batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l9191-l9259
---
record_id: batch.motif.buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg-l9191-l9259
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
passage_locator:
label: END OF THE STORY OF THE SANDY ROAD. / END OF THE STORY OF CHULLAKA THE TREASURER.
/ END OF THE STORY OF THE MEASURE OF RICE. / END OF THE STORY ABOUT TRUE DIVINITY.;
lines 9191-9259
start: '9191'
end: '9259'
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 Bodisat, once a wealthy Brāhman, renounces worldly life, becomes a
hermit, and leads five hundred ascetics. During a stay in the royal park at Benares,
his senior pupil, a former king turned ascetic, visits him and expresses joy without
rising for the king. The king is displeased, but the Bodisat explains that meditative
and religious joy surpasses royal splendour, then teaches a verse on freedom from
dependence and lust. The king is satisfied; the pupil returns to the Himālayas;
the Bodisat dies in meditation and is reborn in the Brahma heaven. The frame identifies
the pupil as Bhaddiya the Elder and the teacher as the Buddha in a former birth.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The Bodisat is described as a wealthy Brāhman who perceives the evils of worldly
lusts, abandons the world, goes to the Himālaya region, becomes a hermit, practises
the Eight Attainments, and gains five hundred ascetic disciples.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: During the rainy season, the Bodisat and the ascetics travel to Benares and
dwell in the royal park under the king’s patronage.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The king asks the Bodisat to remain in Benares because of his age and to send
the disciples back to the Himālayas.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Bodisat entrusts the five hundred ascetics to his senior pupil and sends
them to live in the Himālayas.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The senior pupil is described as a former king who abandoned a mighty kingdom
for religious life and acquired eight kinds of spiritual insight.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The senior pupil visits his teacher, salutes him, spreads a mat, and lies
down beside him.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: When the king arrives, the senior pupil does not rise but lies there and chants
an expression of happiness.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The king is displeased by the senior pupil’s failure to rise and comments
that the ascetic must have enjoyed himself greatly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: The Bodisat explains that the ascetic is recalling that, even with former
royal splendour and armed guards, he did not have the joy he now has in meditation
and religious life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The Bodisat recites a verse teaching that the one who needs no defenders and
has no one to defend lives at ease, untroubled by yearnings or lusts.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: After hearing the discourse, the king is satisfied and returns to the palace;
the disciple returns to the Himālaya region.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The Bodisat remains in continued meditation until death and is then reborn
in the Brahma heaven.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:13
text: The closing frame identifies the pupil of the past as Bhaddiya the Elder and
the master of the disciples as the narrator-teacher himself.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bodisat
description: A wealthy Brāhman of the north-west country who abandons worldly life,
becomes a hermit teacher, instructs the king, continues in meditation, and is
reborn in the Brahma heaven.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Brahma-datta / king of Benares
description: The reigning king in Benares who patronizes the Bodisat in the royal
park, asks him to remain, becomes displeased with the senior pupil, and is satisfied
by the Bodisat’s discourse.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Senior pupil
description: A former king and royal devotee who has abandoned a mighty kingdom,
acquired spiritual insight, leads the ascetics in the Himālayas, visits his teacher,
and chants joy in the king’s presence.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Five hundred ascetics
description: The Bodisat’s disciples, placed in the charge of the senior pupil and
sent to live in the Himālaya region.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Teacher in the frame narrative
description: The narrator-teacher who preaches the discourse, establishes the connection,
and identifies the figures of the past birth.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Bhaddiya the Elder
description: The present-life figure identified with the pupil of the past episode.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: renouncing ascetic
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bodisat abandons worldly life and adopts the life of a hermit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: religious teacher and moral instructor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He explains the senior pupil’s meditative joy and recites a verse to instruct
the king in righteousness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: royal patron
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The Bodisat dwells in the royal park under the king’s patronage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: listener to instruction
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The king questions the senior pupil’s conduct and is satisfied after hearing
the discourse.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: former king turned ascetic
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The passage states that the senior pupil had abandoned a mighty kingdom for
religious life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: disciple expressing meditative joy
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: He lies near his teacher, does not rise for the king, and chants happiness,
which the Bodisat attributes to meditative joy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: ascetic community
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The five hundred ascetics are disciples of the Bodisat and later live in
the Himālayas under the senior pupil.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:8
label: frame narrator and identifier
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The Teacher preaches the discourse and establishes the connection between
past and present figures.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:9
label: present-life counterpart of the pupil
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The frame identifies the pupil of the earlier story as Bhaddiya the Elder.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Himālaya ascetic retreat
literal_form: Himālaya region
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: royal park dwelling-place
literal_form: royal park in Benares
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: five hundred disciples
literal_form: five hundred ascetics
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: mat beside the teacher
literal_form: mat spread on the floor
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Brahma heaven
literal_form: Brahma heaven
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: armed guards of royal life
literal_form: many men with arms in their hands
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Renunciation and gathering of ascetics
summary: The Bodisat leaves worldly life, becomes a hermit in the Himālaya region,
practises the Eight Attainments, and gathers five hundred ascetic disciples.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Royal park residence and delegation
summary: The Bodisat stays in Benares under royal patronage; at the king’s request
he remains there and entrusts the ascetics to his senior pupil for residence in
the Himālayas.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Senior pupil’s visit and the king’s displeasure
summary: The senior pupil visits the Bodisat, lies beside him on a mat, and chants
joy without rising when the king arrives, causing the king’s displeasure.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Explanation of meditative happiness
summary: The Bodisat explains that the former king turned ascetic now enjoys greater
happiness in meditation and religious life than he had with royal splendour and
armed guards.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Verse, departure, and rebirth
summary: The Bodisat teaches a verse on ease without dependence, yearnings, or lusts;
the king is satisfied, the pupil returns to the Himālayas, and the Bodisat later
dies in meditation and is reborn in Brahma heaven.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Jātaka identification
summary: The frame narrative identifies the senior pupil as Bhaddiya the Elder and
the master of the disciples as the teacher himself in a past birth.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Renunciation of worldly status for ascetic life
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The Bodisat abandons worldly life to become a hermit, and the senior pupil
is also described as having abandoned a mighty kingdom for religious life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes religious renunciation rather than a quest journey
in detail.
