batch.motif.hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg-l4972-l5112
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg-l4972-l5112
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK VIII / BHISHMA-BADHA / BOOK IX / DRONA-BADHA; lines 4972-5112
start: '4972'
end: '5112'
translation: Maha-bharata
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Abhimanyu, wounded and surrounded, makes a final mace attack and falls
in battle. At night Arjun returns with Krishna, notices ominous silence in the
camp, and learns from Yudhishthir that Jayadratha and six Kuru chiefs killed Abhimanyu
after he was deprived of weapons, horses, and chariot. Arjun grieves, then vows
to kill Jayadratha before the next sunset or die on a flaming pyre. Subhadra and
other women lament Abhimanyu. At morning Arjun blows his conch and drives with
Krishna into the Kuru force, declining combat with Drona so he can pursue Abhimanyu's
slayer.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Abhimanyu is described as wounded from blood loss but still fighting with
a mace before he falls.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The fallen Abhimanyu is compared to a slain tusker, a quenched wildfire, a
spent tempest, the setting sun, and an eclipsed moon.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Arjun returns from another field with Krishna and notices ominous silence
in the warriors' camp.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Yudhishthir reports that Jayadratha, together with six Kuru chieftains, attacked
Abhimanyu when Abhimanyu was alone.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: The report states that Abhimanyu had been deprived of weapon, steed, and chariot
before falling as a Kshatra warrior in battle.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Arjun first collapses in grief, then rises in anger and declares a vow to
kill Jayadratha before the next sunset.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: 'Arjun''s vow includes afterlife penalties if he fails: exclusion from the
bright sky of righteous fathers and residence among sinners in deepest hell.'
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Arjun states that if Jayadratha does not die by the next sunset, he will yield
his weapons and perish on a flaming pyre.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Subhadra laments Abhimanyu as her child and says the world, home, and hearth
are joyless without him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: At morning Arjun blows his sankha, and Krishna drives his fiery horses through
the Kuru force.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: Drona stops Arjun's advance, and Arjun addresses him as father and preceptor
while declining to fight him that day.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Abhimanyu
description: Arjun's youthful son, killed in battle after fighting alone and deprived
of weapon, steed, and car.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Arjun
description: Father of Abhimanyu; grieves, vows to kill Jayadratha before sunset,
and advances in battle with Krishna.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Krishna
description: Arjun's faithful companion and charioteer, addressed as righteous lord
and urged to speed the horses.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Yudhishthir
description: Tells Arjun how Abhimanyu fell and hears Arjun's vow.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Jayadratha
description: Sindhu's monarch, named by Arjun as Abhimanyu's slayer and target of
the revenge vow.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Six Kuru chieftains
description: Six proud Kuru chieftains said to have joined Jayadratha against Abhimanyu.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Subhadra
description: Abhimanyu's mother, Krishna's sister, and Arjun's wife; laments her
son's death.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Draupadi
description: A grieving woman who tears her hair after Abhimanyu's death.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Matsya's princess
description: Abhimanyu's young widowed princess-wife, described as shedding tears.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Drona
description: Arjun's proud preceptor who stops Arjun's furious progress in battle.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Durmarsan
description: A warrior who faces Arjun but fails to stop him.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Duhsasan
description: A warrior who rushes into battle with tuskers, but the elephants break
in panic before Arjun's car.
