batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l31417-l31511
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l31417-l31511
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto XXIII. The Omens. / Canto XXIV. The Host In Sight. / Canto XXV. The
Battle. / Canto XXVIII. Khara Dismounted.; lines 31417-31511
start: '31417'
end: '31511'
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: The speaker recounts how the young Ráma accompanied Viśvámitra to guard
forest rites, defeated the speaker with a bowshot that hurled him into the ocean
while sparing his life, and killed the speaker’s band. The speaker then warns
a king that fighting Ráma and taking Sítá will bring defeat, the burning and ruin
of Lanká, the death or flight of the giants, and the king’s descent to Yáma’s
realm.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: A monarch assents to Ráma going with the hermit Viśvámitra, who returns joyfully
to his woodland home with the boy.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Ráma stands in Daṇḍak wood with a bow to guard the rites.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Ráma is described as young, beardless, dark-hued, wearing a single robe and
a gold chain, with waving hair and a bow.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The speaker approaches the anchorite’s dwelling, proud of a boon of might,
with golden rings on his arms and a murderous axe raised.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Ráma sees the approaching foe, fearlessly strings his bow, and shoots a swift
shaft.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: The arrow hurls the speaker a hundred leagues into the ocean; Ráma chooses
not to kill him.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: The speaker lies dazed in the sea, later regains strength, rises from the
water, and returns to Lanká.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: The speaker says his whole band was slain by Ráma’s hand.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:9
text: The speaker warns the addressed king that fighting Ráma will end in defeat
and the overthrow of the king’s giants.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:10
text: The warning predicts the destruction of Lanká, including palaces, terraces,
domes, jewelled walls, and burning royal homes.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: obs:11
text: The speaker states that the crime of kings brings destruction on the people
and compares the innocent dying with fish perishing in a lake with a snake.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:12
text: The speaker identifies outrage to another’s wife as a grave sin and warns
the king not to take Ráma’s Maithil wife from his side.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: obs:13
text: The warning says the king’s life and empire will end by Ráma’s bow, and that
he and his kin and friends will go to Yáma’s realm.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ráma
description: A young hero who accompanies Viśvámitra, guards rites in Daṇḍak wood,
defeats the speaker with an arrow, spares him, and is predicted to destroy the
king if challenged.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- ev:14
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Viśvámitra
description: A hermit or anchorite who takes Ráma to his woodland home and whose
holy ground is approached by the attacking speaker.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: the speaker
description: An attacker who once approached Viśvámitra’s dwelling with an axe,
was hurled into the ocean by Ráma’s arrow, survived, returned to Lanká, and now
warns the king.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: the addressed king
description: A king warned not to fight Ráma or take Ráma’s wife, because his empire,
city, people, kin, and life would be destroyed.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Sítá / the Maithil wife
description: Ráma’s wife, named as Sítá and as his lovely Maithil wife, whose taking
is said to cause Lanká’s destruction.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:13
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: the giants
description: The king’s giants are predicted to suffer overthrow, death, or flight
because of the king’s folly.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: the speaker’s band
description: A band said by the speaker to have been slain by Ráma.
role_refs:
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: the monarch
description: A monarch who gives assent for Ráma to go with the hermit.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
roles:
- id: role:1
label: guardian of rites
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Ráma stands with bow in Daṇḍak wood to guard the rites.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: young warrior hero
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage describes Ráma as a young hero with bow and as defeating the
speaker despite being a boy.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
- id: role:3
label: future destroyer by bow
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The warning says the king’s life and empire will be destroyed by Ráma’s bow
if he takes the wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: role:4
label: hermit or anchorite
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Viśvámitra is called the hermit and anchorite whose woodland home and holy
ground are described.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:5
label: defeated attacker
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The speaker rushes with an axe onto the holy ground and is hurled into the
ocean by Ráma’s arrow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: warning counselor
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The speaker repeatedly warns the king against fighting Ráma and taking the
wife.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:12
- ev:13
- id: role:7
label: warned ruler
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The addressee is called king and is warned that his choices will destroy
his city, empire, kin, and people.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:14
- id: role:8
label: threatened wife
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Sítá is identified as the reason Lanká would be lost, and the king is warned
not to tear Ráma’s Maithil wife from his side.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:13
- id: role:9
label: doomed followers
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The king’s giants are predicted to share the fatal overthrow or flee after
destruction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:11
- id: role:10
label: slain warband
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The speaker says all his band fell slain by Ráma’s hand.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: consenting monarch
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: The monarch gives assent before Ráma is lent to the hermit.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: bow and arrow
literal_form: Ráma’s bow and swift shaft
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:14
- id: sym:2
label: water of the ocean
literal_form: ocean waves, sea, watery bed
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: sym:3
label: burning city
literal_form: Lanká and royal homes burning with fire
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
- id: sym:4
label: snake in the lake
literal_form: a snake in a lake causing fish to perish in the speaker’s comparison
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: sym:5
label: Yáma’s realm
literal_form: the realm to which the king, kin, friends, and associates must go
after destruction
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
- id: sym:6
label: murderous axe
literal_form: the axe raised by the speaker as he approaches the anchorite
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ráma accompanies Viśvámitra and guards the rites
summary: After a monarch assents, Viśvámitra brings Ráma to the forest, where the
young hero stands with his bow to protect rites in Daṇḍak wood.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: The speaker attacks and is cast into the ocean
summary: The speaker approaches the anchorite’s dwelling with an axe. Ráma strings
his bow and shoots him into the ocean, sparing his life. The speaker later rises
from the sea and returns to Lanká, while his band is slain.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: scene:3
label: Warning against fighting Ráma and taking Sítá
summary: The speaker warns the king that fighting Ráma and taking the Maithil wife
will lead to the overthrow of the giants, the burning and ruin of Lanká, the destruction
of the king’s life and empire, and departure to Yáma’s realm.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: defense of sacred rites by a young warrior
taxonomy_refs:
- sacrifice
basis: Ráma, described as young, stands armed in Daṇḍak wood to guard rites and
defeats an attacker who invades the holy ground.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage says rites rather than explicitly naming a sacrifice in the
provided excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: nonlethal supernatural defeat of an attacker
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ráma’s arrow hurls the speaker a hundred leagues into the ocean while Ráma
chooses to spare his life.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: No provided taxonomy reference directly matches this pattern.
