: In the past-birth story, the Bodisat is born in a treasurer’s family,
becomes treasurer, is called Chullaka, and is wise and skilled in omens.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Brahma-datta
description: King reigning in Benares in the land of Kāsi at the start of the past-birth
story.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Poor young man of good birth
description: A young man fallen into poverty who hears Chullaka’s remark, takes
the dead mouse, trades it for a cat’s use, and receives a farthing.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Cat in the shop
description: The dead mouse is given away in a shop for the cat’s use.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
roles:
- id: role:1
label: enlightened teacher and revealer of past-birth meaning
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Buddha directs actions in the present scene, is praised for giving Little
Roadling Arahatship, and reveals the past-birth explanation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: patron or donor in the monastery scene
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Jīvaka brings the water of presentation and is addressed by the Buddha during
the meal setting.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: elder brother who underestimates Little Roadling
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Great Roadling denies that monks are present, and the monks say the elder
brother expelled Little Roadling as a dullard.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: miraculous monk and benediction speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Little Roadling manifests a thousand monks and later delivers the benedictive
discourse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: verifying messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The man is sent to verify whether monks are present and later identifies
Little Roadling by taking the first claimant by the hand.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: miraculous duplicate assembly
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The thousand monks appear through Little Roadling’s act, claim his name,
and vanish when the first is taken.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: monastic witnesses and praisers
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The mendicants praise the Buddha and explain their conversation when he asks.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: wise treasurer and omen interpreter
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Chullaka is explicitly described as wise, skilful, and understanding omens,
and he interprets the dead mouse as an opportunity for trade.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:9
label: king marking the past setting
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Brahma-datta is named as reigning in Benares when the past-birth story begins.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:10
label: poor but receptive trader
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The young man hears Chullaka’s statement, trusts that it has reason, and
uses the mouse to obtain a farthing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: water of presentation
literal_form: water in a vessel presented by Jīvaka
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: Mango-grove filled with monks
literal_form: the Mango-grove monastery space filled with a thousand monks
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: thousandfold multiplication
literal_form: a thousand monks, each unlike the other, all answering as Little Roadling
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Little Roadling’s bowl
literal_form: the bowl taken by Jīvaka before Little Roadling pronounces the benediction
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: six-coloured rays
literal_form: six-coloured rays emitted by the Buddha while seated on the throne
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: dead mouse
literal_form: a dead mouse lying on the road
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:10
- fig:11
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: sym:7
label: farthing gained from first trade
literal_form: a farthing received in exchange for the mouse
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Question over the presence of monks
summary: Jīvaka brings the water of presentation; the Buddha says there are monks
in the monastery despite Great Roadling’s denial, and Jīvaka sends a man to verify
it.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Little Roadling fills the Mango-grove
summary: Little Roadling decides to show that monks are present and fills the Mango-grove
with a thousand different monks performing monastic activities.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Identification and disappearance
summary: When the messenger summons Little Roadling, all the manifested monks claim
the name; after he takes the first claimant by the hand, the others disappear
and the Elder returns.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Little Roadling’s benediction
summary: After the meal, the Buddha instructs Jīvaka to take Little Roadling’s bowl,
and Little Roadling gives a concise benedictive discourse containing the spirit
of the Scriptures.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Monks praise the Buddha’s power
summary: The monks praise the Buddha for recognizing Little Roadling’s capacity
and granting him Arahatship and understanding of the Scriptures after his brother
had expelled him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Buddha enters the hall and opens the conversation
summary: The Buddha enters the hall with ceremonial imagery, sits on the throne
emitting six-coloured rays, observes the silent assembly, and asks what they had
been discussing.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:7
label: Past-birth explanation introduced
summary: After hearing the monks’ explanation, the Buddha states that Little Roadling
became great in religion through him now and formerly became great in riches through
him, then begins revealing the hidden past-birth story.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:8
label: Chullaka and the dead mouse
summary: In Benares under Brahma-datta, the Bodisat as the wise treasurer Chullaka
sees a dead mouse and says it could be the start of trade; a poor young man acts
on the remark and receives a farthing for the mouse’s use as cat food.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Miraculous multiplication of a monk
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Little Roadling fills the Mango-grove with a thousand monks, all connected
to his identity and later vanishing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes the multiplication literally within the narrative,
but no provided taxonomy family directly names duplication or bilocation.