role_refs:
- role:13
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
roles:
- id: role:1
label: fallen young warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Abhimanyu fights wounded and falls in battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: son whose death provokes lament and vengeance
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage identifies Abhimanyu as Arjun's son and Subhadra's child, whose
death leads to grief and Arjun's vow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: grieving father
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Arjun collapses and weeps after learning of Abhimanyu's death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:4
label: vowed avenger
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Arjun vows to kill Jayadratha before the next sunset or die on a pyre.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: charioteer and divine companion
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Krishna accompanies Arjun, is addressed as righteous lord, and drives the
fiery coursers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: role:6
label: mourning informer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Yudhishthir tearfully tells Arjun how Abhimanyu fell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: accused slayer and revenge target
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Jayadratha is named as the slayer whom Arjun vows to kill.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: collective attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Six Kuru chieftains are said to have joined Jayadratha against Abhimanyu.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:9
label: bereaved mother
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Subhadra laments her dead child and wishes for deathlike relief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: female mourner
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Draupadi tears her hair in grief.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: young widow
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Matsya's princess is described as early widowed and weeping.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:12
label: preceptor blocking the avenger
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: Drona, called the proud preceptor, stays Arjun's progress and is addressed
as father by his pupil.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:13
label: opposing warrior unable to halt Arjun
assigned_to:
- fig:11
- fig:12
basis: Durmarsan and Duhsasan confront Arjun during his advance but fail to stop
him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: fire
literal_form: Flame, wildfire, camp-fires, and flaming pyre appear in descriptions
of Abhimanyu's dying valor, the battlefield camp, and Arjun's conditional death
vow.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: setting sun deadline
literal_form: The next sunset is the time limit by which Jayadratha must die for
Arjun's vow to be fulfilled.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: sankha war blast
literal_form: Arjun's sounding sankha rises over the morning battlefield and alerts
the Kurus to his vow.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: bright sky of righteous fathers and deepest hell
literal_form: Arjun names the bright sky where righteous fathers dwell and the deepest
hell of sinners as possible afterlife outcomes tied to his oath.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: eclipsed moon and setting sun
literal_form: Abhimanyu's lifeless body is compared to the setting day-god and the
moon quenched in eclipse.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: chariot
literal_form: Arjun's battle-car, driven by Krishna, moves through the hostile warriors;
Abhimanyu is said to have been deprived of his car before death.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Abhimanyu's last stand and death
summary: Wounded Abhimanyu charges with a mace, fights his enemies, and falls; the
passage frames his death through images of slain animal, quenched fire, stilled
storm, setting sun, and eclipsed moon.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Night camp after the slaughter
summary: After the day's battle, the camp is lit by fires and lamps, but Arjun returns
with Krishna and notices the absence of usual music, conch, trumpet, bards, and
Abhimanyu's greeting.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:1
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Report of Abhimanyu's death
summary: Yudhishthir tearfully tells Arjun that Jayadratha and six Kuru chieftains
attacked Abhimanyu alone and that the young prince fell after losing weapon, steed,
and chariot.
figure_refs:
- fig:4
- fig:2
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Arjun's grief and revenge oath
summary: Arjun collapses in sorrow, rises in anger, condemns the attack as dishonorable,
and vows to kill Jayadratha before sunset or die on a flaming pyre, invoking afterlife
penalties if he fails.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Women's lament for Abhimanyu
summary: Subhadra mourns her son, imagines his body on the battlefield, speaks of
a joyless world without him, and the passage also notes Draupadi's hair-tearing
and the widow's tears.
figure_refs:
- fig:7
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: scene:6
label: Morning advance for revenge
summary: At dawn Arjun blows his sankha and urges Krishna onward. Krishna drives
through the Kuru force; Durmarsan and Duhsasan fail to stop them.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: scene:7
label: Encounter with Drona
summary: Drona blocks Arjun's progress, but Arjun asks pardon from his preceptor
and continues toward Abhimanyu's slayer instead of fighting him.
figure_refs:
- fig:10
- fig:2
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: fallen youth whose death demands vengeance
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Abhimanyu's death is reported as an unfair killing by multiple attackers,
and Arjun responds with a sworn revenge mission against Jayadratha.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the vengeance vow clearly, but no external motif
index number is supplied.
- id: motif:2
label: conditional oath with self-destruction penalty
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Arjun vows that if Jayadratha does not die before the next sunset, Arjun
will yield his weapons and perish on a flaming pyre.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy reference 'sacrifice' is approximate because the passage
frames the act as a conditional vow, not as an explicitly ritual sacrifice.