- id: motif:2
label: Spiritual happiness surpassing royal splendour
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat explains that the senior pupil, formerly a king, finds greater
joy in meditation and religious life than in royal splendour guarded by armed
men.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is expressed as a moral explanation rather than as a contest
or dramatic trial.
- id: motif:3
label: Instruction of a king by an ascetic teacher
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: The Bodisat addresses the king’s displeasure with a discourse and a verse
intended to instruct him in righteousness.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage gives one instructional episode, not a sustained teaching
cycle.
- id: motif:4
label: Meditative life followed by heavenly rebirth
taxonomy_refs:
- ascent
basis: The Bodisat dwells in continued meditation until death and is then reborn
in the Brahma heaven.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states rebirth in a heavenly realm but does not narrate a
journey or ascent.
- id: motif:5
label: Past-life identity disclosure in a Jātaka frame
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The closing frame connects the figures in the past story with Bhaddiya the
Elder and the teacher himself.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No external Jātaka corpus comparison is used; this is drawn only from
the passage’s own closing identification.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The closing identification functions as a Jātaka frame-pattern in which characters
from a past-life story are linked to present-life figures.
claim_level: same_function
target: Jātaka past-life identification frame
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The claim is limited to the passage’s own explicit identification and
does not compare this story to any external Jātaka examples.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 9191-9197
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat, a wealthy Brāhman, sees the evils of worldly lusts,
abandons the world, goes to the Himālaya region, becomes a hermit, practises the
Eight Attainments, and is attended by five hundred ascetics.
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: 9199-9206
quote_or_summary: During the rainy season the Bodisat and ascetics travel to Benares,
dwell in the royal park under the king’s patronage, and the king asks the aged
Bodisat to remain while sending the disciples to the Himālayas.
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: 9208-9214
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat puts the five hundred ascetics under the senior pupil’s
charge; the senior pupil is described as a royal devotee who abandoned a mighty
kingdom and acquired eight kinds of spiritual insight.
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: 9216-9226
quote_or_summary: The senior pupil visits his teacher, salutes him, lies down beside
him on a mat, and when the king arrives does not rise but chants, “Oh, Happiness!
Oh, Happiness!”; the king is displeased.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/buddhist/project-gutenberg/buddhist-birth-stories-volume-1-rhys-davids.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation from public domain text included.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: 9228-9235
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat explains that the ascetic was once a king and is reflecting
that royal splendour with armed guards did not give him the joy he now finds in
meditation and religious life.
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: 9237-9242
quote_or_summary: The Bodisat recites a verse teaching that one who needs no defenders
and has no one to defend lives at ease, untroubled by yearnings or lusts.
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: 9244-9247
quote_or_summary: After the discourse the king is satisfied and returns to the palace;
the disciple returns to the Himālaya region; the Bodisat remains in meditation
until death and is reborn in the Brahma heaven.
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: 9251-9259
quote_or_summary: The Teacher closes the discourse by identifying the pupil of the
past as Bhaddiya the Elder and the master of the disciples as himself.
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: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif labels are conservative
and tied to explicit renunciation, wisdom instruction, meditative joy, rebirth,
and Jātaka identification in the text. The single comparison claim is limited
to the passage’s internal frame-pattern.
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 unsupported taxonomy identifiers were used. Available taxonomy references were applied only where directly supported by the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:buddhist-jataka-birth-stories-rhys-davids-gutenberg__l9191-l9259
passage_sha256=0865601f23e4d9c584d8d8306d233c1fd807aa9f9d01889173bb363a5cdab6bb