batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l49782-l49893
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l49782-l49893
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: BOOK VI.(895) / Canto IV. The March. / Canto XI. The Summons. / Canto XX.
The Spies.; lines 49782-49893
start: '49782'
end: '49893'
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: Rāvaṇ’s spy Śārdūla reports that Rāma and Lakshmaṇ have brought a vast
Vānar force to the ocean shore. Rāvaṇ sends Śuka to Sugrīva with a message urging
him to abandon Rāma’s cause, arguing that the stolen wife is not Sugrīva’s concern
and that Laṅkā cannot be taken. Śuka flies in bird-like form over the sea, delivers
the message, is beaten by the Vānars, appeals to the rule that heralds must not
be slain, and is spared by Rāma. Sugrīva answers with a threat of Rāvaṇ’s destruction
and Laṅkā’s burning. Angad then declares Śuka to be a spy because he surveyed
the army from above; the Vānars bind him, but Rāma orders his release.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Śārdūla surveys the army on the shore and reports to Rāvaṇ that Rāma and Lakshmaṇ
lead forces halted on the ocean sands.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Śārdūla advises Rāvaṇ to meet the danger through policy, including bribing,
winning over, or dividing the enemy.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Rāvaṇ commands Śuka to deliver a message to Sugrīva.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Rāvaṇ’s message says that he stole Rāma’s wife from the wood and asks what
injury or loss Sugrīva has suffered from that act.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Rāvaṇ’s message urges Sugrīva to return to his mountain dwelling and claims
that Laṅkā cannot be entered by Sugrīva’s hosts.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:6
text: Śuka is described as having wings and bird plumage and flying through the
air over the sea.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: The Vānars strike Śuka on the head and wings, surround him, and bring him
to the ground.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:8
text: Śuka appeals to Rāma, saying heralds must never be slain and that only a messenger
who alters his master’s words deserves death.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Rāma responds to Śuka’s appeal by ordering the Vānars to forbear.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:10
text: Sugrīva sends Rāvaṇ a reply threatening that Rāvaṇ, his sons, friends, and
kin will fall and that Laṅkā will be burned and emptied of giants.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:11
text: Sugrīva states that a captive lady with lotus eyes lies in Rāvaṇ’s palace
and that Rāma will punish Rāvaṇ for wronging him.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:12
text: Angad declares that Śuka is not a herald but a spy because he surveyed the
host from an aerial position.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:13
text: The Vānars bind Śuka’s neck and wings and hold him while he complains.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:14
text: Rāma hears Śuka’s complaint and orders the Vānars to release the captive.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Śārdūla
description: Rāvaṇ’s spy who surveys the opposing army and reports its approach.
role_refs:
- role:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Rāvaṇ
description: The monarch of Laṅkā who receives Śārdūla’s report and sends Śuka to
Sugrīva.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Śuka
description: A Rākshas messenger with wings and bird plumage, sent by Rāvaṇ and
later accused of spying.
role_refs:
- role:4
- role:1
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Rāma
description: Leader from Raghu’s and Daśaratha’s line, wronged by Rāvaṇ’s theft
of his wife, who orders Śuka spared and released.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
- role:10
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Lakshmaṇ
description: Rāma’s companion and co-leader of the bands on the ocean sands.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Sugrīva
description: Vānar king addressed by Rāvaṇ’s message and sender of a defiant reply.
role_refs:
- role:2
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Vānar host
description: The Vānar forces accompanying Rāma, who attack and bind Śuka.
role_refs:
- role:9
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Angad
description: Vānar figure who declares Śuka to be a spy and orders him bound.
role_refs:
- role:11
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Rāma’s wife / captive lady
description: The wife stolen from the wood by Rāvaṇ and later described as a captive
lady in Rāvaṇ’s palace.
role_refs:
- role:12
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: spy
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:3
basis: Śārdūla is explicitly called Rāvaṇ’s spy; Angad calls Śuka a spy because
he surveyed the host from above.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:2
label: monarch or king
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:6
basis: Rāvaṇ is addressed as monarch; Sugrīva is addressed as Vānar king and monarch.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:3
label: abductor of Rāma’s wife
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Rāvaṇ’s message admits that he stole the wife of Rāma from the wood.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:4
label: herald or messenger
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Śuka is sent to speak Rāvaṇ’s message and appeals to the rule that heralds
must not be slain.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: role:5
label: army leader
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:5
basis: Rāma and Lakshmaṇ are said to lead the bands on the ocean sands.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:6
label: wronged husband
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Rāvaṇ’s message identifies the stolen woman as Rāma’s wife; Sugrīva says
Rāma will punish the wrong.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: defiant ally
assigned_to:
- fig:6
basis: Sugrīva rejects Rāvaṇ’s message and threatens his destruction on Rāma’s behalf.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:8
label: captive suppliant
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Śuka is beaten, bound, and appeals for restraint and release.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:9
label: assailing host
assigned_to:
- fig:7
basis: The Vānars strike, bring down, and bind Śuka.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:10
label: protector of captured envoy
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Rāma orders the Vānars to stop attacking Śuka and later to release him.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: role:11
label: accuser of espionage
assigned_to:
- fig:8
basis: Angad declares Śuka is no herald but a spy and orders him bound.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: role:12
label: stolen captive wife
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: The woman is described as Rāma’s wife stolen from the wood and as a captive
in Rāvaṇ’s palace.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: ocean crossing boundary
literal_form: ocean sands and sea between Laṅkā and the approaching army
