batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l13147-l13320
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l13147-l13320
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto VI. The City Decorated. / Canto IX. The Plot. / Canto XV. The Preparations.
/ Canto XVIII. The Sentence.; lines 13147-13320
start: '13147'
end: '13320'
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: Kauśalyā pleads with Rāma not to obey Kaikeyī’s demand or go into forest
exile, arguing that a mother’s command also deserves reverence. Rāma replies that
he cannot break his father’s command, cites earlier examples of severe obedience
to fathers, restrains Lakṣmaṇ’s anger, asks for his mother’s blessing, promises
to return after the exile, and affirms duty over royal power or desire.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Kauśalyā tells Rāma not to leave her in grief or go as an exile to the forest.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Kauśalyā argues that a mother has a claim to reverence comparable to a father’s
claim.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Kauśalyā says that if Rāma leaves, she will give up food and will not endure
life without him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Rāma says he has no power to break the commandments spoken by his father.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Rāma cites earlier figures who obeyed their fathers in severe acts, including
Kaṇḍu, the sons of Sagar, and Jamadagni’s son.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Rāma tells Lakṣmaṇ that duty and truth are supreme and that the father, not
only Kaikeyī, gave the binding word.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Rāma asks Kauśalyā for consent and blessing before he goes into banishment.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Rāma promises that, when the appointed years are over, he will see Ayodhyā
again.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Kauśalyā renews her charge that Rāma should not go and says one hour with
him is dearer than a world without him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Rāma says that when love, gain, and duty are not all combined, a person should
turn first to duty.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Rāma says he will not slight glory and righteousness for the desire of rule.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:12
text: Rāma passes around the queen in reverence and holds her affectionately.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rāma
description: A prince and son who insists on obeying his father’s command and going
into forest banishment.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Queen Kauśalyā
description: Rāma’s mother, grieving and pleading that he not go to the forest.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lakṣmaṇ
description: Rāma’s brother, devoted to Rāma and reproved for thoughts shaped by
anger and warrior pride.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Rāma’s father, the aged king
description: The living king and sire whose promise and command Rāma says he must
obey.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Kaikeyī
description: Kauśalyā’s rival; Rāma says Kaikeyī’s tongue spurred his purpose, but
his father gave the word.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Earlier exemplars of obedience
description: 'Figures invoked by Rāma as precedents: Kaśyap’s ascetic son, Kaṇḍu,
the sons of Sagar, Jamadagni’s son, Renukā, and King Yayāti.'
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: obedient son bound by paternal command
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rāma repeatedly says he cannot break or slight his father’s command and decree.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: grieving mother opposing exile
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Kauśalyā pleads with Rāma not to leave, claims maternal authority, and expresses
grief at separation.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: devoted brother counseled away from anger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Rāma acknowledges Lakṣmaṇ’s devotion and valor but tells him to cast aside
warlike thoughts.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:4
label: authoritative father and king
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The father’s word, promise, and decree are treated by Rāma as binding.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: role:5
label: rival queen and instigator
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Kauśalyā calls Kaikeyī her rival, and Rāma says Kaikeyī’s words spurred the
action though the father gave the word.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:6
label: voluntary exile
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rāma asks permission to go to the wild wood in banishment and promises to
return after the years are over.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: precedent figures
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Rāma and Kauśalyā cite earlier figures to support claims about filial duty,
obedience, and return.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: forest exile
literal_form: the wild wood / forest shade
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: father’s word
literal_form: commandments, promise, decree, and word spoken by the father
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: maternal blessing
literal_form: Rāma asks his mother for blessing before departure
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: reverent gesture
literal_form: joined hands, bowed head, and passing round the queen in reverence
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: axe in obedience example
literal_form: the axe used by Jamadagni’s son in the cited precedent
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Kauśalyā pleads against the exile
summary: Kauśalyā urges Rāma to reject Kaikeyī’s demand, remain with his mother,
and not go to the forest; she threatens to abandon food if he leaves.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Rāma answers with paternal obedience
summary: Rāma says he cannot break his father’s command and cites earlier figures
as precedents for severe obedience to a father.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Rāma restrains Lakṣmaṇ
summary: Rāma acknowledges Lakṣmaṇ’s devotion but tells him that duty and truth
are supreme and that warlike anger should be set aside.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Request for blessing and promise of return
summary: Rāma asks Kauśalyā for consent and blessing, states that he must obey his
father’s word, and promises to return to Ayodhyā after the appointed years.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Renewed maternal protest and final affirmation of duty
summary: Kauśalyā again tells Rāma not to go; Rāma answers that duty must take precedence
over gain or pleasure and that he will not accept rule without righteousness.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:6
label: Reverent parting gesture
summary: Rāma soothes his mother, counsels Lakṣmaṇ, passes around the queen reverently,
and holds her affectionately.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: exile departure under binding command
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Rāma repeatedly states that he must obey his father’s command and go to the
forest in banishment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the departure as imminent rather than narrating the
actual journey into the forest.
