batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l35101-l35228
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l35101-l35228
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto XLIII. The Wondrous Deer. / Canto XLVI. The Guest. / Canto LI. The
Combat. / Canto LX. Lakshman Reproved.; lines 35101-35228
start: '35101'
end: '35228'
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: Lakshman searches the riverbanks for Sita and reports that she is not found.
Rama calls to Sita and asks the Godavari for an answer, but the river remains
silent out of fear of Ravana. Rama laments Sita's absence and her loyalty in exile.
A group of deer silently indicate the direction Ravana took with Sita, and the
brothers go south. They find fallen flowers from Sita's garland. Rama then questions
and threatens a mountain and the stream if they do not reveal Sita's whereabouts.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Lakshman searches the shelving riverbanks and does not find Sita.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Rama calls for Sita beside the Godavari, but receives no spoken or natural
answer.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The river is described as withholding knowledge of Ravana's deed because of
fear.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Rama laments that Sita followed him loyally into banishment and is now missing.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: The deer rise, look toward the direction taken by Ravana with his captive,
and proceed that way.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Lakshman interprets the deer as lending aid and indicating the southward path
for the search.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Rama and Lakshman go south and find fallen flowers from a garland on the ground.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Rama recognizes the flowers as ones he had gathered and Sita had worn in her
hair.
category: object
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:9
text: Rama asks a mountain whether it has seen Sita and threatens to rend it peak
from peak if it does not reveal her.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:10
text: Rama threatens to burn the mountain with flaming arrows and dry the stream
if they deny aid in tracing Sita.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rama
description: Raghu's son, grieving for Sita and searching for her with Lakshman.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Lakshman
description: Rama's brother, who searches the riverbanks, reports Sita absent, and
follows Rama south.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Sita
description: Rama's wife, also called the Maithil lady, absent from the scene and
described as Ravana's captive.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Godavari / the stream
description: The river addressed by Rama; it remains silent and is described as
afraid to relate Ravana's deed.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ravana
description: The fiend whose awful form and deed the river fears; he is identified
as the one who took the captive.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: The deer
description: A group of deer who respond to Rama's grief, gaze toward the direction
of Sita's abduction, and move that way.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: The mountain
description: A woody hill with cascades, addressed and threatened by Rama as a possible
witness to Sita's whereabouts.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
roles:
- id: role:1
label: grieving searcher
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rama calls for Sita, laments her loss, follows signs south, and questions
landscape features for her location.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: assisting brother and interpreter of signs
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Lakshman searches first and later interprets the deer's looks as guidance
toward the south.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: missing wife and captive beloved
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Sita is not found, is lamented as Rama's loyal wife, and is called Ravana's
captive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:4
label: mute natural witness
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: The river is asked for information but remains silent, described as fearing
Ravana and withholding the tale.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: abductor feared by witnesses
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: The river fears Ravana's form and deed, and the deer indicate the quarter
where Ravana took his captive.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:6
label: mute animal guides
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: The deer rise in pity and indicate the direction of the search through their
looks and movement.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: role:7
label: addressed landscape witness
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: Rama asks the mountain whether it has seen Sita and threatens it if it does
not reveal her.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: silent river
literal_form: Godavari river / stream
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: sym:2
label: deer indicating direction
literal_form: deer looking and moving toward the southward path
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: fallen garland flowers
literal_form: flowers scattered on the ground from Sita's garland or hair
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:4
label: questioned mountain
literal_form: woody hill or mountain with cascades
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: sym:5
label: flaming arrows
literal_form: Rama's threatened burning arrows
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Failed search at the river
summary: Lakshman searches the riverbanks, returns without finding Sita, and Rama
calls beside the Godavari without receiving an answer.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Rama's lament for Sita
summary: Rama laments Sita's absence, recalls her loyalty during exile, and worries
about facing her family without her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:3
label: Deer guide the search south
summary: The deer respond to Rama's question by looking and moving toward the direction
Ravana took with Sita; Lakshman urges Rama to follow their indication.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
- fig:6
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Flowers as trace of Sita
summary: Rama and Lakshman go south and find flowers from Sita's garland, which
Rama recognizes as flowers he gathered and Sita wore.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Threats to mountain and stream
summary: Rama questions a mountain about Sita and threatens to destroy the mountain
and dry the stream if they refuse to help locate her.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:4
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Search for a stolen beloved
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Sita is absent, described as Ravana's captive, and Rama searches for her
by questioning the river, following animal signs, and reading physical traces.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage shows the search and refers to the abduction, but the actual
taking of Sita is not narrated in this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Nature as witness to hidden violence
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The river knows of Ravana's deed but remains silent through fear; the mountain
and stream are addressed as possible sources of information.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The mountain's knowledge is only implied by Rama's address and threat;
the passage does not state that it speaks.
- id: motif:3
label: Animal guides indicating the lost person's path
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The deer respond to Rama's grief by looking and moving toward the direction
Ravana took, and Lakshman treats their behavior as guidance.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The deer do not speak; their guidance is conveyed through gesture and
interpreted by Lakshman.
- id: motif:4
label: Tokens or traces of the absent beloved
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Fallen flowers from Sita's garland are found on the search path and recognized
by Rama as belonging to her adornment.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The flowers function as a trace within the passage, but the excerpt does
not state exactly how they fell.
- id: motif:5
label: Hero threatens landscape in grief
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Rama threatens to break the mountain, burn it with flaming arrows, and dry
the stream if they do not aid in tracing Sita.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: This is a passage-level pattern rather than a supplied taxonomy motif
family.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage fits the supplied motif family of a stolen beloved at the level
of narrative function: a beloved wife is absent as Ravana''s captive, and the
hero seeks signs of her path.'
claim_level: same_motif
target: stolen_beloved
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The excerpt presupposes rather than fully narrates the abduction itself.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 35101-35113
quote_or_summary: Lakshman searches the riverbanks, calls out, receives no reply,
and reports that Sita is not found.
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 35114-35138
quote_or_summary: Rama calls for Sita at the Godavari; the river gives no answer
and is described as afraid of Ravana and his deed.
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 35139-35162
quote_or_summary: Rama laments Sita's absence, worries how he can answer her father
and mother, and recalls that she followed him loyally into exile.
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 35163-35186
quote_or_summary: The deer rise in pity, gaze toward the quarter where Ravana took
his captive, move that way, and Lakshman identifies their looks as guidance southward.
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 35187-35205
quote_or_summary: Rama and Lakshman go south, find scattered flowers from a fallen
garland, and Rama recognizes them as flowers Sita wore in her hair.
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 35206-35228
quote_or_summary: Rama asks the mountain whether it has seen Sita and threatens
to rend it, burn it with arrows, and dry the stream if they do not aid his search.
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: medium
notes: The literal sequence is clear in the supplied passage. Motif labels beyond
the supplied stolen_beloved taxonomy are descriptive and should be reviewed.
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 external sources or unstated episodes were used; the abduction is included only as referenced within the passage.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l35101-l35228
passage_sha256=14947609b540df55c1024b6853d6cdcb3cac5a2d947d2223939fbf1e8487300e