- id: motif:3
label: stolen or threatened beloved causes war and ruin
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: The speaker warns the king that taking Ráma’s Maithil wife, Sítá, will bring
the loss and destruction of Lanká, the end of the king’s life and empire, and
ruin for kin and followers.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:12
- ev:13
- ev:14
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the abduction as a contemplated or warned-against
act, not as completed within this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: ruler’s sin brings destruction on the people
taxonomy_refs:
- divine_judgment
basis: The speaker says that the crime of kings brings destruction on the people
and predicts the death, flight, and ruin of the king’s subjects because of the
king’s folly.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage gives a moral-causal warning but does not explicitly describe
a deity executing judgment.
- id: motif:5
label: city burned in foretold catastrophe
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The warning predicts that the king will see his stately city burn and royal
homes reddened with fire amid arrowy nets.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:11
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy includes world-destroying fire, but this excerpt
concerns a city, not the whole world.
- id: motif:6
label: defeated ruler sent to the realm of death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The warning states that the king, his kin, and friends will go to Yáma’s
realm after being destroyed by Ráma’s bow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:14
confidence: medium
cautions: The excerpt names the destination but does not describe an afterlife journey
or map.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: 31417-31420
quote_or_summary: A monarch gives assent; Ráma is lent to the hermit, and Viśvámitra
returns joyfully to his woodland home with the boy.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:2
type: quote
locator: 31421-31430
quote_or_summary: "“With ready bow the champion stood / To guard the rites in Daṇḍak
wood”; Ráma is also described as young, dark-hued, robed, gold-chained, and bow-bearing."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote from provided passage.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: 31433-31444
quote_or_summary: The speaker, likened to a storm cloud and proud of a boon of might,
approaches the anchorite’s dwelling and rushes onto Viśvámitra’s holy ground with
a murderous axe raised.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: 31437-31444
quote_or_summary: Ráma sees the speaker approach, remains fearless, strings his
bow calmly, and is scorned by the speaker as a feeble child.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: 31445-31450
quote_or_summary: "“A keen swift shaft” checks the foe and hurls him “a hundred
leagues away” into the ocean; Ráma chooses to save his life."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote from provided passage.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: 31451-31456
quote_or_summary: The speaker lies dazed in the sea, slowly regains sense and strength,
rises from the watery bed, and returns to Lanká.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:7
type: quote
locator: 31457-31460
quote_or_summary: "“All my band / Fell slain by Ráma’s conquering hand,” though
Ráma is described as a boy with iron arm and dauntless will."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote from provided passage.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: 31461-31468
quote_or_summary: The speaker warns that if the king fights Ráma despite warning,
dire defeat will end his days and his giants will share the fatal overthrow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: 31469-31472
quote_or_summary: The speaker predicts that the king will see destruction take Lanká
for Sítá’s sake, including palaces, terraces, domes, and jewelled walls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:10
type: quote
locator: 31473-31476
quote_or_summary: "“The crime of kings / Destruction on the people brings”; the
sinless die like fish in a lake with a snake."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote from provided passage.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: 31477-31488
quote_or_summary: The speaker foresees prostrate giants slain, remnants fleeing
with wives or as widowers, and the stately city burning with royal homes red with
fire and arrowy nets spread around.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:12
type: quote
locator: 31489-31494
quote_or_summary: "“A sin that tops all sins in shame / Is outrage to another’s
dame”; the king is told to be content with his own wives and not overthrow his
race."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote from provided passage.
- id: ev:13
type: summary
locator: 31495-31504
quote_or_summary: The speaker warns the king not to cast away rank, wealth, power,
wives, friends, and royal state by challenging Ráma or taking his lovely Maithil
wife from his side.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summary generated from provided passage.
- id: ev:14
type: quote
locator: 31505-31508
quote_or_summary: "“Soon will thy life and empire end / Destroyed by Ráma’s bow,”
and the king with kin and friends must go to Yáma’s realm."
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quote from provided passage.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Main figures, actions, warnings, and symbols are explicit in the supplied
passage. Motif taxonomy assignments are cautious where the excerpt names rites,
moral ruin, or fire but does not fully elaborate broader mythic categories. No
comparison claims were made because the passage itself provides no explicit comparative
framing.
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 provided passage and metadata. The addressee is labeled as the addressed king rather than named beyond the passage evidence.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l31417-l31511
passage_sha256=ebc52e0ca8927be2bad83552b86fe4ccf31163a231122679b4f3118f1164bf50