batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l14220-l14326
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l14220-l14326
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto XV. The Preparations. / Canto XVIII. The Sentence. / Canto XXII. Lakshman
Calmed. / Canto XXVIII. The Dangers Of The Wood.; lines 14220-14326
start: '14220'
end: '14326'
translation: The Ramayan of Valmiki
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“The wood, my love, is full of woes.”"
summary: After Sítá has spoken, a duty-minded pious hero tries to soothe her and
dissuade her from accompanying him into forest life. He lists dangers of the wilderness,
including wild animals, floods, thorns, hunger, cold ground, serpents, insects,
and ritual austerities required of forest ascetics, and concludes that the forest
is not fit for her.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Sítá has just spoken, and the duty-minded hero remains reluctant because he
foresees the hardships of forest life.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The hero attempts to soothe Sítá’s grief and speaks in order to shake her
firm resolve.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The speaker tells Sítá to remain where she is, continue her duties, and abandon
her wish to live in the forest.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The forest is described as a place of trouble, distress, and woe.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: obs:5
text: The forest contains lions in mountain caves, torrents, monsters, crocodile-filled
floods, wild elephants, thorns, and tangled creepers.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The forest-dweller may sleep on cold ground on gathered leaves and live on
scant food such as fallen fruit.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The ascetic in the wood must fast, wear matted hair, wear bark, perform worship
to gods and spirits, honor wandering guests, bathe at prescribed times, and bring
flowers to the altar.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The passage describes hunger, black nights, wild winds, swarming serpents,
snakes near riverbanks, scorpions, grasshoppers, flies, thorny trees, bushes,
and dense grass as forest afflictions.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The speaker says hope and anger must be cast aside and thought applied to
penance by those in the wood.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: The speaker ends by urging Sítá to give up her purpose, saying that forest
life is not fit for her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sítá
description: A woman addressed as Sítá, daughter of a noble line, who has a firm
resolve and a wish to live a forest life.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: the pious hero
description: A duty-knowing speaker who tries to soothe Sítá and warns her against
forest life.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the forest ascetic or devotee
description: A generalized forest-dweller described as fasting, wearing matted hair
and bark, performing worship, bathing rites, and altar offerings.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: wild creatures of the wood
description: A collective set of dangerous or troublesome beings in the forest,
including lions, monsters, crocodiles, elephants, serpents, snakes, scorpions,
grasshoppers, and flies.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: resolute would-be forest companion
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sítá has a firm resolve and a wish to live a forest life, which the speaker
tries to change.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: counselor and protective speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The hero soothes Sítá and warns her in detail about forest hardships, urging
her to stay behind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: ascetic forest practitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: 'The passage describes obligations of an ascetic or devotee in the wood:
fasting, ritual worship, bathing, abstinence, and offerings.'
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: wilderness threats
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Animals, serpents, insects, and other beings are presented as dangers or
disturbances to those in the forest.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: perilous forest
literal_form: tangled wilderness or wild wood
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: mountain cave
literal_form: lion in his mountain cave
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- cave
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: dangerous water
literal_form: torrents, treacherous floods, streams, rivers, mud, and crocodiles
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: serpents and snakes
literal_form: creeping things, serpents, and snakes near riverbanks
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: thorny vegetation
literal_form: thorns, creeper-tangled ways, thorny bushes, trees, and dense grass
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: ascetic bark and matted hair
literal_form: matted hair and bark clothing
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:7
label: altar flowers
literal_form: flowers brought to grace the altar
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sítá’s resolve and the hero’s reluctance
summary: After Sítá speaks, the duty-minded hero remains reluctant because he foresees
forest woes, and he tries to calm her grief before speaking.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Warning against forest life
summary: The speaker urges Sítá to remain and abandon her plan, characterizing forest
life as distress rather than joy.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Catalogue of forest dangers
summary: 'The speaker lists dangers of the wood: lions, torrents, monsters, crocodile-filled
waters, wild elephants, thorns, and tangled paths.'
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Ascetic obligations in the wood
summary: The forest-dweller is described as sleeping on leaves, eating little, fasting,
wearing matted hair and bark, performing worship, bathing at appointed times,
honoring guests, and offering flowers.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:6
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Night, hunger, serpents, insects, and tangled growth
summary: 'The speaker adds further hardships: hunger, dark nights, wild winds, serpents,
snakes, scorpions, insects, thorny trees, bushes, and dense grass.'
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:6
label: Final dissuasion
summary: The speaker says those in the wood must set aside hope and anger and apply
their thought to penance, then concludes that the forest is no place for Sítá.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: beloved warned against accompanying a forest departure
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Sítá wishes to live a forest life, while the speaker urges her to remain
and describes why the departure would bring suffering.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents an attempted dissuasion and warning; it does not
narrate the actual departure within the supplied text.
- id: motif:2
label: perilous wilderness as ordeal
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The forest is repeatedly characterized by physical dangers, hostile animals,
difficult terrain, hunger, cold, darkness, winds, and insects.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a descriptive motif candidate based on the passage’s catalogue
of hazards, not a named taxonomy family in the supplied list.
- id: motif:3
label: ascetic discipline in the forest
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
basis: The passage describes fasting, matted hair, bark clothing, ritual worship,
bathing rites, altar offerings, abstinence, and penance as requirements of forest
life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes ascetic discipline and ordeal, but it does not explicitly
identify a formal initiation rite.
- id: motif:4
label: serpent-infested wilderness path
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The forest path is said to be lined with serpents or snakes that act as deadly
foes near rivers and on the earth.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The serpent imagery is one element in a larger danger catalogue rather
than the sole focus of the passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 14220-14326; opening narrative of Canto XXVIII
quote_or_summary: Sítá has spoken; the duty-minded hero is reluctant because of
forest woes, seeks to soothe her tears, and speaks to shake her resolve.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 14220-14326; speech opening
quote_or_summary: The speaker addresses Sítá, tells her to remain and pursue her
duties, condemns her plan, and calls the forest a place of trouble and distress.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 14220-14326; first catalogue of forest dangers
quote_or_summary: The forest contains lions in mountain caves, torrents, monsters,
crocodile-filled floods, wild elephants, thorns, tangled creepers, and straying
far from streams.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 14220-14326; forest ascetic duties
quote_or_summary: The forest-dweller sleeps on leaves, eats little fallen fruit,
fasts, wears matted hair and bark, worships gods and spirits, honors guests, bathes
at dawn, noon, and sunset, and brings flowers to the altar.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 14220-14326; later catalogue of forest afflictions
quote_or_summary: The speaker lists hunger, black nights, wild winds, creeping things,
swarming serpents, snakes near riverbanks, scorpions, grasshoppers, flies, thorny
trees, bushes, and dense grass.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 14220-14326; closing admonition
quote_or_summary: The speaker says hope and anger must be cast aside, thought must
be applied to penance, and Sítá should give up her purpose because the forest
is no place for her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source text; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: high
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied English passage. Motif candidates
are conservative and limited to patterns directly described. No comparison claims
are made because the passage itself does not support a specific cross-textual
comparison.
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 IDs or comparisons were added beyond the supplied available taxonomy references.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l14220-l14326
passage_sha256=da62fd085359d8907a657af4afeb21784e62ebbe0b8e38d14d764061ac70b52e