batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l11445-l11509
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l11445-l11509
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK II. / Canto I. The Heir Apparent. / Canto VI. The City Decorated. /
Canto IX. The Plot.; lines 11445-11509
start: '11445'
end: '11509'
translation: The Ramayan of Valmiki
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: ''
summary: Kaikeyí presses the king to keep his promise, cites exemplars of truth-keeping,
threatens to die by poison if Ráma is anointed, and insists that only Ráma's banishment
will satisfy her. The king hears her words, collapses in grief, and addresses
her with tears and sobs.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Kaikeyí argues that if the king repents his promise, his fame for truth will
be stained and other kings will scorn him as forsworn.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Kaikeyí cites the tale of the Hawk and Dove, King Saivya giving his flesh,
King Alarka giving his eyes, and the Sea keeping its limit as examples connected
with promise or truth.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Kaikeyí says the king would forget the rights of truth in order to set Ráma
on the throne.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Kaikeyí declares that the king's word and oath remain binding and that he
must yield what she claims.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Kaikeyí threatens to drink poison and die before the king if Ráma is anointed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Kaikeyí says it is better to die than see crowds hail Kauśalyá as queen.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Kaikeyí swears by her son and herself that only Ráma's banishment will content
her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: After hearing Kaikeyí's speech, the king remains bewildered, calls out for
Ráma, falls prone, loses his senses, and grieves with tears and sobs.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Kaikeyí
description: Queen who speaks fiercely to the king, invokes his oath, threatens
suicide by poison, and demands Ráma's banishment.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The king / monarch / hapless father
description: The ruler addressed by Kaikeyí; he is bound by a promise, hears her
demand, and collapses in grief.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ráma
description: The person whose anointing to the throne is opposed by Kaikeyí and
whose banishment she demands.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Kauśalyá
description: Queen whose public elevation Kaikeyí says she cannot bear to see.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Saivya
description: Exemplary monarch in Kaikeyí's speech who, pledged by his word, gave
his flesh to save a suppliant bird.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: King Alarka
description: Exemplary king in Kaikeyí's speech who gave his eyes and gained a mansion
in the skies.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The Sea
description: Personified sea in Kaikeyí's speech that keeps its promise and does
not pass its limit.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Hawk and Dove
description: Figures in the tale invoked by Kaikeyí as a lesson about truth and
Saivya's love of truth.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
roles:
- id: role:1
label: oath-claimant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Kaikeyí insists that the king's word and oath remain binding and that he
must yield her claim.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:2
label: threatening queen
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Kaikeyí threatens to drink poison and die if Ráma is anointed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: oath-bound ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The king is addressed as one whose promise and oath must be maintained for
truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: grieving father
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The king calls out for Ráma, falls prone, loses his senses, and grieves.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: contested heir apparent
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Kaikeyí refers to Ráma being set on the throne and anointed, then demands
his banishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: rival queen in succession context
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Kaikeyí fears seeing crowds hail Kauśalyá as queen and links this to Ráma's
anointing.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: exemplar of truth or vow-keeping
assigned_to:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Kaikeyí invokes Saivya, Alarka, and the Sea as examples in her argument that
promises must be kept.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:8
label: exemplary tale figures
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The Hawk and Dove are named as a tale from which the king should learn about
truth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: oath or promise
literal_form: The king's word, oath, promise, and consent
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: throne and anointing
literal_form: Ráma on the throne; Ráma anointed
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: poison
literal_form: Poison Kaikeyí says she will drink before the king's face
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: banishment
literal_form: Ráma's banishment
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: sea boundary
literal_form: The Sea keeping its promise and not sweeping beyond its limit
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:6
label: fallen tree simile
literal_form: The king falls prone as a smitten tree falls
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:7
label: wounded snake simile
literal_form: The king lies like a wounded snake
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Kaikeyí enforces the king's promise
summary: Kaikeyí argues that the king will lose his reputation for truth if he withdraws
from his promise and oath.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Exempla of truth-keeping
summary: Kaikeyí invokes the Hawk and Dove tale, Saivya, Alarka, and the Sea as
examples to support keeping a vow or promise.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Threat against Ráma's anointing
summary: Kaikeyí declares that she will die by poison if Ráma is anointed and says
only his banishment will satisfy her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: The king collapses in grief
summary: The king hears Kaikeyí's demand, is bewildered, calls out for Ráma, falls
prone, loses his senses, and grieves with tears and sobs.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: oath-bound royal succession crisis
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: The passage centers on a king's oath being used to block Ráma's anointing
and to demand his banishment, creating a conflict over who will be publicly recognized
in royal succession.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not show the wider succession outcome, only the demand
and the king's immediate reaction.
- id: motif:2
label: forced departure through banishment demand
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Kaikeyí insists that no gift or promise will satisfy her except Ráma's banishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage contains the demand for banishment but not Ráma's actual departure.
- id: motif:3
label: exemplary sacrifice to uphold truth
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Kaikeyí cites Saivya giving his flesh and Alarka giving his eyes as examples
in an argument about truth and promise-keeping.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: These are embedded exempla within Kaikeyí's speech, not actions occurring
in the immediate narrative scene.
- id: motif:4
label: truth-bound promise as moral constraint
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Kaikeyí repeatedly frames the king's promise, word, and oath as binding and
tied to public truthfulness and reputation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: No specific taxonomy reference among the supplied motif families directly
names oath-keeping or truth, so taxonomy_refs is left empty.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'Within Kaikeyí''s argument, the king''s obligation to keep his oath is compared
functionally to exemplars who keep truth or promise at personal cost or by fixed
boundary: Saivya, Alarka, and the Sea.'
claim_level: same_function
target: Saivya, Alarka, and the Sea as promise-keeping exempla
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The comparison is rhetorical within the passage; it does not establish
historical contact or shared origin beyond the cited exempla.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 11445-11464
quote_or_summary: Kaikeyí asks how the king will maintain an unstained fame for
truth if he repents his promise and consent, and says other princes will scorn
him as forsworn.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 11465-11476
quote_or_summary: Kaikeyí invokes the Hawk and Dove tale, Saivya giving his flesh
to save a suppliant bird, Alarka giving his eyes, and the Sea keeping its promise
by not passing its limit.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 11477-11486
quote_or_summary: Kaikeyí says the king would forget the rights of truth to set
Ráma on the throne, but that his word and oath remain the same and he must yield
her claim.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 11487-11496
quote_or_summary: Kaikeyí says that if Ráma is anointed she will drink poison before
the king and die, and that she would rather die than see crowds hail Kauśalyá
as queen.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 11497-11502
quote_or_summary: "“No gift, no promise whatsoe’er / My steadfast soul shall now
content, / But only Ráma’s banishment.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short excerpt quoted.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 11503-11509
quote_or_summary: After Kaikeyí falls silent, the king hears her ill-fraught speech,
remains bewildered, gazes at her, cries out for Ráma, falls prone like a smitten
tree, loses his senses, lies like a wounded snake, and grieves with tears and
sobs.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The narrative roles and literal actions are clear. Motif tagging is strongest
for royal legitimacy and oath-bound succession; departure and sacrifice are present
as a demand and embedded exempla rather than completed events.
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 provided passage and metadata. Taxonomy references are limited to supplied motif families and symbols.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l11445-l11509
passage_sha256=c6bdd863d55b70e1735702c0f203711052bbf2916be4c75d4c427f74602b393c