batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l54686-l54845
---
record_id: batch.motif.hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg-l54686-l54845
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
passage_locator:
label: Canto L. The Broken Spell. / Canto LX. Kumbhakarna Roused. / Canto LXXIV.
The Medicinal Herbs. / Canto LXXV. The Night Attack.; lines 54686-54845
start: '54686'
end: '54845'
translation: The Ramayan of Valmiki
notes: Generated from OpenAI Batch run motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority;
human review required.
canonical_text:
quote: Proud Lanká was one blaze of fire
summary: 'Sugriva urges the Vanar forces to seize the moment and attack Lanka at
night. The Vanars enter with torches and set buildings, goods, vehicles, weapons,
stables, and the cityscape aflame; giants and animals flee amid noise and terror.
Rama stands with renewed strength and sounds his bow. Kumbha and Nikumbha come
to battle and are killed by Sugriva. A bracketed summary reports later actions:
Makaraksha is slain by Rama, Indrajit fights invisibly, displays and cuts down
a magical effigy of Sita before Hanuman and the Vanars, and is eventually slain
by Lakshman. In Canto XCIII, messengers tell Ravana that Indrajit has died; Ravana
laments his son while acknowledging the warrior’s heavenly reward.'
language: English
quote_policy: quoted
literal_observations:
- id: obs:1
text: Sugriva tells the Vanar lords to seize the occasion because Ravana has little
hope left after the loss of sons and brothers.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: obs:2
text: At dead of night the Vanar bands rush forward carrying torches.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:3
text: Giant warders leave their posts when the Vanar host approaches.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:4
text: The Vanars' path is marked by hostile flame that spreads through palace, temple,
gate, tower, houses, valuables, textiles, vehicles, harness, and weapons.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- id: obs:5
text: Giants flee through the flames with women and children, while cranes, peacocks,
elephants, and horses are disturbed by the fire.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:3
- id: obs:6
text: The burning of Lanka is compared to the earth glowing with heat at its final
overthrow.
category: attribute
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
- id: obs:7
text: Rama stands with renewed strength and the clang of his bow rings through distant
regions.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: obs:8
text: Kumbha and Nikumbha pass through the gates to fight by Ravana's command.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: obs:9
text: Sugriva crushes Kumbha's bow, seizes him, hurls him into the sea, and later
kills him with a blow beneath the neck.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: obs:10
text: Nikumbha attacks Sugriva with an axe; the axe breaks, and Sugriva strikes
Nikumbha down.
category: action
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: obs:11
text: The translator's summary says Indrajit becomes invisible by magic, kills many
Vanars, returns with a magical effigy of Sita, cuts it down before Hanuman and
the Vanar host, and is later slain by Lakshman.
category: sequence
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: obs:12
text: Messengers tell Ravana that Indrajit has been slain by Lakshman and has gained
a blissful seat in heaven.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- id: obs:13
text: Ravana laments Indrajit as his son and the glory of the giant host, and says
earth is desolate to him because Indrajit is slain.
category: speech
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
figures:
- id: fig:1
name_or_label: Sugriva
description: Vanar leader who urges the attack, observes the battle, and kills Kumbha
and Nikumbha.
role_refs:
- role:1
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: fig:2
name_or_label: Vanar bands / Vanar host
description: The attacking forces who rush on Lanka at night with torches and charge
the giants.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: fig:3
name_or_label: Ravana
description: King whose remaining hope is said to be small; he sends Kumbha and
Nikumbha to battle and later laments Indrajit.
role_refs:
- role:3
- role:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- ev:11
- id: fig:4
name_or_label: giant warders and giants of Lanka
description: Defenders and inhabitants of Lanka who leave posts, flee through flames,
and fight the Vanars.
