batch.motif.hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg-l6265-l6356
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg-l6265-l6356
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK X / KARNA-BADHA / BOOK XI / SRADDHA; lines 6265-6356
start: '6265'
end: '6356'
translation: Maha-bharata
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: At the banks of the Ganga, mourners offer sacred water to the dead after
battle. Pritha reveals to the Pandava brothers that Karna, slain by Arjun, was
her eldest son and was born through the Sun. The Pandavas, especially Yudhishthir,
grieve for the brother they unknowingly killed. Yudhishthir and Karna's widow
offer water oblations to Karna; the survivors bathe and return sadly to Hastina.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Mourners cast off ornaments and make water offerings to slain fathers, husbands,
and sons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The rites take place along the shelving banks of the Ganga, described as crowded,
wide, and sea-like.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Pritha tells her sons that Karna was her eldest son and that the Sun inspired
his birth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Pritha identifies Karna as the bowman slain by Arjun and previously regarded
as Radha's son, a chariot-driver.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Pandava brothers groan and weep after learning they had slain their brother.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Yudhishthir asks why Pritha hid Karna's birth and lineage.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Yudhishthir says the war's carnage might have been avoided if Karna had stood
beside his brothers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Yudhishthir offers water oblation to Karna, and Karna's widow and the women
of his house also offer oblations.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: After the rites, the survivors bathe in the sacred river and return to Hastina
in grief.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Yudhishthir's sorrowful sigh is compared to a trodden hissing snake.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Pritha
description: Mother who reveals that Karna was her eldest son.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Karna
description: Peerless warrior slain by Arjun; revealed as Pritha's eldest son and
elder brother of the Pandavas; his birth is associated with the Sun.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Pandava brothers
description: Pritha's sons who learn that Karna was their brother and mourn him.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Yudhishthir
description: A Pandava who laments Karna as his elder brother and offers water oblation
to him.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Arjun
description: Warrior who slew Karna in battle and is named as wielder of gandiva.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Surya / the Sun
description: Divine solar figure associated with Karna's birth and lustre.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Karna's widow and women of his house
description: Women who offer oblations to Karna and weep for him.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Mourners at the Ganga
description: Sorrowing wives, mothers, and a large host who perform rites for the
slain.
role_refs:
- role:10
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
label: revealer of hidden kinship
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pritha discloses that Karna was her eldest son.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: mother
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Pritha is addressed as mother by Yudhishthir and said to have borne Karna.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: slain elder brother
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Karna is revealed as the Pandavas' honoured elder and is mourned as a brother
slain in battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: heroic warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Karna is described as a peerless bowman, leader of the Kuru forces, and mighty
warrior.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: solar-born figure
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Pritha says the Sun inspired Karna's birth and that he moved sun-like with
rings and armour.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:6
label: unknowing kin-slayer and mourner
assigned_to:
- fig:3
- fig:4
basis: The Pandavas weep for the brother they had slain; Yudhishthir laments Karna's
death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: ritual offerer
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Yudhishthir makes water oblation to Karna.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: slayer in battle
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Pritha identifies Karna as slain by Arjun in the war.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:9
label: divine birth source
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Karna's birth is said to have been inspired by the Sun.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:10
label: mourning woman performing oblation
assigned_to:
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Women offer sacred water to dead relatives and Karna's widow offers oblations
to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:11
label: funerary ritual participant
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: A large host of mourners proceeds to perform the rite at the Ganga.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacred water
literal_form: Water offered as oblation to the dead
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: Ganga river
literal_form: Sacred sea-like stream and riverbank where rites and ablutions occur
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: solar birth and radiance
literal_form: Sun-inspired birth; Karna shining with Surya's lustre and wearing
rings and armour
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: hidden fire image
literal_form: Birth and lineage hidden as flaming fire hidden in folded garments
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: hissing snake image
literal_form: Yudhishthir's sigh compared to a trodden hissing snake
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Water rites for the battle-dead at the Ganga
summary: A large group of mourners gathers at the Ganga and offers sacred water
to slain fathers, husbands, and sons.
figure_refs:
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Pritha reveals Karna's birth
summary: Pritha tells her sons that Karna, slain by Arjun and known as Radha's son,
was actually her eldest son and was born through the Sun.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Pandava lament for slain kin
summary: The Pandavas grieve after learning Karna was their brother; Yudhishthir
laments the hidden lineage and imagines that the war might have been avoided.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: scene:4
label: Oblations to Karna and departure from the river
summary: Yudhishthir and Karna's widow offer oblations to Karna; survivors bathe
in the river and return sadly to Hastina.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: funerary water offering to the dead
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_exchange
basis: Living mourners offer sacred water to dead kin and warriors at the Ganga.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy does not include a specific funerary-rite motif;
sacred_exchange is an approximate fit because offerings are made to the dead.
- id: motif:2
label: hidden birth and revealed kinship after fatal conflict
taxonomy_refs:
- sibling_pair
basis: Pritha reveals after Karna's death that he was the Pandavas' elder brother,
producing grief over kin-killing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage concerns a larger sibling group rather than only a pair, so
the taxonomy reference is approximate.
- id: motif:3
label: divine solar parentage of a hero
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_parent_child
- sacred_birth
basis: Karna's birth is said to be inspired by the Sun, and he is described with
solar lustre.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states solar involvement but does not narrate the birth episode
itself.
- id: motif:4
label: lament over war that might have been avoided by recognized kinship
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Yudhishthir reflects that if Karna had stood with his brothers, the carnage
of the Kurus would not have occurred and peace would have prevailed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a reflective ethical lament rather than a fully developed wisdom
teaching in the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 6265-6276
quote_or_summary: Mourners cast off ornaments and offer sacred water to slain fathers,
husbands, and sons at the crowded, sorrowful banks of the Ganga.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 6277-6292
quote_or_summary: Pritha reveals that Karna, slain by Arjun and formerly thought
to be Radha's son, was her eldest son; she says the Sun inspired his birth and
he shone with Surya's lustre.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 6293-6298
quote_or_summary: After Pritha speaks, the Pandava brothers groan and weep for the
brother they had slain; Yudhishthir begins speaking in sorrow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 6299-6336
quote_or_summary: Yudhishthir praises Karna's might, asks why Pritha hid his birth
and lineage like fire hidden in garments, grieves for his slain elder brother,
and says peace might have prevailed had Karna stood with them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 6337-6356
quote_or_summary: Yudhishthir offers water oblation to Karna; Kuru women and Karna's
widow grieve and offer oblations; after rites and ablutions, the survivors return
to Hastina.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 6295-6296
quote_or_summary: "“Hissing forth his sigh of sorrow like a trodden, hissing snake”
describes Yudhishthir's grief."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/mahabharata-dutt.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used for exact image.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: The main actions, figures, and relationships are explicit. Motif taxonomy
mapping is partly approximate because the available list lacks a precise funerary
oblation or hidden-kinship category. No comparison claims were added because the
passage itself does not compare this material to another tradition or corpus.
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: |-
All observations and motifs are based only on the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-mahabharata-dutt-gutenberg__l6265-l6356
passage_sha256=a55d8eeeb2dc6535fca6b9e0f7811b064a6c28dccba67758d2120a476efddefc