extraction.persian.persian_literature_volume_1.rustem_birth_white_elephant
---
record_id: extraction.persian.persian_literature_volume_1.rustem_birth_white_elephant
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
passage_locator:
label: Birth of Rustem; Simurgh aid, prodigious growth, and the white elephant feat
start: 2971
end: 3058
translation: James Atkinson, Shah Nameh in Persian Literature, Volume 1
notes: Line numbers refer to the repository markdown source.
canonical_text:
summary: During Rudabeh's dangerous labor, Zal burns the Simurgh's feather and the
bird appears to guide the birth of Rustem. The child shows prodigious size and
speed of growth, speaks like a born warrior, and proves his force by killing the
escaped white elephant with a single blow.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Zal burns the Simurgh's feather during Rudabeh's distress, and the bird appears
out of sudden darkness to predict a mighty child.
category: invocation
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The Simurgh gives advice that is followed exactly, and Rudabeh is delivered
from danger.
category: healing
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Rustem is prodigious from birth, looking a year old on his first day and needing
the milk of ten nurses.
category: birth
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: News of Rustem's birth is celebrated with a silk likeness of him armed on
horseback, public feasting, and almsgiving.
category: recognition
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Rustem grows at extraordinary speed, eating like a man at five, riding very
young, and equaling heroes in his eighth year.
category: growth
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Rustem appears already regal and martial, riding an elephant with a crown
and telling his elders that he longs for helmet, javelin, and battle.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The white elephant at Sistan breaks loose by night and tramples people to
death.
category: threat
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Rustem forces his way out, confronts the elephant alone, bends his iron mace
with the blow, and kills the beast in one strike.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rustem
description: Prodigious child whose Simurgh-aided birth, rapid growth, and elephant-slaying
mark him as a future champion.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Zal (Zl)
description: Father who invokes the Simurgh in the birth crisis and later receives
proof of Rustem's unmatched strength.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Rudabeh (Rdbeh)
description: Mother endangered in labor until the Simurgh's instructions bring safe
delivery.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Simurgh (Smrgh)
description: Guardian bird that answers the feather summons, predicts Rustem's greatness,
and guides the birth.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: white elephant
description: Royal elephant whose nocturnal rampage becomes Rustem's early proving
ordeal.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: miraculous_child
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rustem is announced before birth, born prodigiously large, and marked by
extraordinary bodily signs.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: precocious_hero
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rustem grows with unnatural speed and speaks as if already equipped for battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: beast_slayer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rustem kills the escaped white elephant with a single blow of his mace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:4
label: father_who_invokes_helper
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Zal calls the Simurgh by burning the feather during Rudabeh's dangerous labor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: imperiled_mother
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Rudabeh's labor threatens her life until the Simurgh's advice is followed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: guardian_birth_helper
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The Simurgh responds to the feather summons, foretells the child, and instructs
the successful delivery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:7
label: rampaging_beast
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The white elephant breaks loose, crushes people, and becomes the target of
Rustem's first famous feat.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: rescue feather
literal_form: the Simurgh's feather burned to summon aid during Rudabeh's labor
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:2
label: prodigious infant body
literal_form: newborn who looks a year old and requires ten nurses
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: silk warrior likeness
literal_form: likeness of Rustem worked in silk, shown on horseback and armed like
a warrior
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: white elephant
literal_form: royal white elephant whose escape turns it into a force of public
danger
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- chaos
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: iron mace
literal_form: mace bent almost double by Rustem's killing blow
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Simurgh-aided birth of Rustem
summary: Zal burns the rescue feather, the Simurgh appears with prophecy and instructions,
and Rudabeh is delivered of an extraordinary child.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Signs of precocious heroism
summary: Rustem's size, appetite, speed of growth, warrior image, and martial speech
all announce a hero already larger than ordinary childhood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Night combat with the white elephant
summary: When the white elephant breaks loose in Sistan, Rustem breaks out past
the guards and kills the beast with one crushing blow.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacred_birth_aided_by_guardian
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_birth
- miraculous_child
- sacred_exchange
basis: A dangerous birth is resolved through the summoned Simurgh, which foretells
the child and enables a successful delivery.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The taxonomy does not distinguish magical or surgical delivery, and the
helper is a wonder bird rather than a named birth deity.
- id: motif:2
label: precocious_hero_growth
taxonomy_refs:
- miraculous_child
basis: Rustem is unnaturally large from birth, grows with great speed, and speaks
as an already armed warrior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The signs indicate heroic vocation and bodily excess, not formal enthronement
or divine sonship.
- id: motif:3
label: first_beast_slaying_as_initiation
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
- chaos
basis: Rustem's night encounter with the rampaging white elephant functions as an
early ordeal that proves his public heroic power.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The elephant is a royal beast gone berserk, not an explicitly demonic
monster, so the chaos tag is functional rather than explicit.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: This passage can be compared with other sacred-birth traditions in which
a threatened mother, prophecy, and extraordinary infant signs announce a future
champion.
claim_level: same_motif
target: taxonomy/motifs.yml#sacred_birth
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is typological only; the passage remains specific to
the Simurgh's aid and Shah Nameh genealogy.
- id: claim:2
claim: Rustem's elephant killing fits a widespread first-feat pattern in which a
young hero proves strength by destroying a beast that endangers the community.
claim_level: same_function
target: cross-cultural youthful hero first-feat and beast-slaying records
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
limitations: The animal is an escaped elephant rather than a named monster, so the
comparison concerns narrative function more than exact creature type.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 2971-2977
quote_or_summary: '"A child will be born of mighty power, who will become the wonder
of the world."'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2979-2984
quote_or_summary: The Simurgh's advice saves Rudabeh, and Rustem is born so prodigious
that he looks a year old on his first day.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2982-2991
quote_or_summary: Rustem requires ten nurses, eats like a man at five, may ride
in his third year, and by eight matches the heroes of the time.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2983-2988
quote_or_summary: A silk likeness shows Rustem armed on horseback, and his birth
is celebrated with feasting and gifts to the poor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2996-3018
quote_or_summary: Rustem appears crowned on an elephant and declares that he longs
for helmet, javelin, and battle rather than music or ease.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 3038-3049
quote_or_summary: The white elephant at Sistan gets loose by night, crushes people,
and cannot be held back while Rustem forces his way past the guards.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 3050-3058
quote_or_summary: Rustem faces the elephant, bends his iron mace with the blow,
kills it in the dust, and receives Zal's amazed praise.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/persian/project-gutenberg/persian-literature-volume-1.md
rights_note: Public-domain source text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: high
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The Simurgh-assisted birth, prodigious growth, martial signs, and elephant
feat are explicit; broader first-feat comparisons remain interpretive.
reviewer_status:
status: draft
reviewer: ''
reviewed_at: ''
notes: Needs review for the functional use of chaos and initiation tags in the elephant
episode.
extracted_by: Codex
extracted_at: '2026-04-27'
notes: Worker B extraction focused on sacred birth, precocious heroic growth, and
Rustem's first beast-slaying feat.