role_refs:
- role:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: fig:5
name_or_label: Rama
description: Warrior standing with renewed strength whose bow clang resounds; the
summary also says he kills Makaraksha with a fiery dart.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:9
- id: fig:6
name_or_label: Kumbha
description: Giant warrior, brother of Nikumbha, sent to battle by Ravana and killed
by Sugriva.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- id: fig:7
name_or_label: Nikumbha
description: Giant warrior, brother of Kumbha, who attacks Sugriva with an axe and
is killed by him.
role_refs:
- role:5
- role:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:8
- id: fig:8
name_or_label: Angad
description: Chief who falls during the open-field fighting.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:9
name_or_label: Dwivid
description: Chief who reels during the open-field fighting.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- id: fig:10
name_or_label: Indrajit
description: Ravana's son; the summary says he fights invisibly by magic, uses a
magical effigy of Sita, and is slain by Lakshman; Ravana later laments him.
role_refs:
- role:6
- role:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- ev:11
- id: fig:11
name_or_label: Lakshman
description: Warrior named as the one who kills Indrajit.
role_refs:
- role:4
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: fig:12
name_or_label: Hanuman
description: Witness before whom Indrajit cuts down the magical effigy of Sita,
according to the summary.
role_refs:
- role:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
roles:
- id: role:1
label: war-counsel speaker
assigned_to:
- fig:1
basis: Sugriva speaks to the Vanar lords and urges an immediate attack on Ravana's
gates.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: role:2
label: night attackers
assigned_to:
- fig:2
- fig:12
basis: The Vanar bands rush on at night with torches; Hanuman is among the Vanar
host in the later summarized episode.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:9
- id: role:3
label: beleaguered king
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Sugriva says Ravana has little hope left, and Kumbha and Nikumbha are sent
by the king's command.
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- ev:6
- id: role:4
label: heroic combatant
assigned_to:
- fig:1
- fig:5
- fig:8
- fig:9
- fig:11
basis: These figures are described in direct battle action or as named fighters
in the battle sequence.
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:5
label: giant defenders
assigned_to:
- fig:4
- fig:6
- fig:7
basis: The giants defend or emerge from Lanka, and Kumbha and Nikumbha are sent
from the gates into battle.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- ev:6
- id: role:6
label: slain warrior
assigned_to:
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:10
basis: Kumbha, Nikumbha, and Indrajit are each reported slain in the passage or
summary.
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:8
- ev:9
- ev:10
- id: role:7
label: magical deceiver in battle
assigned_to:
- fig:10
basis: The summary says Indrajit becomes invisible by magic and displays a magical
effigy of Sita before cutting it down.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: role:8
label: mourning father
assigned_to:
- fig:3
basis: Ravana laments Indrajit as his son after hearing of his death.
evidence_refs:
- ev:11
symbols:
- id: sym:1
label: torches and hostile flame
literal_form: torches, fire, flames, blaze
associated_figures:
- fig:2
taxonomy_refs:
- fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: sym:2
label: burning Lanka
literal_form: city of Lanka in flames, including palace, temple, gate, tower, houses,
walls, and porticoes
associated_figures:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:4
- id: sym:3
label: sea beneath the bank
literal_form: sea into which Kumbha is hurled
associated_figures:
- fig:1
- fig:6
taxonomy_refs:
- water
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- id: sym:4
label: Mandar hill / Mandar peaks
literal_form: Mandar hill in a simile for water swelling; Mandar's peaks in Ravana's
praise of Indrajit's arrows
associated_figures:
- fig:6
- fig:10
- fig:3
taxonomy_refs:
- mountain
evidence_refs:
- ev:7
- ev:11
- id: sym:5
label: Rama's bow
literal_form: mighty bow whose clang rings through distant regions
associated_figures:
- fig:5
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: sym:6
label: Nikumbha's axe
literal_form: axe dashed against Sugriva and shattered on impact
associated_figures:
- fig:7
- fig:1
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:8
- id: sym:7
label: magical effigy of Sita
literal_form: effigy or magical image of Sita in Indrajit's chariot, weeping and
wailing, cut down with a scimitar
associated_figures:
- fig:10
- fig:12
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: sym:8
label: heavenly seat of the fallen warrior
literal_form: blissful seat in heaven gained by the slain Indrajit
associated_figures:
- fig:10
taxonomy_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
scenes:
- id: scene:1
label: Sugriva urges the night assault
summary: Sugriva tells the Vanar lords that Ravana's hope is low and that an attack
on his gates should succeed.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:2
- fig:3
symbol_refs: []
evidence_refs:
- ev:1
- id: scene:2
label: Lanka set ablaze at night
summary: The Vanar forces rush on with torches; warders abandon posts, buildings
and goods burn, inhabitants and animals flee, and the city becomes a vast blaze.
