batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l8634-l8761
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l8634-l8761
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK I. / END OF THE STORY ON HOLDING TO THE TRUTH. / END OF THE STORY OF
THE SANDY ROAD. / END OF THE STORY OF CHULLAKA THE TREASURER.; lines 8634-8761
start: '8634'
end: '8761'
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 Teacher, at Jetavana, tells a story about Udāyin the Simpleton after
Udāyin disrupts rice-ticket distribution and deprives monks of their proper shares.
The Teacher says Udāyin formerly also caused loss through stupidity. In the past,
King Brahma-datta of Benares replaces the Bodisat, a just valuer, with a stupid
miserly peasant to protect royal wealth. The new valuer prices five hundred horses
at a measure of rice. Following the Bodisat’s advice, the horse-dealer bribes
the valuer and asks him to value the measure of rice before the king; the fool
declares it worth all Benares and its suburbs, exposing the absurdity of his valuations.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Udāyin complains in the distribution hall after receiving an inferior kind
of rice and challenges Dabba’s fitness to issue tickets.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Udāyin is given the basket of tickets and begins distributing rice tickets
to the Order.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Udāyin does not know which tickets correspond to better or worse rice or which
storehouses contain each kind.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Udāyin marks the wall or floor to track turns, but the marks become inaccurate
when the number of monks changes.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Boys and novices cast Udāyin out of the distribution hall, saying the brethren
are deprived of their due when he gives tickets.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Teacher hears the tumult and is told by Ānanda what happened.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Teacher says Udāyin formerly also brought loss upon others by stupidity
and reveals an occurrence hidden by change of birth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: In the past, Brahma-datta is king in Benares, and the Bodisat serves as his
valuer, giving proper prices for goods.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The king, described as covetous, replaces the Bodisat with a stupid miserly
peasant as valuer to keep his treasure safer.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The new valuer prices goods without regard to their real value, deciding as
he chooses.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: A horse-dealer brings five hundred horses, and the foolish valuer values them
at a single measure of rice.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:12
text: The Bodisat advises the horse-dealer to bribe the foolish valuer and ask him
publicly what a measure of rice is worth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:13
text: In the king’s presence, the foolish valuer says a measure of rice is worth
all Benares within and without the walls.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:14
text: The passage explains that the foolish valuer first undervalued the horses
to please the king and then overvalued the rice after taking the dealer’s bribe.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: The Teacher
description: The Teacher at Jetavana who asks about the tumult and narrates the
past occurrence.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Udāyin the Simpleton
description: A monk who disrupts distribution, receives the ticket basket, mismanages
turns and rice tickets, and is said to have formerly caused loss through stupidity.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Dabba the Mallian
description: An Elder who holds the office of steward in the Order and issues food-tickets.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Ānanda the Elder
description: The Elder who tells the Teacher the cause of the tumult.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Monks, boys, and novices
description: Members of the hall or Order who correct Udāyin and cast him out from
the distribution hall.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Brahma-datta
description: King in Benares in the land of Kāsi; he is described as covetous and
appoints the foolish peasant as valuer.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The Bodisat
description: The former just valuer of the king, who gives proper prices and later
advises the horse-dealer how to expose the foolish valuation.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Stupid miserly peasant / foolish valuer
description: A peasant appointed as royal valuer who undervalues five hundred horses
and later values a measure of rice at all Benares.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Horse-dealer
description: A dealer who brings five hundred horses from the northern prairies
and follows the Bodisat’s advice.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Ministers
description: Many ministers are present in the royal audience-hall when the valuation
is tested.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Narrating teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He explains the present incident by recounting a former occurrence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: Incompetent office-holder causing loss
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:8
basis: Udāyin deprives monks of their due through bad distribution; the foolish
valuer ignores real value and makes absurd valuations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:10
- id: role:3
label: Competent monastic steward
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Dabba holds the steward’s office and issues food-tickets before Udāyin’s
complaint.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: Reporter to the Teacher
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Ānanda tells the Teacher what the tumult is about.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: Corrective community
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The monks correct Udāyin’s marks and the boys and novices remove him from
the hall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: Covetous ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The king is described as covetous and appoints a new valuer to preserve his
wealth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: Wise former valuer and adviser
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Bodisat gives proper prices and devises the public test of the foolish
valuer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: Corruptible appraiser
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The valuer accepts a bribe and changes his valuation accordingly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: role:9
label: Wronged trader
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The horse-dealer’s five hundred horses are valued at only a measure of rice.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Food-tickets
literal_form: basket of tickets used to distribute better and inferior rice among
monks
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: Marks on wall or floor