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: bird-winged aerial messenger
literal_form: wings and plumage of a bird; flight through the air
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:3
label: fortified Laṅkā
literal_form: Laṅkā’s walls and mighty town said to defy armies
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: sym:4
label: burnt Laṅkā
literal_form: Laṅkā predicted to be burned and left a solitude
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:5
label: bonds on neck and wings
literal_form: Śuka’s neck and pinions bound by the Vānars
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Spy report on the shoreline army
summary: Śārdūla surveys Rāma’s and Lakshmaṇ’s forces on the strand and reports
the danger to Rāvaṇ, advising political measures before battle.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Rāvaṇ sends Śuka to Sugrīva
summary: Rāvaṇ instructs Śuka to tell Sugrīva that he has no personal injury from
the theft of Rāma’s wife and should return to his mountain home because Laṅkā
is impregnable.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Aerial delivery and first seizure of Śuka
summary: Śuka flies over the sea in bird-like form, speaks from the air to Sugrīva,
and is beaten down by the Vānars until Rāma intervenes after Śuka’s appeal as
a herald.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:4
label: Sugrīva’s defiant answer
summary: Sugrīva orders Śuka to tell Rāvaṇ that he will fall with his family and
allies, that Laṅkā will be burned, and that Rāma will punish the wrong done to
the captive lady.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:5
label: Accusation, binding, and release
summary: Angad identifies Śuka as a spy because he inspected the army from above;
the Vānars bind him, but Rāma hears his complaint and orders his release.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:2
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: stolen beloved or abducted wife as cause of conflict
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Rāvaṇ explicitly refers to stealing Rāma’s wife, and Sugrīva describes her
as a captive in Rāvaṇ’s palace whose wrong will be punished by Rāma.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The passage names the theft and captivity but does not narrate the original
abduction scene.
- id: motif:2
label: enemy spy surveys the host before battle
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Śārdūla surveys the legions and reports to Rāvaṇ; Angad also accuses Śuka
of surveying the host from above.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
confidence: high
cautions: 'The two spy actions differ: Śārdūla is introduced as a spy, while Śuka
is sent as a herald and then accused of spying.'
- id: motif:3
label: inviolability and release of a herald
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Śuka argues that heralds must not be slain, and Rāma twice restrains the
Vānars, first from beating him and later from keeping him bound.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage presents the rule through Śuka’s speech and Rāma’s actions;
it does not provide a broader legal discussion.
- id: motif:4
label: bird-like aerial messenger
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Śuka is described with wings and bird plumage, flies over the sea, and delivers
Rāvaṇ’s message from the air.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage describes bird-like form and flight but does not explicitly
narrate a transformation.
- id: motif:5
label: threat of total destruction of enemy city
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Sugrīva predicts Rāvaṇ’s death with his kin and the burning and emptying
of Laṅkā.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: This is a threat or prediction within dialogue, not an accomplished event
in the passage.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The passage fits the supplied stolen_beloved motif family at the level of
narrative function: the captive wife is identified as the wrong that grounds Rāma’s
punitive campaign against Rāvaṇ.'
claim_level: same_motif
target: stolen_beloved motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:5
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: high
limitations: The passage presupposes the abduction rather than narrating it directly.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The treatment of Śuka supports comparison with an inviolable-herald pattern:
a hostile messenger is attacked, invokes messenger protection, and is spared by
the opposing leader.'
claim_level: same_function
target: inviolable herald or protected envoy pattern
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:6
confidence: medium
limitations: Angad’s accusation that Śuka is a spy complicates his status as a simple
herald.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 49782-49799
quote_or_summary: Śārdūla, Rāvaṇ’s spy, surveys the legions on the strand and reports
that Rāma and Lakshmaṇ lead vast forces halted on the ocean sands; he advises
trying policy before risking defeat.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 49800-49825
quote_or_summary: Rāvaṇ sends Śuka to Sugrīva with a message calling him a royal
friend, saying Rāvaṇ stole Rāma’s wife but Sugrīva suffered no injury, urging
him to return to his mountain home, and claiming Laṅkā cannot be entered by his
hosts.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 49826-49837
quote_or_summary: Śuka, with wings and bird plumage, flies through the air over
the sea, stands above Sugrīva, speaks the message, and is struck on head and wings
by the Vānars and brought down.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
- id: ev:4
type: summary
locator: lines 49838-49850
quote_or_summary: Śuka appeals to Rāma that heralds must never be slain; Rāma orders
the Vānars to forbear, and Śuka rises again to ask Sugrīva what answer Rāvaṇ should
receive.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 49851-49871
quote_or_summary: Sugrīva replies that Rāvaṇ is Rāma’s foe and will perish like
Bāli; his sons, friends, and kin will fall, Laṅkā will be burned and emptied,
the captive lotus-eyed lady lies in his palace, and Rāma will punish him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 49872-49884
quote_or_summary: Angad declares Śuka is no herald but a spy because he surveyed
the host from an aerial post, and orders the Vānars to bind him and prevent his
return to Laṅkā.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 49885-49893
quote_or_summary: The Vānars throw Śuka down, grasp his neck, bind his wings, and
hold him while he complains; Rāma listens and orders the captive released.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain; source metadata permits full text.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: The main narrative actions and roles are explicit in the passage. Motif labels
without supplied taxonomy refs are descriptive and need review. Comparison claims
are limited to motif-family or functional pattern statements supported by the
passage itself.
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 provided passage and metadata were used. Sanskrit diacritics and names follow the supplied English translation where available.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l49782-l49893
passage_sha256=05bd0b77cfe8cc1b0bcc2598255e09a32c7cbd5a1a05d410d530257ff3c3a75e