- id: motif:2
label: promised return after exile
taxonomy_refs:
- return
basis: Rāma promises that after the appointed years are over he will see Ayodhyā
again and return from the greenwood shade.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The return is only promised in this passage, not fulfilled here.
- id: motif:3
label: renunciation of rule for righteousness
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Rāma refuses to slight duty, truth, and fair glory for the desire of rule,
even though the command costs him the kingdom.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The broader succession context is only indirectly present in this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: conflicting parental claims
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Kauśalyā claims that her command as mother deserves reverence, while Rāma
insists that his father’s command must be obeyed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage resolves the conflict in favor of paternal command; it does
not present a balanced legal debate beyond the speeches.
- id: motif:5
label: ancestral exempla for harsh obedience
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Rāma supports his decision by citing earlier figures who obeyed fathers in
extreme or costly actions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
confidence: medium
cautions: The cited stories are brief allusions; details are not narrated in full
in this passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage explicitly compares Rāma’s obedience to earlier exemplary acts
of obedience by figures of old, giving those stories the same argumentative function
as precedents for duty to a father.
claim_level: same_function
target: Kaṇḍu, the sons of Sagar, Jamadagni’s son, and other 'great of yore' obedience
precedents
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal comparison made by the speaker; it does not establish
historical contact beyond the passage’s own use of exempla.
- id: claim:2
claim: Rāma likens his hoped-for return after exile to King Yayāti’s return, using
Yayāti as a precedent or analogy for homecoming after a period away.
claim_level: same_function
target: King Yayāti homecoming analogy
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The Yayāti reference is brief and does not narrate the compared story.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 13147-13179
quote_or_summary: Kauśalyā urges Rāma not to obey her rival’s word or go into forest
exile; she claims maternal reverence and threatens fasting and death if he leaves.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 13180-13206
quote_or_summary: Rāma replies that he cannot break his father’s command and cites
precedents of obedience by Kaṇḍu, the sons of Sagar, and Jamadagni’s son.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 13207-13236
quote_or_summary: Rāma tells Lakṣmaṇ that duty and truth are supreme, that vows
to mother, Brāhman, and sire must be kept, and that Kaikeyī spurred the matter
but the father gave the word.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 13237-13257
quote_or_summary: With joined hands and reverent head, Rāma asks Kauśalyā to consent
and bless him before banishment; he promises to return to Ayodhyā after the years
are over.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 13258-13273
quote_or_summary: Kauśalyā renews her command that Rāma should not go and says one
hour with him is dearer than a world without him; Rāma’s grief intensifies.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 13274-13312
quote_or_summary: Rāma again affirms duty over love, gain, and pleasure; he cannot
slight his father’s promise and decree, asks blessing, invokes Yayāti’s return,
and rejects rule without right.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 13313-13320
quote_or_summary: Rāma soothes Kauśalyā, counsels Lakṣmaṇ, passes around the queen
in reverence, and holds her lovingly.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Core actions and speeches are explicit. Motif labels are cautious and limited
to the provided passage; broader epic context is not used.
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: |-
No external taxonomy identifiers beyond the supplied motif-family references were added. Symbol taxonomy references are empty because the supplied symbol list does not include forest, command, blessing, gesture, or axe.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l13147-l13320
passage_sha256=d364e5d217cab39ae1508c5bb87f762c4843be99e1da1f1d0d99cebeadb54f72