batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l1896-l1945
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l1896-l1945
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto III. The Argument. / Canto IV. The Rhapsodists. / Canto VI. The King.
/ Canto VII. The Ministers.; lines 1896-1945
start: '1896'
end: '1945'
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: A king is troubled over how to bring the young hermit Rishyaśring. His
attendants fear the task, and a plan is made to send women disguised as hermits
to entice the recluse from his father’s cell. When he comes to the city, rain
will fall and the king’s troubles will end. Rishyaśring will be allied to King
Lomapád by marriage to Śántá, and he will later officiate at the Horse Offering
to obtain sons for King Daśaratha. The speaker says these are the old words of
Sanatkumár, and Daśaratha asks how the hermit boy was brought.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: The monarch intends to ask counsel of his lords and to command priests and
servants to bring Rishyaśring with honour.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The king’s attendants respond with fear and ask to be spared from going.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: The lords devise plans and crafty plots, and the king recalls them on the
third day for further debate.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The agreed plan is to send damsels dressed in holy hermits’ clothing and skilled
in blandishment to beguile and seduce the young recluse from his father’s cell.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: When the boy leaves his retreat and stands in the city, the king’s troubles
end and blessed rain falls on the thirsty land.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Rishyaśring is to be allied to King Lomapád through marriage to Śántá.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: At the Offering of the Steed, Rishyaśring will feed the flames with holy oil
and obtain sons for King Daśaratha.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The speaker states that he has repeated the old words of Sanatkumár, and Daśaratha
asks how the hermit boy was brought.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rishyaśring
description: A wondrous and saintly hermit boy, described as an unsuspecting young
recluse who leaves his father’s cell, later marries Śántá and officiates at the
Horse Offering.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:5
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lomapád
description: A mighty king whose troubles are to end when Rishyaśring comes to the
city and with whom Rishyaśring is allied by wedlock.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: The king’s lords, priests, and servants
description: Royal attendants who are asked to help bring Rishyaśring, fear going,
and participate in forming plans.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Damsels in hermits’ weed
description: Women sent in holy hermit clothing, skilled in blandishment and amorous
wiles, to entice Rishyaśring.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Śántá
description: Described as fairest of the fair and destined to be Rishyaśring’s royal
bride.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Daśaratha
description: A king for whom Rishyaśring will obtain sons at the Offering of the
Steed; he later asks how the hermit boy was brought.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Sanatkumár
description: The figure whose old words the speaker says he has repeated.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Unnamed speaker
description: The speaker who says he has repeated Sanatkumár’s words to Daśaratha.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: troubled king
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The king’s troubles are said to end when Rishyaśring reaches the city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:2
label: young recluse
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rishyaśring is called an unsuspecting young recluse who is to be drawn from
his father’s cell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: fearful royal advisers and attendants
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: They fear to go, beseech the king to spare them, and declare plans.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: disguised enticers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The damsels are to wear hermits’ clothing and use blandishment and amorous
wiles.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: ritual officiant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rishyaśring is to feed the sacrificial flames with holy oil at the Offering
of the Steed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: royal beneficiary
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:6
basis: Lomapád’s troubles and drought are resolved by Rishyaśring’s arrival, and
Daśaratha receives sons through Rishyaśring’s ritual action.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: rain-bringing holy figure
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage links the boy’s arrival in the city with the descent of blessed
rain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: royal bride
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Śántá is named as Rishyaśring’s royal bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:9
label: cited ancient authority
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The speaker says the words repeated are those of old Sanatkumár.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: dialogue participant
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:8
basis: The speaker addresses Daśaratha and Daśaratha replies by asking for the account
of how the hermit boy was brought.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: blessed rain
literal_form: Streams of blessed rain descending on the thirsty land.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: sacrificial flames
literal_form: Flames fed with holy oil at the Offering of the Steed.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: hermits’ weed disguise
literal_form: Damsels attired in holy hermits’ weed.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: father’s cell
literal_form: The young recluse’s father’s cell, which he is enticed to leave.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Royal council over Rishyaśring
summary: The king seeks counsel on bringing Rishyaśring, while his attendants fear
the mission and begin to formulate plans.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Disguised damsels sent to entice the recluse
summary: The plan is made to send women in hermits’ clothing to use blandishment
and amorous wiles so that Rishyaśring leaves his father’s cell.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Arrival, rain, and marriage alliance
summary: Rishyaśring’s arrival in the city is linked to the end of the king’s troubles,
the descent of rain, and his marriage alliance with Lomapád through Śántá.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Horse Offering for Daśaratha’s sons
summary: Rishyaśring feeds the sacrificial flames with holy oil at the Offering
of the Steed and obtains sons for Daśaratha.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Frame dialogue citing Sanatkumár
summary: The speaker says he has repeated Sanatkumár’s old words, and Daśaratha
asks how the hermit boy was brought.
figure_refs:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: enticing an ascetic from seclusion
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
- trickster_boundary
basis: The passage describes a deliberate plan to send disguised women to beguile
the young recluse and cause him to leave his father’s cell.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The taxonomy labels are approximate; the passage describes deception and
departure but does not explicitly name a trickster figure.
- id: motif:2
label: holy figure’s arrival brings rain
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The boy’s movement from retreat to the city is directly followed by the end
of the king’s troubles and the descent of blessed rain on the thirsty land.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: No available motif-family taxonomy item exactly names rainmaking, so taxonomy_refs
is left empty.
- id: motif:3
label: marriage alliance with a holy man
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: Rishyaśring is allied to King Lomapád by wedlock, with Śántá as his royal
bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents a royal-ritual marriage alliance; it does not explicitly
describe a divine marriage.
- id: motif:4
label: sacrifice to obtain royal sons
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- sacred_birth
basis: At the Offering of the Steed, Rishyaśring feeds the flames with holy oil
and gains sons for Daśaratha, whose prayers had previously been vain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The birth of the sons is promised as a result of the rite but not narrated
within this passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 1896-1905
quote_or_summary: The king is troubled over how to bring Rishyaśring; he will seek
counsel and command priests and servants to bring him, but they fear going and
ask to be spared.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 1906-1913
quote_or_summary: The attendants propose plans and crafty plots; the king meditates
on their words and recalls them on the third day for debate.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 1914-1926
quote_or_summary: The agreed plan sends damsels dressed in holy hermits’ weed, skilled
in blandishment and amorous wiles, to seduce the unsuspecting young recluse away
from his father’s cell.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 1927-1934
quote_or_summary: When the boy willingly leaves his retreat and stands in the city,
the king’s troubles end and blessed rain descends on the thirsty land.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 1935-1940
quote_or_summary: Rishyaśring is to be allied to mighty King Lomapád by wedlock;
Śántá, praised for beauty, mind, and grace, is to be his royal bride.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 1941-1945
quote_or_summary: At the Offering of the Steed, Rishyaśring will feed the flames
with holy oil and gain sons for King Daśaratha, who has begged for them in vain.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 1946-1951
quote_or_summary: The speaker says he has repeated the old words of Sanatkumár before
holy men; Daśaratha joyfully asks how they brought the hermit boy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized for extraction.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: The main narrative actions, figures, and ritual elements are explicit. Motif
taxonomy assignments are partly approximate where the available taxonomy lacks
a specific rainmaking or ascetic-seduction family.
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 supplied passage and metadata. Comparison claims are omitted because the passage itself does not explicitly support a comparison with another text or tradition.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l1896-l1945
passage_sha256=575ccad7f1c211a2370ac949e0958cd569c804380fc4e161d8c23ab0fc6347ac