batch.motif.hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg-l2570-l2710
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg-l2570-l2710
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK IV / DYUTA / BOOK V / PATIVRATA-MAHATMYA; lines 2570-2710
start: '2570'
end: '2710'
translation: Maha-bharata
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Savitri obtains permission to accompany her husband Satyavan into the forest.
While gathering fruit and wood, Satyavan becomes ill and dies with his head in
Savitri's lap. Yama appears, identifies himself as lord of the dead, draws out
Satyavan's vital spark with a noose, and travels southward. Savitri follows him,
arguing from marital fidelity and dharma. Yama grants her a boon other than restoring
the dead to life, and she asks for her father-in-law's sight and strength.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Savitri asks to accompany her husband when he goes to the jungle for fuel
and fruit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: A royal parent grants Savitri permission to roam safely in the forest with
her husband.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The forest setting includes peafowl, rills, rocky beds, flowered hills, and
singing birds.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Savitri watches her husband anxiously and silently while remembering his fated
condition.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Satyavan gathers wild fruit and cuts branches before becoming weary and complaining
of head pain and failing senses.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Savitri lays Satyavan on the ground with his head in her lap, and he dies.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: A dark, crowned figure with a noose appears near the dead Satyavan.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The figure identifies himself as Yama, monarch of the dead, who leads mortals
to dark realms.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Yama draws a thumb-sized vital spark, called purusha, from Satyavan's body
and fastens it in his noose.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Yama goes southward carrying Satyavan's immortal life, and Savitri follows
him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Yama tells Savitri that her wifely duty ceases and that no living creature
may go farther with him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Savitri replies that Eternal Law does not divide a loving man and faithful
wife, and she speaks of human duties, truth, and deathless love.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: Yama praises Savitri's precepts and offers a boon other than restoring the
dead to life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: Savitri asks that her husband's banished father receive sight and vigor, and
Yama grants the request.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Savitri
description: A faithful wife who accompanies her husband, witnesses his death, follows
Yama, and argues from marital fidelity and sacred duty.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Satyavan
description: Savitri's husband, a prince who gathers fruit and branches in the forest,
falls ill, dies, and has his vital spark taken by Yama.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Yama
description: The dark, crowned monarch of the dead who appears with a noose, extracts
Satyavan's vital spark, travels southward, speaks with Savitri, and grants a boon.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Royal parents / loving king
description: Parental authorities in the asram who are asked for permission and
grant Savitri's request to follow her husband into the forest.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Banished father of Satyavan
description: Satyavan's father, described by Savitri as sightless, faint, and weak
in the darksome forest.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Narad
description: A prior speaker whose fatal words are remembered by Savitri at the
moment of Satyavan's death.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
roles:
- id: role:1
label: faithful wife and follower
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Savitri accompanies Satyavan, holds him at death, and follows Yama despite
being told to turn back.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: fated husband and deceased prince
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Satyavan is called Savitri's husband and a prince; he falls ill, dies, and
his vital spark is taken.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: death deity and psychopomp
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Yama identifies himself as monarch of the dead, says mortals are led to his
realms, and carries Satyavan's immortal life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: permission-giving elders
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Savitri asks them for leave, and the king grants her request.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:5
label: speaker of dharma and marital fidelity
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Savitri argues that Eternal Law does not divide a loving man and faithful
wife and describes human duties and truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: boon-granting deity
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Yama praises Savitri's words and grants a boon other than bringing the dead
to life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:7
label: recipient of requested restoration
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Savitri asks that her husband's father be granted sight and vigor.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: remembered predictor of fate
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Savitri remembers Narad's fatal words while watching Satyavan's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: trackless forest
literal_form: jungle, woods, and forest path
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: sacrificial fuel
literal_form: fuel gathered in the jungle for sacrifice
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: death noose
literal_form: fatal noose carried by Yama and used to bind the vital spark
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: vital spark / purusha
literal_form: thumb-sized immortal life drawn from Satyavan's body
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: southward road of the dead
literal_form: Yama's southward movement with Satyavan's immortal life
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: watercourses in the forest
literal_form: woodland rills and crystal nullahs
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:7
label: lap as deathbed
literal_form: Satyavan's head resting in Savitri's lap on the sward
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Savitri receives permission to follow Satyavan
summary: Savitri asks her husband and then his parents for permission to accompany
him into the jungle for fruit and fuel; permission is granted.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Forest journey and Satyavan's death
summary: In a beautiful forest, Savitri anxiously watches Satyavan gather fruit
and branches. He suffers pain and weakness, rests with his head in her lap, and
dies.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Yama extracts the vital spark
summary: Yama appears in a dark crowned form with a noose, identifies himself as
lord of the dead, and removes Satyavan's thumb-sized vital spark from his body.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Savitri follows Yama and gains a boon
summary: Yama travels southward with Satyavan's immortal life. Savitri follows,
defends her right to remain with her husband through Eternal Law, and receives
a boon for Satyavan's father.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Faithful spouse accompanies doomed beloved into the forest
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Savitri leaves the asram to accompany Satyavan into the jungle despite anxiety
over his fate.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives the departure and death scene, but the wider narrative
context is outside the supplied lines.
