batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l49896-l49982
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l49896-l49982
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto IV. The March. / Canto XI. The Summons. / Canto XX. The Spies. / Canto
XXI. Ocean Threatened.; lines 49896-49982
start: '49896'
end: '49982'
translation: The Ramayan of Valmiki
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: "“This day,” he cried, “the host shall pass / Triumphant to the southern
shore, / Or Ocean’s self shall be no more.”"
summary: Rama reverently faces the ocean, rests on sacred grass, and vows that the
host will cross or the Ocean will be destroyed. After three days without response
from the lord of Ocean, Rama denounces ineffective gentleness, threatens the sea
and its beings, and shoots fiery arrows into the waters. Sea creatures, serpents,
and imprisoned Danavs are disturbed. Lakshman restrains Rama, and voices from
the air call for him to spare the Ocean.
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Rama raises his hands reverently, gazes southward over the ocean, and lies
on sacred grass used as a low couch.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Rama recalls the arm that Sita had loved to hold in happier days.
category: relationship
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Rama vows that the host will pass to the southern shore that day or the Ocean
will cease to exist.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:4
text: Three days and nights pass without the lord of Ocean appearing or answering
Rama’s service.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Rama tells Lakshman that patience and gentle speech fail with the base, and
asks for his bow and arrows.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: Rama threatens that monsters of the deep, serpents in watery caverns, and
hidden pearls and coral will be exposed by his shafts.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:7
text: Rama grasps his bow, draws the cord, and sends fiery arrows into the waters.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:8
text: The waters foam and strike the bank; sea monsters, serpents, and imprisoned
Danavs are disturbed or terrified.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:9
text: Lakshman stays Rama’s arm and urges him to control his anger and let Ocean
grant the desired boon without threat.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:10
text: Voices from the air call out, “Spare, Rama, spare.”
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Rama / Raghu’s son
description: Hero who supplicates Ocean, becomes wrathful, threatens the sea, and
shoots fiery arrows into it.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Sita
description: Remembered as the woman who had loved to hold Rama’s arm in happier
days.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ocean / lord of Ocean
description: Personified sea who does not appear or answer Rama during three days
of service.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:5
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Lakshman
description: Rama’s brother who restrains Rama’s arm and counsels control of anger.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Vanars
description: The host whose feet Rama says will tread the conquered Sea’s exhausted
bed.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Sea monsters
description: Creatures of the deep disturbed by Rama’s fiery arrows.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Serpents
description: Serpents in watery caverns, startled from rest and raising fierce eyes
and glowing crests.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Danavs
description: Imprisoned beings dwelling in depths below who feel terror when Rama’s
arrows strike the waters.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Voices from the air
description: Unidentified voices that command Rama to spare.
role_refs:
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
roles:
- id: role:1
label: supplicant before the Ocean
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rama raises his hands reverently toward the ocean and spends three days in
service awaiting an answer.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: role:2
label: wrathful archer
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Rama demands his bow and arrows, grasps the bow, and sends fiery arrows into
the waters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:3
label: remembered beloved
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: Sita is recalled as having loved to hold Rama’s arm in happier days.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:4
label: personified natural power withholding response
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: The lord of Ocean does not appear or answer after three days of Rama’s service.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: role:5
label: restraining counsellor
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Lakshman stays Rama’s arm and advises control of anger.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:6
label: army awaiting passage
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Rama says the Vanars’ feet will tread the conquered Sea’s exhausted bed.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: role:7
label: beings of the deep affected by attack
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
basis: Rama’s threatened and actual arrows disturb sea monsters, serpents, and Danavs
in the waters.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: role:8
label: unidentified aerial admonishers
assigned_to:
- fig:9
basis: Voices from the air call for Rama to spare.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: Ocean
literal_form: The sea south of Rama, personified as the lord of Ocean and treated
as a barrier to be crossed.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- id: sym:2
label: Sacred grass couch
literal_form: Sacred grass forming Rama’s lowly couch beside the sea.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: sym:3
label: Bow and fiery arrows
literal_form: Rama’s bow, arrows, and flaming shafts shot into the ocean.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:4
label: Fire of doom
literal_form: A simile comparing Rama’s terrifying aspect to doom-fire whose flames
consume the world.
associated_figures:
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: sym:5
label: Serpents of the watery world
literal_form: Serpents curled in watery caverns and later startled from rest with
glowing crests.
