batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l50853-l50979
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l50853-l50979
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto XXII. Ocean Threatened. / Canto XXIII. The Omens. / Canto XXVIII. The
Chieftains. / Canto XXXI. The Magic Head.; lines 50853-50979
start: '50853'
end: '50979'
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: Ravana, fearing coming disaster, summons the magician Vidyujjihva and orders
him to create a head resembling Rama's, along with Rama's arrows and bow, to deceive
Sita. Ravana visits Sita in the grove, tells her a fabricated account of Rama's
death and the defeat of the Vanaras, and has the magic head and weapons displayed
before her. Sita gazes on the apparent head and bow of Rama and begins to lament.
language: English
quote_policy: summarized
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Ravana is troubled by fear, consults counsellors, and then summons Vidyujjihva
because of his magic skill.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: Ravana orders Vidyujjihva to prepare a head like Rama's, together with long
shafts and a mighty bow, to show to Sita.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:3
text: Vidyujjihva obeys, displays magic skill, and receives an ornament from Ravana.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: Sita is found in the grove pale, wasted, weeping, on the ground, and thinking
of her husband.
category: setting
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:5
text: Ravana tells Sita that Rama has been slain by warriors sent by him and urges
her to become his bride.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:6
text: Ravana gives Sita a detailed account in which Rama's forces bridge the sea,
sleep on the shore, are attacked at night, and Rama is beheaded by Prahasta.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:7
text: Vidyujjihva brings the magic head, arrows, and bow, and Ravana orders him
to place the head before Sita's face.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:8
text: Sita gazes on the displayed head and bow, recognizes the features as Rama's,
and cries out in grief.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Ravana
description: Lord of Lanka, called tyrant, monarch, giant king, and ruthless king;
he arranges the deception and speaks pitilessly to Sita.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Vidyujjihva
description: A figure with magic skill, called by Ravana to make a head like Rama's
and later shown bearing the magic head, arrows, and bow.
role_refs:
- role:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Sita
description: Janak's daughter, a queen in the grove, pale, wasted, and weeping,
whose thoughts remain fixed on her husband.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:7
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: Rama
description: Sita's husband; absent from the scene but represented by the magic
head, bow, and arrows and by Ravana's false report of his death.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:5
- ev:7
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Prahasta
description: A warrior named in Ravana's account as leading troops and beheading
Rama while he slept.
role_refs:
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Vanaras
description: Rama's allied troops in Ravana's narrated account; said to be slain,
scattered, or fled.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Lakshman, Hanuman, Sugriva, Mainda, and Dwivid
description: Named allies in Ravana's narrated account; some are said to flee and
others to fall or die.
role_refs:
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Kaikeyi
description: Named by Sita in lament as the cause of Rama's exile and the ruin of
Raghu's line.
role_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
roles:
- id: role:1
label: king of Lanka
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: The passage calls him the lord or monarch of Lanka's isle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:3
- id: role:2
label: deceiver and coercive suitor
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: He orders a false head made, tells Sita Rama is dead, and urges her to become
his bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:3
label: magical artificer
assigned_to:
- fig:2
basis: He is summoned for magic skill and prepares the head and weapons used in
the deception.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: captive grieving wife
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: She is found in the grove weeping, thinking of her husband, and later laments
over the displayed head.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:7
- id: role:5
label: absent husband represented by magical token
assigned_to:
- fig:4
basis: Rama is not physically present but is represented by a made head, arrows,
and bow.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: role:6
label: alleged slayer in false battle report
assigned_to:
- fig:5
basis: Ravana's speech says Prahasta's sword took Rama's head.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: role:7
label: defeated allies in narrated account
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: Ravana's account says Rama's Vanara allies and named companions were killed,
fled, or captured.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: magic severed head
literal_form: A beauteous head made by magic to look like Rama's, shown wet with
blood before Sita.