- id: motif:2
label: Death deity removes the soul with a noose
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: Yama, monarch of the dead, appears with a noose, draws out Satyavan's thumb-sized
vital spark, and carries it southward toward the realm of the dead.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage describes the beginning of the post-mortem journey but not
the full geography of the afterlife.
- id: motif:3
label: Living devotee follows the lord of death
taxonomy_refs:
- hero_descent
- afterlife_journey_map
basis: Savitri follows Yama after he takes Satyavan's immortal life, even though
Yama says no living creature may go farther with him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a following of Death rather than a fully described descent into
an underworld within the supplied passage.
- id: motif:4
label: Marital fidelity as sacred law
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: Savitri argues that Eternal Law does not divide a loving man and faithful
wife, and Yama addresses her as faithful and virtuous.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy label is approximate; the passage concerns wifely fidelity
rather than a divine marriage rite.
- id: motif:5
label: Virtuous speech wins a divine boon
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
- wisdom
basis: Yama praises Savitri's holy precepts and offers a boon, after which she requests
restoration of sight and vigor for Satyavan's father.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The exchange is verbal and ethical; no material offering is described.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage fits an afterlife-journey motif pattern in which a death deity
or psychopomp removes a person's life-principle and proceeds toward the realm
of the dead.
claim_level: same_motif
target: afterlife_journey_map
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: Only the opening of the journey is described; the passage does not
map multiple afterlife regions.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The passage has the same narrative function as a sacred exchange pattern:
Savitri''s truthful and pious speech prompts Yama to grant a boon while withholding
resurrection.'
claim_level: same_function
target: sacred_exchange
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The exchange is not transactional in a ritual or material sense; it
is based on speech, virtue, and divine favor.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2570-2602
quote_or_summary: Savitri asks to follow her husband to the jungle for fuel and
fruit; the king grants her request to go safely with him and return home.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2603-2622
quote_or_summary: Savitri leaves with a smile but inner anguish; the forest is described
with peafowl, rills, hills, birdsong, and her husband's loving speech, while she
watches him anxiously.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2623-2648
quote_or_summary: Satyavan gathers fruit and cuts branches, becomes faint with head
pain and failing senses, and dies with his head in Savitri's lap as she remembers
Narad's fatal words.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2649-2672
quote_or_summary: A dark crowned figure with blood-red eye and noose appears; he
identifies himself as Yama, monarch of the dead, who leads mortals to dark realms.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2673-2682
quote_or_summary: Yama draws the thumb-sized vital spark, purusha, from Satyavan's
body, fastens it in his noose, and goes southward with the youth's immortal life
while Savitri follows.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2683-2702
quote_or_summary: Yama tells Savitri to turn back because no living creature may
go farther with him; Savitri replies that Eternal Law does not divide a loving
man and faithful wife, and she speaks of duty, truth, and deathless love.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2703-2710
quote_or_summary: Yama praises Savitri's precepts, offers a boon other than restoring
the dead, and grants her request that her husband's father regain sight and vigor.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The passage gives clear actions, figures, and speeches. Motif labels involving
broader taxonomy are provisional and should be reviewed against the larger Savitri
episode.
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: |-
Used only the supplied passage text and metadata. Taxonomy references are limited to the provided lists.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg__l2570-l2710
passage_sha256=e789b5cbce073513ffa4858fcb21045ebaae428de6e470afec3895698968dc95