associated_figures:
- fig:7
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
- cave
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:6
label: Pearl and coral
literal_form: Pearl and coral hidden in the sea’s depths, threatened with exposure
by Rama’s shafts.
associated_figures: []
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Reverence and vow beside the sea
summary: Rama faces the ocean in reverence, rests on sacred grass, remembers Sita,
and vows that the army will cross or Ocean will be destroyed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Three days without answer
summary: Three days and nights pass without the lord of Ocean appearing or answering
Rama’s service.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: scene:3
label: Rama threatens the oceanic depths
summary: Rama tells Lakshman that gentleness has failed, rejects mercy, calls for
his bow, and declares that his shafts will expose the sea’s depths and its creatures.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: scene:4
label: Fiery arrows in the sea
summary: Rama draws his bow and shoots flaming missiles into the ocean; waters foam,
sea creatures are disturbed, serpents rise, and Danavs below feel terror.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:5
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: scene:5
label: Lakshman’s restraint and aerial warning
summary: Lakshman restrains Rama from loosing another flaming shaft and counsels
self-control; voices from the air call on Rama to spare.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: Hero confronts a personified natural barrier
taxonomy_refs:
- departure
basis: Rama must get the host across the ocean; after reverent appeal fails, he
threatens and attacks the personified Ocean to obtain passage.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The passage presents the barrier and confrontation but does not include
the final crossing or Ocean’s eventual grant within this excerpt.
- id: motif:2
label: Wrathful hero threatens cosmic or natural destruction
taxonomy_refs:
- world_destroying_fire
basis: Rama vows Ocean will be no more, is compared to doom-fire, and shoots fiery
arrows into the sea, terrifying beings in the depths.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The world-destroying element appears through simile and threat in this
passage, not as an actual destruction of the world.
- id: motif:3
label: Counsellor restrains destructive anger
taxonomy_refs:
- wisdom
basis: Lakshman stops Rama’s arm, urges reflection, and says the wise control rising
passions.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: high
cautions: The motif is confined to Lakshman’s brief intervention in this excerpt.
- id: motif:4
label: Subaquatic serpents and beings disturbed by divine weapons
taxonomy_refs:
- serpent
basis: Rama’s shafts are said to rend serpents in watery caverns, and his arrows
disturb serpents, monsters, and Danavs below the sea.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: The passage identifies aquatic serpents and undersea beings but gives
limited detail about their independent role.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The passage supports a cautious comparison with a world-destroying fire pattern
because Rama’s wrathful form is explicitly likened to doom-fire and his fiery
arrows threaten the oceanic world.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: world_destroying_fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
limitations: The passage uses simile and threat; Lakshman and aerial voices interrupt
before total destruction occurs.
- id: claim:2
claim: 'The passage fits a broad barrier-crossing departure function: an army must
pass a natural boundary, and the hero confronts the personified boundary after
supplication fails.'
claim_level: same_function
target: departure
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:3
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The excerpt does not narrate the completed crossing or the ultimate
resolution with Ocean.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: quote
locator: lines 49896-49913
quote_or_summary: Rama raises his hands toward the ocean, lies on sacred grass,
recalls Sita, and vows that the host will pass to the southern shore or Ocean
will be no more.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; short excerpt summarized.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 49914-49920
quote_or_summary: Three days and nights pass; the lord of Ocean does not come, and
Rama receives no answer from his service.
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 49921-49953
quote_or_summary: Rama tells Lakshman that mild virtues fail with the base, condemns
Ocean’s pride, threatens monsters, serpents, and hidden depths of the sea, rejects
mercy, calls for his bow and arrows, and says the Vanars will tread the conquered
sea-bed.
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 49954-49974
quote_or_summary: Rama, compared to the fire of doom, draws his bow and sends fiery
arrows into the ocean; waters foam and tremble, sea monsters roar, serpents rise
from rest, and Danavs below feel terror.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; summarized.
- id: ev:5
type: quote
locator: lines 49975-49982
quote_or_summary: Lakshman restrains Rama’s arm, urges that the wise control passion,
and voices from the air cry, “Spare, Ráma, spare.”
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain translation; brief quotation used.
confidence:
extraction: high
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied excerpt. Motif and comparison confidence
is limited where the passage gives threat, simile, or setup without the subsequent
resolution.
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 unprovided lines were used.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l49896-l49982
passage_sha256=6fd35bd899b5356363637cbd4e8144cde1203e7dfc360d4d704e94cfaad9d834