literal_form: scratches made on the wall or floor to show distribution turns
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Measure of rice
literal_form: a single measure of rice used as the stated value of five hundred
horses and then valued at all Benares
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: Five hundred horses
literal_form: five hundred horses brought from the northern prairies by the horse-dealer
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:5
label: Benares within and without the walls
literal_form: the whole city and suburbs declared to be worth a measure of rice
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: sym:6
label: Bribe
literal_form: a bribe given by the horse-dealer to the foolish valuer
associated_figures:
- fig:8
- fig:9
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Udāyin disrupts rice-ticket distribution
summary: At Jetavana, Udāyin complains after receiving inferior rice, is allowed
to distribute tickets, relies on faulty marks, and deprives monks of their proper
shares.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Teacher frames the past-life example
summary: The Teacher hears of the tumult through Ānanda and says Udāyin formerly
also caused loss through stupidity, then reveals a past occurrence.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Covetous king appoints foolish valuer
summary: In Benares, King Brahma-datta replaces the proper valuer, the Bodisat,
with a stupid miserly peasant to protect his treasury.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:4
label: Five hundred horses valued at a measure of rice
summary: A horse-dealer brings five hundred horses, and the foolish valuer prices
them at one measure of rice; the horse-dealer seeks the Bodisat’s counsel.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- id: scene:5
label: Absurd valuation exposed in royal presence
summary: After accepting a bribe, the foolish valuer is brought before the king
and declares that the measure of rice is worth all Benares and its suburbs.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:10
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Foolish official causes communal or economic loss
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Both the present monastic episode and the past royal episode center on an
incompetent office-holder whose decisions deprive others of their due or proper
value.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage itself links the two episodes, but it does not provide a named
external motif classification.
- id: motif:2
label: Wise adviser exposes foolish judgment through public test
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat advises the horse-dealer to ask the foolish valuer in the king’s
presence to value the measure of rice, leading to an absurd declaration that exposes
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The available taxonomy supports a broad wisdom label only; the specific
appraiser-test pattern is inferred from the narrative sequence.
- id: motif:3
label: Absurd exchange value reveals corruption
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Five hundred horses are valued at one measure of rice, and then that same
measure is valued at the whole of Benares after a bribe.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy family.
- id: motif:4
label: Past-life recurrence of a present fault
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Teacher states that Udāyin’s stupidity causing loss is not only present
but also occurred formerly, and he reveals a past occurrence hidden by change
of birth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage does not explicitly identify which past figure corresponds
to Udāyin within the supplied excerpt, though the narrative juxtaposition strongly
indicates a recurring fault pattern.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The present Udāyin episode and the past Benares episode are presented as
sharing the same functional pattern: stupidity in an official role causes loss
to others.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Present rice-ticket distributor Udāyin and past foolish royal valuer within
the same Jātaka frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This comparison is internal to the passage; the excerpt does not establish
historical contact or comparison with an external tradition.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 8643-8654
quote_or_summary: At Jetavana, the Teacher tells of Udāyin; Dabba issues food-tickets,
and Udāyin complains when he receives inferior rice.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 8655-8674
quote_or_summary: Udāyin receives the ticket basket, cannot distinguish better and
worse rice or storehouses, and uses wall or floor scratches that fail when attendance
changes.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 8675-8685
quote_or_summary: Monks correct Udāyin; boys and novices remove him, saying the
brethren are deprived of their due when he gives tickets.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 8686-8698
quote_or_summary: The Teacher asks Ānanda about the tumult; Ānanda explains, and
the Teacher says Udāyin formerly also brought loss upon others by stupidity before
revealing a past occurrence.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 8702-8708
quote_or_summary: Long ago Brahma-datta was king in Benares; the Bodisat was his
valuer and gave proper prices for goods.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 8710-8720
quote_or_summary: The covetous king fears losing wealth and appoints a stupid miserly
peasant as valuer to keep his treasure safer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 8721-8725
quote_or_summary: The dullard values horses and elephants without regard to real
value, and his decisions set the price.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 8727-8734
quote_or_summary: A horse-dealer brings five hundred horses; the foolish valuer
values all five hundred at one measure of rice, and the horses are placed in the
stable.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 8735-8746
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat tells the horse-dealer to bribe the valuer and ask
him publicly what a measure of rice is worth; the valuer accepts and agrees.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 8747-8758
quote_or_summary: In the royal audience, the horse-dealer asks the king to have
the valuer value the measure of rice; the valuer repeats that five hundred horses
are worth a measure of rice and says the measure is worth all Benares within and
without the walls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 8759-8761
quote_or_summary: The passage explains the valuer first undervalued the horses to
please the king and then, after taking the dealer’s bribe, valued the measure
of rice at the whole city and suburbs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The narrative sequence and internal comparison are clear. Motif taxonomy
mapping is limited because the available taxonomy has only a broad wisdom family
relevant to the Bodisat’s counsel.
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 comparisons or unsupplied taxonomy IDs were added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l8634-l8761
passage_sha256=4c909481026a449dd262c9f81eae3797a682bdb5ab819df96addf814cd993fc0