figure_refs:
- fig:2
- fig:3
- fig:4
symbol_refs:
- sym:1
- sym:2
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
- id: scene:3
label: Rama stands amid the attack
summary: Rama stands with renewed strength and the sound of his bow rings across
distant regions as the enemy is viewed.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
symbol_refs:
- sym:5
evidence_refs:
- ev:5
- id: scene:4
label: Sugriva kills Kumbha and Nikumbha
summary: Kumbha and Nikumbha enter battle by Ravana's command. Sugriva overcomes
Kumbha after hurling him into the sea and later kills Nikumbha after Nikumbha's
axe breaks.
figure_refs:
- fig:1
- fig:3
- fig:6
- fig:7
- fig:8
- fig:9
symbol_refs:
- sym:3
- sym:4
- sym:6
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
- id: scene:5
label: Condensed later battles and magical effigy
summary: The translator's note summarizes omitted episodes in which Makaraksha is
killed by Rama, Indrajit fights invisibly, displays and cuts down a magical Sita-effigy
before Hanuman and the Vanars, and is later killed by Lakshman.
figure_refs:
- fig:5
- fig:10
- fig:11
- fig:12
symbol_refs:
- sym:7
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
- id: scene:6
label: Ravana's lament for Indrajit
summary: Messengers announce Indrajit's death and heavenly reward. Ravana grieves
for his son, praises his power, and declares the earth desolate to him.
figure_refs:
- fig:3
- fig:10
- fig:11
symbol_refs:
- sym:4
- sym:8
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
candidate_motifs:
- id: motif:1
label: night attack with incendiary destruction of a city
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: The Vanar bands attack at dead of night with torches, and Lanka's palaces,
temples, gates, towers, houses, valuables, vehicles, stables, and weapons burn.
evidence_refs:
- ev:2
- ev:3
- ev:4
confidence: high
cautions: This is a passage-level battle motif rather than a supplied taxonomy family.
- id: motif:2
label: city conflagration likened to world-ending fire
taxonomy_refs:
- world_destroying_fire
basis: The passage compares the heat and blaze of Lanka to the earth glowing at
its final overthrow, and says the city is one blaze of fire visible far away.
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
confidence: medium
cautions: The comparison is simile within a battle scene; the city is not literally
the whole world being destroyed.
- id: motif:3
label: hero defeats giant brothers in battle
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Kumbha and Nikumbha, named as brothers, enter battle and are both killed
by Sugriva.
evidence_refs:
- ev:6
- ev:7
- ev:8
confidence: high
cautions: No broader taxonomy reference is asserted.
- id: motif:4
label: magical false beloved slain as war deception
taxonomy_refs:
- stolen_beloved
basis: The summary reports that Indrajit brings a magical effigy of Sita in his
chariot and cuts it down before Hanuman and the Vanar host; the same note recalls
Sita's earlier abduction.
evidence_refs:
- ev:9
confidence: medium
cautions: The text supplied is a translator's compressed summary, not the full narrated
canto; the taxonomy link to stolen_beloved is tentative because the immediate
act concerns an effigy rather than Sita herself.
