A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.
Overview
The Bodisat, living as prince of five hundred gazelles, is caught in a hunter’s net. All companions flee except a doe. His wounded feet cannot break the strong net despite her encouragement. When the hunter arrives, she asks to be killed first and explains that the trapped gazelle is her husband. Moved by this devotion, he frees both. The rescue is through the wife’s courageous appeal, not a broken net, transformation or transferred wound; neither animal has a personal name in this passage.
Origins & earliest records
Indian Buddhist narrative preserved in Tibetan translation
Records & interpretation
Whole chapter and its footnotes directly read in the digitized1906 edition.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
XLI, The Gazelle and the Hunter, pp. 346–347; note cites Kah-gyur iv. ff. 244*–245*
- 02
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources — XLI The Gazelle and the Hunter
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected XL–XLIX344–359 and all notes independently read. Tibetan/German source-language originals not collated; footnoted comparisons not promoted to separately inspected works.
Family, evolution & connections
The doe and gazelle prince as spouses
The doe identifies the trapped gazelle prince as her husband, and the hunter releases both. Their relationship is stated, rather than inferred from her loyalty; no children or parents are supplied.
Primary records and illustrations
Schiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources (London, 1906)
XLI, The Gazelle and the Hunter. XLI, The Gazelle and the Hunter, pp. 346–347; note cites Kah-gyur iv. ff. 244*–245*
Whole chapter and notes read. Explicit identities and relations preserved; Bodisat status only where stated. Earlier cited Tibetan canonical witnesses not independently inspected. Original paraphrase of historical translation.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources
Tibetan Tales Derived from Indian Sources, London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co., 1906, title-page transcription independently checked. Tibetan Kah-gyur to German by F. Anton von Schiefner, then German to English by W.R.S.Ralston. Complete selected XL–XLIX344–359 and all notes independently read. Tibetan/German source-language originals not collated; footnoted comparisons not promoted to separately inspected works.
- A Bodisat gazelle prince is caught while leading five hundred gazelles. All flee except a doe, and repeated efforts cannot break the net. When the hunter arrives, the doe asks to be killed first and identifies the captive as her husband. Moved by that declared marriage and sacrifice, the hunter frees them both.
XLI The Gazelle and the Hunter, complete346–347; note Kah-gyuriv.ff244*–245*
Historical German-mediated English rendering; Tibetan originals and footnoted comparative works not independently collated. Page labels from hosted transcription. Religious/moral assertions remain narrative framing. No verse, ritual, prayer, medical preparation or modern adaptation copied.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Historical translation of Buddhist narrativeSchiefner/Ralston, Tibetan Tales (1906), XLI, The Gazelle and the Hunter, pp. 346–347; note cites Kah-gyur iv. ff. 244*–245*Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.