batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l14329-l14415
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l14329-l14415
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 14329-14415
start: '14329'
end: '14415'
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: Rama's wife answers his warnings about forest exile. She insists that love
makes forest hardships bearable, cites commands, prophecies, prior warnings, and
a scriptural rule about marriage lasting into the afterlife, and threatens death
if she is left behind. The narrator says Rama is still not persuaded and she weeps.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The lady hears Rama's address with distress and tearful eyes, then replies
in soft low accents.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: She says the wood's perils and woes will not be pain to her if she is led
by love, and that forest animals will flee when they see Rama.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: She says she must go with Rama because her sire's command ordains it, and
that without Rama her heart will break and she will die.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: She says that while Rama is near, even the ruler of the sky cannot wrong her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: She reports that Brahmans and diviners in her father's palace foretold that
she would dwell in the wood.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: She says forest woes disturb those who live there without controlling their
senses.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: She reports having heard a begging woman describe the griefs that await in
forest life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: She calls the journey with Rama a pilgrimage, says her spirit will be purified
at his side, and says her husband is a god to her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: She cites a scripture text saying that a woman lawfully joined to a man by
her parents with water and holy rites is his wife in this world and in the afterlife.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: She says that if Rama will not take her to the wood, she will die by fire,
water, or poison.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:11
text: The narrator says she beseeches Rama to share his exile, cannot persuade him,
is grieved by his answer, and weeps heavily.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rama
description: The lady's lord and husband, described by her as mighty, matchless,
a hero, and one whose exile leads to the wood.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: The lady / the Videhan, Rama's wife
description: Rama's wife, who pleads to accompany him to the wood, cites prophecy
and marriage law, threatens death if refused, and weeps when not persuaded.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Truth-declaring Brahmans and diviners
description: Religious specialists whom the lady says foretold her future dwelling
in the wood and proclaimed an ancient scripture text.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Begging dame
description: A woman who begged bread and, in the lady's father's halls, described
the griefs of forest life.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: Exiled husband and forest guide
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rama is the husband whom the lady asks to follow into the wood and whose
exile she asks to share.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
- id: role:2
label: Devoted wife and petitioner
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: She repeatedly pleads to accompany Rama, invokes her status as his wife,
and grieves when he is not persuaded.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: Prophetic and scriptural authorities
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The Brahmans and diviners are said to foretell her forest dwelling and to
proclaim a scripture text about marriage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: Witness to forest hardships
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The begging dame is reported as having described the griefs of forest life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Wood or forest exile
literal_form: the wood, forest life, greenwood shade, lonely shade
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: sym:2
label: Forest beasts
literal_form: tiger, elephant, deer, bull, lion, buffalo, and other silvan beasts
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Water
literal_form: water used in lawful marriage rites; water named as a possible means
of death
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: Fire
literal_form: fire named as a possible means of death
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: Poisoned draught
literal_form: poisoned drink named as a possible means of death
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: The wife answers Rama's warning
summary: After hearing Rama's address, his wife replies that forest dangers do not
frighten her because of her love, and that animals will flee from Rama.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Prophecy and prior knowledge of forest life
summary: She says that her father's command and Brahmanic prophecy require her to
accompany Rama, and that she has already heard accounts of forest hardships.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Marriage law, death threat, and grief
summary: She invokes a scripture about lawful marriage continuing after death, asks
why Rama denies her prayer, threatens death if left behind, and then weeps when
he remains unpersuaded.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Wife insists on sharing husband's exile
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: The lady repeatedly asks to follow Rama to the wood and share the exile rather
than remain behind.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the departure as marital accompaniment within an
exile narrative; it does not by itself give the larger exile context beyond the
wife's speech.
- id: motif:2
label: Marriage bond continuing into the afterlife
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: The cited scripture says a woman joined to a man by water and holy rites
is his wife in this world and in the afterlife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a religious marriage formula, but broader ritual or
theological framing is limited to the wife's quotation.
- id: motif:3
label: Forest life as purifying pilgrimage
taxonomy_refs:
- initiation
- mystical_quest
basis: The wife describes following Rama into the greenwood as a pilgrimage that
enchants her heart and says her spirit will be purified at his side.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage uses the language of pilgrimage and purification, but the
actual journey or transformation is not narrated here.
- id: motif:4
label: Foretold dwelling in the wilderness
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The wife reports that Brahmans and diviners foretold that she would dwell
in the wood, and she asks that their words now be fulfilled.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The prophecy is reported in speech rather than narrated directly, and
no specific omen or sign is described.
- id: motif:5
label: Threatened self-destruction if separated from beloved spouse
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_beloved
basis: She says she cannot live bereft of Rama and threatens fire, water, or poison
if he refuses to take her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: 'The taxonomy reference is approximate: the passage expresses marital
devotion and dependence, not necessarily a fully developed divine-beloved pattern.'
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: Rama speaks; the lady hears with distress, tears in her eyes,
and answers in soft low accents.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: "“The perils of the wood... Led by my love I deem not pain”; she
says tiger, elephant, deer, bull, lion, buffalo, and other beasts will flee at
Rama's sight."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt from supplied passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: She says she must go with Rama because her sire's command ordains
it; bereft of him she will die; while he is near, even the ruler of the sky cannot
wrong her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: She reports that truth-declaring Brahmans and diviners in her
father's palace foretold that she would dwell in the wood, and she has longed
for that forest life.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: She says forest woes afflict those with uncontrolled senses, recalls
a begging woman who described forest griefs, and calls going with Rama a purifying
pilgrimage in which her husband is a god to her.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
- id: ev:6
type: quote
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: A scripture text says that a woman whom her parents bestow on
a man, joined “With water and each holy rite,” is his wife “in this world” and
“in the after life.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt from supplied passage.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: "“To fire or water I will fly, / Or to the poisoned draught, and
die.”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short excerpt from supplied passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 14329-14415
quote_or_summary: The narrator says she beseeches Rama to share his exile, cannot
yet persuade him, is struck with grief by his answer, and weeps heavily.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from supplied passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels
are candidate-level and should be reviewed, especially the approximate taxonomy
mappings for sacred marriage, initiation, mystical quest, and divine beloved.
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 comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not explicitly compare this material to another tradition or motif family beyond the available candidate motif taxonomy.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l14329-l14415
passage_sha256=e87a22e6ce12dbf0bcc9d26a979f031a4e1554388bc15b667462260acd45f2eb