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:2
label: Rama's bow and arrows
literal_form: Long shafts and a mighty bow displayed with the magic head as identifying
signs of Rama.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: sym:3
label: grove
literal_form: The grove where Sita lies on the ground, pale, wasted, and weeping.
associated_figures:
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: sym:4
label: sea and shore in the false battle account
literal_form: The sea is said to have been bridged by Rama's forces, who then rested
on the shore.
associated_figures:
- fig:4
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Ravana commissions the magical deception
summary: Ravana, troubled and fearful, summons Vidyujjihva and commands him to make
a head like Rama's with bow and arrows for display to Sita.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- id: scene:2
label: Ravana confronts Sita in the grove
summary: Ravana finds Sita in grief and tells her that Rama has been slain, urging
her to abandon hope and become his bride.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: False report of the night slaughter
summary: Ravana describes a supposed battle in which Rama's sea-crossing army slept
on the shore, was attacked at night, and was destroyed or scattered.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:4
- fig:5
- fig:6
- fig:7
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Display of the magic head and weapons
summary: Vidyujjihva brings the magic head, arrows, and bow; Ravana has them placed
before Sita as proof of Rama's death.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: scene:5
label: Sita's lament begins
summary: Sita looks at the apparent head and bow of Rama, recognizes his features,
and begins to lament, naming Kaikeyi as responsible for the ruin.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:4
- fig:8
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: false proof of the hero's death
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: A magical head and weapons resembling Rama's are displayed to convince Sita
that her husband has died.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The death report is presented within the passage as Ravana's deception,
not as an actual event.
- id: motif:2
label: captive beloved coerced through deception
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: Sita is isolated in the grove, distressed over her husband, while Ravana
uses a false death report to urge her to become his bride.
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
confidence: medium
cautions: The wider abduction context is not narrated in this excerpt, though the
passage clearly shows coercive pressure by Ravana.
- id: motif:3
label: magical simulacrum as emotional weapon
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Vidyujjihva's magic creates a convincing head and associated weapons, used
to produce grief and despair in Sita.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:2
- ev:6
- ev:7
confidence: high
cautions: The passage does not explain the mechanics or ontology of the magic beyond
its deceptive display.
- id: motif:4
label: night attack on sleeping army in reported battle
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Ravana's account says his forces attacked Rama's troops while they slept
on the shore and killed or scattered them.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
confidence: medium
cautions: This is part of Ravana's fabricated speech within the passage, so it should
be treated as narrated deception rather than literal plot action.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: 'The scene fits a stolen-beloved pattern at the motif-family level: a woman
attached to an absent husband is pressured by a rival ruler through false proof
that the husband is dead.'
claim_level: same_motif
target: stolen_beloved motif family
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- ev:4
- ev:6
- ev:7
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: The supplied excerpt shows coercion and grief but does not itself narrate
the earlier taking of Sita; the comparison is therefore limited to the captive-beloved
pressure scene.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 50853-50867
quote_or_summary: Ravana, troubled by fear, summons Vidyujjihva and commands him
to prepare a head like Rama's with arrows and bow to show to Sita.
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 50869-50872
quote_or_summary: Vidyujjihva obeys, displays magic skill, and Ravana gives him
a costly ornament.
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 50873-50880
quote_or_summary: Ravana goes to the grove and finds Sita pale, wasted, weeping
on the ground, with her thoughts fixed on her husband.
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 50881-50902
quote_or_summary: Ravana tells Sita that Rama has been slain by warriors he sent,
says her hope is gone, and urges her to become his queen.
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 50903-50941
quote_or_summary: 'Ravana narrates a supposed night attack: Rama''s forces crossed
the sea and slept on shore; Prahasta''s troops attacked, Rama was beheaded, and
the Vanaras and named allies were slain or scattered.'
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 50942-50961
quote_or_summary: Vidyujjihva brings the blood-wet head, arrows, and bow; Ravana
orders the head placed before Sita and says she should see that her husband lies
dead.
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 50962-50979
quote_or_summary: Sita gazes upon the head, Rama's bow, and the features she recognizes
as her husband's, then cries out in lament and blames Kaikeyi.
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: medium
notes: Literal extraction is based directly on the supplied passage. Motif and comparison
confidence is reduced where events occur inside Ravana's deceptive speech or depend
on recognizing the broader stolen-beloved frame.
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 traditions or source material were used beyond the supplied passage and metadata.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l50853-l50979
passage_sha256=f123e2cacc30a9bc668c042866a90054649d4362c1c97426e23eeb3e05390e10