batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l16589-l16666
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l16589-l16666
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto XXVIII. The Dangers Of The Wood. / Canto XXX. The Triumph Of Love.
/ Canto XXXII. The Gift Of The Treasures. / Canto XXXVII. The Coats Of Bark.;
lines 16589-16666
start: '16589'
end: '16666'
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: Ráma, continuing toward the wood with Sítá and Lakshmaṇ, leaves his chariot
to walk beside aged Bráhmans who lament and beg him to return. They say their
worship fires, sacrificial shades, Vedic learning, and unfinished rites go with
him, and they depict plants, trees, and birds as grieving his departure. The river
Tamasá is described as seeming to check his progress, while Sumantra tends the
horses by the riverside.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ráma sees an aged band crying in misery, springs from his chariot, and continues
his journey with Sítá and Lakshmaṇ.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Ráma walks beside the old men with shortened stride rather than passing them
in the chariot.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The Bráhmans say that all Bráhmans and Bráhmanhood go with Ráma to the wood,
bearing their worship fires on their aged shoulders.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Bráhmans carry sacrificial canopies associated with Vájapeya rites and
say these can shade Ráma from the sun.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: The Bráhmans say their hearts, formerly fixed on sacred text and Vedic lore,
now turn to Ráma and long for forest life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The Bráhmans entreat Ráma to turn back, bowing their aged heads and white
hair in the dust before his feet.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: The Bráhmans say that some followers had begun sacred rites that remain unfinished
unless Ráma returns.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The Bráhmans describe rooted bushes and trees as loving Ráma and, though unable
to follow, complaining through their boughs in the wind.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: The Bráhmans describe birds as no longer flying, but sitting foodless and
melancholy on branches, calling to Ráma.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Tamasá is described as seeming to aid the Bráhmans’ plea by checking Ráma’s
progress.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Sumantra frees, grooms, bathes, dries, waters, and feeds the horses in the
grassy meadow by the river.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ráma
description: Hero and noble prince journeying to the wood; he responds compassionately
to the aged Bráhmans and is urged to return.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sítá
description: Companion of Ráma on the journey.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Lakshmaṇ
description: Companion of Ráma on the journey.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Aged Bráhmans / twice-born throng
description: Elderly religious followers who lament, carry worship fires and sacrificial
canopies, and beg Ráma to return.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sumantra
description: Charioteer or attendant who tends the horses by the riverside.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Horses
description: Weary steeds released from the chariot and cared for by Sumantra.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Tamasá
description: River described as seeming to help the Bráhmans by checking Ráma’s
progress.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Rooted bushes and trees
description: Plants described in the Bráhmans’ speech as loving Ráma, unable to
follow because of their roots, and complaining through their boughs.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Birds
description: Birds described as foodless and melancholy, sitting on branches and
calling to Ráma.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: departing hero-prince
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ráma continues his course toward the wood and is addressed as noble Prince.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: object of communal devotion
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The Bráhmans say their hearts turn to him and that following him is following
right.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: journey companion
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:3
basis: Sítá and Lakshmaṇ go with Ráma as he continues his journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: ritual elders
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They are Bráhmans who carry worship fires, sacrificial shades, and Vedic
learning.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: petitioners seeking return
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They lament and ask Ráma to retrace his way.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: attendant caring for animals
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Sumantra tends the horses at the riverside.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: chariot animals at rest
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The horses are released, groomed, bathed, watered, and fed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:8
label: personified or responsive landscape feature
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Tamasá is said to seem to aid the Bráhmans by checking progress.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:9
label: sympathetic nonhuman witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:8
- fig:9
basis: Plants and birds are described as expressing affection or grief toward Ráma.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: worship fires
literal_form: fires of worship borne on aged shoulders
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:2
label: sacrificial shades
literal_form: bright canopies used in Vájapeya rites and offered as shade for Ráma
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:3
label: Vedic lore in the heart
literal_form: Vedas’ lore described as deep in the aged bosoms of the Bráhmans
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: rooted trees and bushes
literal_form: bushes and trees bound by roots, with boughs that complain in the
wind
associated_figures:
- fig:8
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: melancholy birds on branches
literal_form: birds sitting foodless on branches and calling to Ráma
associated_figures:
- fig:9
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: Tamasá river
literal_form: river beside the grassy meadow, described as seeming to check progress
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ráma leaves the chariot to walk with the elders
summary: Ráma sees the grieving aged men, steps down from the chariot, and walks
beside them with Sítá and Lakshmaṇ.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Bráhmans plead for Ráma’s return
summary: The Bráhmans declare that their religious community, worship fires, canopies,
hearts, and Vedic learning go with Ráma, and they plead for him to turn back.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Nature described as grieving Ráma’s departure
summary: The Bráhmans say that rooted plants would follow Ráma if they could, and
that birds sit on branches in sorrow and call to him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Halt by the Tamasá
summary: Tamasá is said to seem to check Ráma’s progress, and Sumantra tends the
weary horses in the meadow by the river.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: departure toward exile or forest life
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Ráma continues toward the wood with companions while the elders try to stop
or reverse his journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage shows the departure and resistance to it, but does not include
the original cause of exile.
- id: motif:2
label: ritual community follows the departing hero
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Bráhmans say Bráhmans, Bráhmanhood, worship fires, rites, and Vedic learning
go with Ráma to the wood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy family.
- id: motif:3
label: natural world mourns a beloved figure’s departure
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The speech portrays trees, bushes, birds, and the river as responsive to
Ráma’s departure or delay.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The plants and birds are described within the Bráhmans’ lament, and the
river’s agency is phrased as seeming rather than explicit fact.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 16589-16604
quote_or_summary: Ráma sees the aged men crying, leaves his chariot, and walks beside
them with Sítá and Lakshmaṇ instead of passing them by.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 16609-16620
quote_or_summary: The Bráhmans say they and Bráhmanhood go with Ráma to the wood,
carrying worship fires and sacrificial canopies to shade him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 16621-16632
quote_or_summary: The Bráhmans say their hearts turn from sacred texts and Vedic
lore to Ráma, and that following him is following right.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 16633-16644
quote_or_summary: The Bráhmans entreat Ráma to return, bowing in the dust, and say
some sacred rites remain unfinished unless he turns back.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 16645-16660
quote_or_summary: The Bráhmans say rooted bushes and trees would follow Ráma if
they could, while birds sit foodless and melancholy on branches and call to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 16661-16666
quote_or_summary: Tamasá seems to aid the Bráhmans by checking progress; Sumantra
releases, tends, waters, and feeds the horses by the river meadow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is well supported by the supplied passage. Motif labels
beyond the supplied departure taxonomy are descriptive and passage-level only.
No comparison claims were added because the passage itself does not establish
cross-textual or historical 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: |-
Used only supplied passage and metadata; no external comparisons added.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l16589-l16666
passage_sha256=54671e1598c8173ffb6f8051b67131e07724319184a90b315fa5623673ea9fae