batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l20345-l20494
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l20345-l20494
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto LXII. Dasaratha Consoled. / Canto LXVI. The Embalming. / Canto LXVII.
The Praise Of Kings. / Canto LXVIII. The Envoys.; lines 20345-20494
start: '20345'
end: '20494'
translation: The Ramayan of Valmiki
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“For I have heard in days gone by / The changes seen when monarchs die;
/ And all those signs, O charioteer, / I see to-day surround me here”"
summary: Bharat returns anxiously to Ayodhya, observes signs of public mourning
and religious neglect, enters the palace, asks Kaikeyi where his father is, learns
that King Dasaratha has died, falls to the ground in grief, laments the loss,
and is urged by Kaikeyi to rise and not mourn.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Bharat arrives at the city in distress and questions his driver about the
reason for the urgent summons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Bharat says the city displays signs he has heard are seen when monarchs die.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The houses, doors, chaplets, courts, temples, shrines, divine images, shops,
and people of Ayodhya are described as neglected, dark, joyless, or tearful.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Bharat enters the palace, does not find his father, and goes to his mother
Kaikeyi's dwelling.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Kaikeyi greets Bharat affectionately and asks about his journey and relatives.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Bharat asks why Kaikeyi's couch is unoccupied, why the royal family looks
gloomy, and where his father is.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Kaikeyi reveals to Bharat that his father has died.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Bharat falls prostrate, cries out, laments his father, and veils his face
and eyes with his robe.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:9
text: Kaikeyi urges Bharat to rise and says that his father ruled the earth, performed
rites to Heaven, and had completed his life.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Bharat
description: A prince, son of Kaikeyi and Dasaratha, returning from his grandsire's
home; described as pious, pure, true, and overcome with grief at his father's
death.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Driver / charioteer
description: The weary man addressed by Bharat during the approach to Ayodhya.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Kaikeyi
description: Bharat's mother, who receives him, questions him, reveals Dasaratha's
death, and exhorts him not to mourn.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: King Dasaratha
description: Bharat's father and king; absent from the palace because he has died;
remembered as devout, famed, of lofty thought, ruler of the earth, and performer
of rites to Heaven.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: People of Ayodhya
description: Men and women described with gloomy eyes, tears, and joyless fasting
amid the neglected city.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Kausalya
description: Eldest queen, mentioned by Bharat as a possible place where Dasaratha
might be found.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: returning prince
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Bharat returns to Ayodhya after being summoned from his grandsire's home.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: mourning son
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: After hearing of his father's death, Bharat falls prostrate, cries out, and
laments.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: role:3
label: questioned charioteer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Bharat addresses the driver while observing ominous signs in the city.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: mother greeting son
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Kaikeyi rises from her golden seat, embraces Bharat, and asks about his journey.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:5
label: death messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Kaikeyi tells Bharat that his father has gone the way all life must go.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: deceased king
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Dasaratha is absent and Kaikeyi states that he has died after ruling and
performing rites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:9
- id: role:7
label: mourning populace
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The people are described as gloomy, tearful, fasting, and joyless.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: neglected city
literal_form: Ayodhya with dark houses, open doors, unswept courts, dry chaplets,
and gloomy inhabitants
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: neglected holy shrines
literal_form: temples, holy shrines, and divine images no longer beautiful or gay
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: empty royal couch
literal_form: Kaikeyi's gold-adorned couch, seen by Bharat as unoccupied
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:4
label: prostration in grief
literal_form: Bharat falling upon the ground, tossing his arms, and veiling his
face and eyes
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Approach to mourning Ayodhya
summary: Bharat arrives at Ayodhya in fear and distress, questions his driver, and
observes signs that he associates with the death of a monarch.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Bharat questions Kaikeyi
summary: Bharat enters the palace, fails to find his father, visits Kaikeyi, receives
her greeting, and asks where Dasaratha is.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: scene:3
label: Revelation and lament
summary: Kaikeyi tells Bharat that Dasaratha has died; Bharat falls to the ground
and laments, while Kaikeyi urges him to rise and restrain his grief.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: city-wide signs of a king's death
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Bharat explicitly identifies the neglected city, mourning people, and abandoned
rites as signs traditionally seen when monarchs die.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents signs of royal death and public disorder, but does
not yet narrate enthronement or formal succession.
- id: motif:2
label: son's prostrate lament for deceased father
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: After Kaikeyi reveals Dasaratha's death, Bharat falls to the ground, cries
out, and laments his father's absence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: This is a grief motif in the passage, not a resurrection or death-rebirth
pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: mother announces father's death to returning son
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Kaikeyi, Bharat's mother, reveals that his father has died after Bharat returns
and asks for him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states the announcement but does not include the fuller political
consequences.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage itself frames the neglected city and mourning inhabitants as
matching a recognized pattern of signs that appear when monarchs die.
claim_level: same_function
target: king's-death omen or mourning-city pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: This is an internal comparison made by Bharat's speech; no external
textual or historical comparison is supplied in the passage.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 20345-20358
quote_or_summary: Bharat, fearful and distressed, enters the city with weary horses
and asks the driver why he has been brought so quickly.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: lines 20359-20362
quote_or_summary: "“For I have heard in days gone by / The changes seen when monarchs
die; / And all those signs, O charioteer, / I see to-day surround me here”"
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 20363-20384
quote_or_summary: Bharat describes dark, unkept houses, open doors, absent morning
rites and incense, fasting inhabitants, dry chaplets, dusty courts, neglected
temples and shrines, closed flower shops, and tearful men and women.
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 20391-20396
quote_or_summary: Bharat enters the palace, does not find his father, and goes quickly
to his mother's dwelling.
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 20397-20414
quote_or_summary: Kaikeyi sees her son returning, rises from a golden seat, embraces
him, seats him, and asks about his journey and relatives.
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 20419-20442
quote_or_summary: Bharat says he returned urgently, sees Kaikeyi's gold-adorned
couch unoccupied and the royal family gloomy, and asks where his father is, suggesting
he may be with Kausalya.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: lines 20443-20450
quote_or_summary: 'Kaikeyi reveals: “Thy father, O my darling, know, / Has gone
the way all life must go.”'
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 20451-20483
quote_or_summary: Bharat hears the news, falls prostrate, cries out in grief, laments
the royal father's empty bed, sobs, and veils his face and eyes with his robe.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 20484-20494
quote_or_summary: Kaikeyi tries to raise Bharat and tells him that noble men should
not grieve so; his father ruled the earth, performed rites to Heaven, and his
life had run its course.
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: medium
notes: Literal extraction is straightforward. Motif classification is cautious because
available taxonomy only broadly fits the royal death and legitimacy context.
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: |-
Only the supplied passage and metadata were used. Some source label metadata appears broader than the passage excerpt, which begins within Bharat's return and inquiry scene.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l20345-l20494
passage_sha256=516dd9b4bbb815caf63890bb1c3699bb74fc7c877c66b9728aab1e3bba5ae81e