batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l2374-l2464
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l2374-l2464
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto VII. The Ministers. / Canto IX. Rishyasring. / Canto X. Rishyasring
Invited. / Canto XI. The Sacrifice Decreed.; lines 2374-2464
start: '2374'
end: '2464'
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: King Daśaratha, desiring sons to preserve his line, asks Rishyaśring to
aid a high sacrifice. He summons learned priests, declares his plan to perform
a horse sacrifice, and orders preparations on the northern side of the Sarjú.
The priests approve and bless his aim. Daśaratha tells his wives to begin lustral
rites because the offering is intended to bear the fruit of sons.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: After the dewy season and the return of spring, the king resolves to ordain
a sacrifice.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: The king bows to Rishyaśring and asks him to aid an offering vowed for heirs
and the preservation of his line.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Rishyaśring agrees to help and asks the king to prepare all requisites for
the rite.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: The king orders Sumantra to summon holy guides learned in Scripture.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Sumantra brings Vaśishṭha and other named priests, whom Daśaratha honors.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Daśaratha states that he is unhappy in childless longing and has decreed that
the sacrificial steed be slain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The holy men approve Daśaratha’s plan and say he will see sons born to him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: Daśaratha orders the horse, with guard and priest, to be freed and the sacrificial
ground prepared on the northern side of the Sarjú.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Daśaratha warns that wandering fiends watch for flaws in rites and may spoil
sacred work.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: The Brāhmans promise obedience, bless the king’s aim, bow, and depart.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:11
text: Daśaratha tells his wives to begin lustral rites because he prepares an offering
expected to yield sons.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:12
text: The wives’ faces brighten when they hear the king’s words.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: King Daśaratha
description: The king who seeks sons, orders the sacrifice, summons priests, and
instructs his wives to begin lustral rites.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Rishyaśring
description: A youth of divine look who agrees to aid Daśaratha’s vowed offering.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Sumantra
description: A wise attendant who obeys the king and summons the holy guides.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Vaśishṭha and the assembled priests
description: Holy men learned in Scripture, including Vaśishṭha, Suyajǹa, Vámadeva,
Jávali, and Kaśyap’s son, who approve the plan and promise obedience.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Daśaratha’s wives
description: The king’s well-loved wives, instructed to begin lustral rites; their
faces brighten at the promise of sons.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Wandering fiends
description: Hostile beings described as watching eagerly to spoil rites by detecting
flaws or neglect.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: childless king seeking heirs
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Daśaratha says he is unhappy in childless longing and seeks sons to save
his line.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: ritual patron
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He ordains the sacrifice, orders the horse and ground prepared, and directs
ritual preparations.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: ritual helper
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Rishyaśring agrees to aid the offering and instructs that requisites be prepared.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: royal messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Sumantra is ordered to summon holy guides and brings them to the king.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: priestly advisers
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The priests are summoned to counsel and approve the sacrificial plan.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: ritual officiants or Brāhmans under royal mandate
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: They promise to obey the king’s order concerning the rite.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:7
label: royal wives preparing for lustral rites
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Daśaratha instructs his wives to begin lustral rites for the offering expected
to produce sons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:8
label: ritual spoilers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The fiends are described as waiting to spoil rites by detecting ritual errors.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: sacrificial horse
literal_form: Horse or steed ordained to bleed and doomed to die in the offering.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: sym:2
label: sacrificial ground
literal_form: Ground to be prepared on the northern side of the Sarjú for the rite.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:3
label: Sarjú
literal_form: River or place boundary named as the location’s southern reference,
with the ground on its northern side.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: lustral rites
literal_form: Purificatory rites that the wives are told to begin.
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:5
label: sons as fruit of offering
literal_form: The expected precious fruit of sons from the glorious offering.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:6
label: wandering fiends watching the rite
literal_form: Fiends who watch for the slightest ritual flaw or neglect.
associated_figures:
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Daśaratha asks Rishyaśring to aid the vowed offering
summary: At spring’s return, Daśaratha bows to Rishyaśring and asks for help with
an offering intended to obtain heirs; Rishyaśring agrees and requests preparations.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Priests summoned and royal plan announced
summary: Sumantra summons learned priests. Daśaratha honors them and declares his
childless longing and intention to perform the horse sacrifice with Rishyaśring’s
aid.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Priestly approval and promise of sons
summary: The assembled holy men approve the sacrifice and tell Daśaratha that sons
of glory will be born to him.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Ritual preparations and warnings against disruption
summary: Daśaratha orders the ritual requirements prepared, including freeing the
guarded horse, preparing the ground by the Sarjú, and performing protective rites
because fiends may spoil flawed rites.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Wives begin lustral preparation
summary: After the Brāhmans depart, Daśaratha tells his wives to begin lustral rites
because the offering is meant to bring sons, and they rejoice at his words.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: sacrifice undertaken to obtain offspring
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
- sacred_birth
basis: The king orders a high horse sacrifice because of childlessness, and priests
state that sons will be born to him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The actual birth does not occur in this passage; the passage records the
decree and expected result.
- id: motif:2
label: royal lineage secured through ritual
taxonomy_refs:
- royal_legitimacy
basis: Daśaratha seeks heirs to save his line and undertakes a royal sacrifice for
sons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage emphasizes desire for heirs and preservation of line, not
a completed succession.
- id: motif:3
label: ritual vulnerability to hostile beings
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Daśaratha warns that wandering fiends watch for ritual mistakes and can spoil
the sacred work.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes a danger and protective concern, not an actual attack
in this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: ritual purification before fertility-oriented rite
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The king instructs his wives to begin lustral rites in connection with the
offering intended to produce sons.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The text names lustral rites but gives few details about their form.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 2374-2388
quote_or_summary: After the dewy season and spring’s return, Daśaratha asks Rishyaśring
to aid a vowed offering for heirs to save his line; Rishyaśring agrees and asks
that requisites be prepared.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 2389-2404
quote_or_summary: Daśaratha orders Sumantra to summon holy guides. Sumantra brings
Vaśishṭha and other named priests learned in Scripture, and the king honors them.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 2405-2416
quote_or_summary: Daśaratha says that in childless longing he has no happiness and
has decreed the slaying of the sacrificial steed in a high offering with Rishyaśring’s
aid.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 2417-2426
quote_or_summary: The holy men applaud, approve the plan, praise the king, and say
that he will see sons of fairest glory born to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 2427-2450
quote_or_summary: Daśaratha orders ritual requirements prepared, the guarded horse
freed, the sacrificial ground set on the northern side of the Sarjú, and protective
rites performed because wandering fiends watch for flaws and may spoil sacred
work.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 2451-2458
quote_or_summary: The Brāhmans answer affirmatively, promise obedience, bless the
king’s aim, bow, and depart.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 2459-2464
quote_or_summary: Daśaratha goes to his wives and tells them to begin lustral rites
because he prepares an offering that may bear the precious fruit of sons; their
faces brighten at his words.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Motif candidates are direct
but remain draft because the birth outcome is anticipated rather than narrated
here.
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 rite with another text or tradition.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l2374-l2464
passage_sha256=b16bd9839d3c6a01cea42df6f249705516c3dbdfe3dd8c2ed740984ee89cdcdb