- id: motif:5
label: fallen warrior receives heavenly reward
taxonomy_refs: []
basis: Messengers say Indrajit, slain by Lakshman, has gained a blissful seat in
heaven; Ravana says such reward is gained by a hero who dies fighting for his
sovereign.
evidence_refs:
- ev:10
- ev:11
confidence: high
cautions: The passage states the reward but does not narrate a journey to the afterlife.
comparison_claims:
- id: claim:1
claim: The burning of Lanka is explicitly compared within the passage to the earth's
final overthrow, supporting a cautious visual comparison with the world-destroying-fire
motif family.
claim_level: visual_similarity
target: world_destroying_fire
evidence_refs:
- ev:4
counter_evidence_refs: []
confidence: medium
limitations: This is an internal poetic simile attached to a military burning of
a city, not a full cosmological destruction narrative.
evidence:
- id: ev:1
type: summary
locator: lines 54688-54693
quote_or_summary: Sugriva tells the Vanar lords to act now because Ravana, deprived
of sons and brothers, has little hope, and his gates should fail if attacked.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:2
type: summary
locator: lines 54695-54714
quote_or_summary: At dead of night the Vanars rush forward with torches; giant warders
abandon posts; hostile flame spreads through palace, temple, gate, tower, houses,
goods, vehicles, harness, and weapons.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:3
type: summary
locator: lines 54715-54732
quote_or_summary: Giants flee through flames with women and children; smoke and
fire break through lattices and porticoes; birds cry out, and elephants and horses
rush from burning stalls.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:4
type: quote
locator: lines 54733-54744
quote_or_summary: The blaze is likened to earth's final overthrow; “Proud Lanká
was one blaze of fire,” shining far away while cries and roars echo through earth
and sky.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; short quotation used.
- id: ev:5
type: summary
locator: lines 54745-54748
quote_or_summary: Rama stands with renewed strength, and the clang of his mighty
bow rings through distant regions.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:6
type: summary
locator: lines 54749-54756
quote_or_summary: Nikumbha and Kumbha come through the gates by the king's command;
chiefs fight in the open field; Angad falls, Dwivid reels, and Sugriva crushes
Kumbha's bow.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:7
type: summary
locator: lines 54757-54773
quote_or_summary: Sugriva grips Kumbha, hurls him over the bank into the sea, withstands
his returning blow, and kills him with a stroke beneath the neck.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:8
type: summary
locator: lines 54774-54783
quote_or_summary: Nikumbha sees Kumbha die, attacks Sugriva with an axe that shatters,
and is struck down by Sugriva, dying in the dust.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:9
type: summary
locator: lines 54785-54799
quote_or_summary: The translator's bracketed summary says Makaraksha is killed by
Rama's fiery dart; Indrajit becomes invisible by magic, kills many Vanars, displays
and cuts down a magical effigy of Sita before Hanuman and the Vanar host, and
is later slain by Lakshman.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:10
type: summary
locator: lines 54803-54812
quote_or_summary: Messengers tell Ravana that Indrajit was slain by Lakshman and
has gained a blissful seat in heaven.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
- id: ev:11
type: summary
locator: lines 54814-54843
quote_or_summary: Ravana mourns Indrajit as his son and the glory of the giant host,
praises his power, acknowledges the heavenly reward of a hero dying for his sovereign,
and says the earth is desolate to him.
source_text_path: texts/public-domain/hindu/project-gutenberg/ramayana-griffith.md
rights_note: Public domain source; concise summary used.
confidence:
extraction: medium
motif_candidates: medium
comparison_claims: medium
notes: Extraction is based only on the supplied passage. Some events are present
in a translator's compressed bracketed summary rather than in fully narrated epic
text, so those elements require review.
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: |-
All evidence is drawn from the supplied public-domain Griffith translation passage. Taxonomy references are limited to the refs supplied in the request.
batch_run_id=motif-extraction-2026-04-28-high-priority
custom_id=motif_extract:hindu-ramayana-griffith-gutenberg__l54686-l54845
passage_sha256=ff34aa09232113e312ea9553f923afaa40976bd8d7d3b845498bf0e1bdea57c8