- id: motif:2
label: True figure identified among identical claimants
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: All the monks answer as Little Roadling, and the Buddha gives a procedure
for identifying him by taking the first claimant by the hand, after which the
rest disappear.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The identification test is brief and may be secondary to the miracle of
multiplication.
- id: motif:3
label: Rapid spiritual attainment through the Buddha’s instruction
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The monks state that the Buddha gave Little Roadling Arahatship, intellectual
powers, and understanding of all the Scriptures in the space of a single meal.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'wisdom' is broad; the passage emphasizes both
spiritual attainment and Buddha-power.
- id: motif:4
label: Humiliated dullard becomes spiritually eminent
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Little Roadling is said to have been expelled as a dullard but then becomes
an Arahat with scriptural understanding and delivers the benediction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The expulsion is reported retrospectively by the monks rather than narrated
in this line range.
- id: motif:5
label: Past-birth precedent explains present status
taxonomy_refs:
- death_rebirth
basis: The Buddha says Little Roadling is great in religion now through him and
formerly became great in riches through him, then reveals what had been hidden
by change of birth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage introduces the past-birth explanation but does not complete
the identification within the excerpt.
- id: motif:6
label: Wisdom turns a worthless object into the beginning of wealth
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Chullaka reads the circumstances around a dead mouse and says a discerning
young man could start trade with it; a poor young man follows the advice and earns
a farthing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The wealth motif is only beginning in the supplied excerpt; later results
are outside the passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself sets up a comparison between Little Roadling becoming
great in religion in the present and becoming great in riches in a former birth,
both through the Buddha/Bodisat’s agency.
claim_level: same_function
target: Present Little Roadling episode and the introduced past-birth Chullaka episode
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Only the opening of the past-birth story is included; the full mapping
between Little Roadling and the poor young man is not completed in this excerpt.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 8418-8427
quote_or_summary: Jīvaka brings the water of presentation; the Buddha covers the
vessel and asks if there are no monks in the monastery; Great Roadling says there
are none, while the Buddha says there are.
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: 8428-8438
quote_or_summary: Little Roadling thinks he will show his brother there are monks
and fills the Mango-grove with a thousand monks, each unlike the other, some making
or repairing robes and some repeating Scriptures; the messenger reports the grove
is alive with monks.
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: quote
locator: 8439-8443
quote_or_summary: "“Roadling, multiplying himself a thousand fold, / Sate in the
pleasant Mango-grove till he was bidden to the feast.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 8444-8461
quote_or_summary: The Buddha sends for Little Roadling; a thousand monks answer
with that name. The Buddha tells the messenger to take the first who says it,
and the rest disappear; the Elder returns with the messenger.
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: 8462-8469
quote_or_summary: After the meal, the Buddha tells Jīvaka to take Little Roadling’s
bowl so he may pronounce the benediction; the Elder fearlessly gives a short discourse
containing the spirit of all the Scriptures.
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: 8470-8487
quote_or_summary: The monks praise the Buddha, saying Little Roadling’s elder brother
expelled him as a dullard, but the Buddha gave him Arahatship, intellectual powers,
and understanding of all the Scriptures in a single meal.
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: 8488-8510
quote_or_summary: The Buddha comes to the hall, sits on the prepared throne in the
midst of the hall, emits six-coloured rays, observes the silent assembly, and
asks what conversation has been interrupted.
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: 8511-8519
quote_or_summary: The monks say they were praising the Buddha; the Buddha says Little
Roadling has now become great in religion through him and formerly became great
in riches through him, and begins to reveal what was hidden 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:9
type: summary
locator: 8520-8523
quote_or_summary: Long ago, when Brahma-datta reigned in Benares in Kāsi, the Bodisat
was born in a treasurer’s family, became treasurer, was called Chullaka, and was
wise, skilful, and knowledgeable in omens.
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: 8523-8525
quote_or_summary: Chullaka sees a dead mouse on the road, considers the state of
the stars, and says a young fellow with eyes in his head could pick it up, start
a trade, and support a wife.
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: 8526-8527
quote_or_summary: A poor young man of good birth hears Chullaka, judges that he
must have a reason, takes the mouse, gives it at a shop for the cat, and receives
a farthing.
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: medium
notes: The main events and figures are explicit. Motif labels are descriptive and
cautious; taxonomy mappings are broad where used. The past-birth comparison is
introduced but not completed within the supplied 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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Comparison claims are limited to the explicit present/formerly framing in the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l8418-l8527
passage_sha256=c3b1c724ac88ff0e1797b6a7284069bde1c5f5b18e7c16676c1104644df01d5d