- id: motif:3
label: afterlife destinations invoked as oath sanction
taxonomy_refs:
- afterlife_journey_map
- divine_judgment
basis: Arjun invokes exclusion from the bright sky of righteous fathers and residence
in deepest hell among grave sinners if he fails his vow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage names afterlife destinations and moral categories, but does
not narrate an actual afterlife journey or formal divine judgment scene.
- id: motif:4
label: lament over the fallen warrior by mother and widow
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Subhadra laments Abhimanyu's body, the void left in home and world, and the
grief of his young princess-wife; Draupadi also mourns.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: This is a literary lament pattern within the passage; no supplied taxonomy
family directly matches it.
- id: motif:5
label: warrior's battle departure under divine charioteer
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: At morning Arjun blows his conch, commands Krishna to speed onward, and advances
through the Kuru force to fulfill his vow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: low
cautions: The 'departure' reference is tentative because the scene is an advance
within an ongoing battle rather than a full quest departure.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage functions like an afterlife-sanctioned oath pattern: Arjun binds
his success or failure to named postmortem destinations of righteous fathers and
sinners.'
claim_level: same_function
target: afterlife_journey_map / divine_judgment motif families
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The text does not depict a journey through the afterlife or an adjudicating
deity; it only uses afterlife destinations as oath sanctions.
- id: claim:2
claim: Arjun's promise to die on a flaming pyre if he fails resembles a self-sacrificial
vow pattern in function, since the pledged penalty is his own death by fire.
claim_level: same_function
target: sacrifice motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: low
limitations: The passage does not call the pyre death a sacrifice or describe a
ritual offering; the comparison is functional and tentative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 4972-4980
quote_or_summary: Abhimanyu, weakened by blood loss, wipes his forehead, rushes
with a mace, fights, and falls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; quotation minimized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 4981-4988
quote_or_summary: 'His death is described through similes: a tusker slain by hunters,
wildfire quenched, tempest stilled, setting sun, and moon darkened in eclipse.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 4989-5010
quote_or_summary: Night falls on the battlefield camp; Arjun returns with Krishna
and notices silence, absent music, pale brothers, and no joyful greeting from
Abhimanyu.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 5011-5018
quote_or_summary: 'Yudhishthir tearfully tells how Abhimanyu fell: Jayadratha and
six Kuru chieftains attacked him alone, and the young prince died after losing
weapon, steed, and car.'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 5019-5034
quote_or_summary: Arjun hears the news, sinks to the ground in grief, then rises
in anger and condemns the killing as a shameful breach of warrior honor; he vows
to slay the slayer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 5035-5046
quote_or_summary: Arjun says he should lose the bright sky of the righteous fathers
and live with sinners in deepest hell if Jayadratha does not die before tomorrow's
sunset; otherwise Arjun will give up his weapons and die on a flaming pyre.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 5047-5074
quote_or_summary: Subhadra mourns Abhimanyu, imagines his body on the battlefield
near jackals and vultures, calls the world cheerless without him, and mentions
his joyless wife; Draupadi tears her hair and Matsya's princess weeps as a young
widow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 5075-5102
quote_or_summary: At morning Arjun blows his sankha; the Kurus know his vow. He
urges Krishna onward, and their chariot drives through warriors, Durmarsan, and
Duhsasan's elephants.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 5103-5112
quote_or_summary: Drona, Arjun's preceptor, stops his progress; Arjun asks pardon
and says he must speed his battle-car against Abhimanyu's slayer.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source metadata; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: low
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif-family
mapping is more tentative where the available taxonomy does not directly name
revenge lament or heroic death patterns.
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: |-
Only the provided passage and metadata were used. Long quotations were avoided in favor of concise summaries.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg__l4972-l5112
passage_sha256=e8533703f471f53f616fb303daa9c06afac63ce1644f154221ecce906d628a8a