batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l46295-l46429
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l46295-l46429
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto XI. The Banquet Hall. / Canto XII. The Search Renewed. / Canto XIII.
Despair And Hope. / Canto XIV. The Asoka Grove.; lines 46295-46429
start: '46295'
end: '46429'
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: Demon women urge Sítá to abandon Ráma and accept Rávaṇ, then threaten to
kill and eat her. Sítá rejects them, clings to Ráma, laments her captivity, recalls
Rávaṇ’s abduction, refuses any union with him even under threat of dismemberment
or fire, and hopes Ráma would destroy Lanká if he knew where she was held.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Demon women urge Sítá to live as a queen with Rávaṇ and to forget Ráma.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Sítá rejects the proposed life with Rávaṇ and declares continued loyalty to
Ráma.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: The demon women threaten Sítá with weapons, dismemberment, and being made
into a banquet.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:4
text: Sítá sinks to the bare earth, trembles, moves to a shady tree, weeps, and
calls on Ráma and his brother.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:5
text: Sítá laments that death has not relieved her despair while she remains separated
from Ráma and guarded cruelly.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:6
text: Sítá says Rávaṇ carried her away and describes him as one who can assume each
form at will.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:7
text: Sítá says she would be torn limb from limb or burned in fire rather than consent
to Rávaṇ.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:8
text: Sítá says that if Ráma knew her location, he would cross land and sea to free
her and Lanká would be destroyed.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sítá
description: The gentle queen and captive wife who is threatened by demons and remains
devoted to Ráma.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Demon women / fiends
description: Female demonic guards who taunt Sítá, urge her to accept Rávaṇ, and
threaten to kill and eat her.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ráma / Raghu’s son / Ikshváku’s son
description: Sítá’s absent lord and husband, remembered by her as the one to whom
she remains loyal.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:8
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Rávaṇ
description: The lord of the demons who seeks Sítá’s acceptance and is named by
Sítá as the one who bore her away.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Ráma’s brother
description: Sítá calls on Ráma and his brother during her grief.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
roles:
- id: role:1
label: captive loyal wife
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sítá is held under demonic threats, remembers Ráma, and refuses Rávaṇ.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:2
label: tormenting guards
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: The demon women taunt Sítá and threaten her life with weapons and cannibalistic
violence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:3
label: absent husband and hoped-for rescuer
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Sítá remains devoted to Ráma and says he would come to free her if he knew
her location.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:8
- id: role:4
label: abductor and rejected suitor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Sítá says Rávaṇ carried her away and refuses his desired union.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: shady tree
literal_form: tree
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- tree
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: fire
literal_form: fire in Sítá’s stated willingness to be burned rather than consent
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: sea around Lanká
literal_form: deep water surrounding Lanká
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:4
label: shape-changing power
literal_form: Rávaṇ described as wearing each form at will
associated_figures:
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Demonic persuasion and threats
summary: The demon women attempt to make Sítá abandon Ráma for Rávaṇ, then threaten
her with killing, dismemberment, and being eaten.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: scene:2
label: Sítá’s lament beneath the tree
summary: Sítá collapses in fear, moves to a shady tree, weeps, calls on Ráma and
his brother, and laments that death has not ended her suffering.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:5
- id: scene:3
label: Refusal of Rávaṇ and hope of rescue
summary: Sítá recounts her abduction by Rávaṇ, refuses him even under threat of
dismemberment or fire, and imagines Ráma destroying Lanká if he knew where she
was.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:3
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: stolen beloved held in captivity
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Sítá says she was carried away by Rávaṇ, is held among demons, and remains
separated from Ráma.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents only the captivity and lament portion, not the full
abduction episode.
- id: motif:2
label: faithful spouse resisting forced union
taxonomy_refs:
- sacred_marriage
basis: Sítá rejects Rávaṇ and maintains exclusive loyalty to Ráma despite threats.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:7
confidence: medium
cautions: The available taxonomy has no exact label for chastity under coercion;
sacred_marriage is only an approximate family reference.
- id: motif:3
label: shape-shifting abductor
taxonomy_refs:
- shapeshifter
basis: Sítá describes Rávaṇ as the one who carried her away and as one who wears
each form at will.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage states the capacity but does not narrate a transformation
in this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: absent rescuer across sea
taxonomy_refs:
- mystical_quest
basis: Sítá says that if Ráma knew her location, he would cross land and sea to
free her and Lanká would fall.
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
confidence: medium
cautions: The rescue journey is anticipated in speech rather than narrated in this
passage.
comparison_claims: []
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 46295-46310
quote_or_summary: Demon women urge Sítá to live in Rávaṇ’s bowers with luxury and
to stop clinging to Ráma.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 46311-46322
quote_or_summary: Sítá replies that she detests the shameful proposal and will cling
to Ráma, Ikshváku’s son, until her life ends.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 46323-46342
quote_or_summary: The demons threaten Sítá with axe, spear, and knife, demand that
she accept Rávaṇ, and speak of rending her limbs and eating her heart.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 46345-46364
quote_or_summary: Sítá sinks to the bare earth, trembles like a frightened fawn,
creeps to a shady tree, weeps, and calls on Ráma and his brother.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 46365-46380
quote_or_summary: Sítá laments that death does not come before its time and that
she remains alive in hopeless grief, separated from Ráma and guarded cruelly.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 46384-46391
quote_or_summary: Sítá says that on a former day she was carried away by Rávaṇ,
who can assume forms at will, and left as a helpless captive under demonic threats.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 46392-46402
quote_or_summary: Sítá refuses to touch or consent to Rávaṇ and says she would be
torn limb from limb or burned in fire rather than meet his desire.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 46403-46420
quote_or_summary: Sítá wonders why Ráma has not come, concludes he does not know
where she is, and says Lanká, surrounded by the deep, would fall if he knew.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; summarized.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: uncertain
notes: Literal extraction is strong for this passage. Motif assignment is cautious
where taxonomy terms are approximate. No comparison claims were added because
the passage itself does not compare traditions or motif families explicitly.
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.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l46295-l46429
passage_sha256=30b98404ee035f600423c10f8e3a63370eeb76783a0f068ca7412c291471687f