Maharajah Zalim Singh's Sapphire-Tipped Turban Pin

The Maharajah plucks his sapphire-tipped turban pin and drives it into a voodoo doll of Indiana Jones, sending waves of agony through the adventurer as he battles the Thuggee giant below. Short Round snatches the slender, jeweled pin and jabs it into the Maharajah's hand, snapping the boy from Kali's trance and releasing Indy from the spell amid the cavern's chaos.

4 appearances

Purpose

Ritual weapon to inflict remote pain via voodoo doll; tool to disrupt hypnotic trance

Significance

Shatters Thuggee cult's magical control over Indy and the Maharajah, sparking the protagonists' escape from the quarry and marking a key victory against supernatural domination

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S1E2 · INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

The Mine Cart Gambit: Pain, Sacrifice, and the Breaking of Kali’s Spell

The sapphire-tipped turban pin is the weapon used by the Maharajah to inflict pain on Indy through the voodoo doll. Short Round seizes the pin and stabs the Maharajah with it, snapping him out of Kali's trance. The pin's dual role—as a tool of torture and a means of liberation—highlights the event's themes of breaking curses and reclaiming agency.

Before: Embedded in the Maharajah's turban, later used to jab the voodoo doll.

After: Stabbed through the Maharajah's hand, freeing him from Kali's influence.

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S1E2 · INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

The Maharajah’s Hex and the Giant’s Fall: A Battle of Wills and Magic

The sapphire-tipped turban pin is used by the Maharajah to jab the voodoo doll, inducing crippling pain in Indiana. Short Round seizes the pin and pierces the Maharajah’s hand, snapping the boy from Kali’s trance and freeing Indiana. The pin serves as both a weapon and a tool of magical disruption, playing a crucial role in the event’s climax.

Before: Clutched in the Maharajah’s hand, being used to torture Indiana through the doll.

After: Pierced through the Maharajah’s hand, then removed, its magical power neutralized.

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S1E2 · INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

The Maharajah’s Redemption: A Turning Point in the Quarry’s Descent

The sapphire-tipped turban pin is the tool used to inflict pain on Indy through the voodoo doll. Short Round turns it against the Maharajah, piercing his hand and snapping him out of Kali’s trance. The pin’s dual role—as both a weapon and a ritual object—highlights the cult’s fusion of brute force and dark magic. Its accidental use on the Maharajah is a turning point, freeing him and shifting the power dynamic in the cavern.

Before: In the Maharajah’s hand, used to stab the voodoo doll.

After: Pierced through the Maharajah’s hand, then removed by Short Round, breaking the trance.

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S1E2 · INDIANA JONES AND THE TEMPLE OF DOOM

The Wrong Tunnel: A Desperate Getaway and the Cult’s Vengeance

The sapphire-tipped turban pin is the key to breaking the Maharajah’s trance. Short Round snatches it from the Maharajah and stabs it into the kryta doll, reversing the curse. Later, he stabs it into the Maharajah’s hand, snapping him out of Kali’s control. The pin’s dual use—first as a tool of torture, then as a tool of liberation—highlights the event’s moral and supernatural themes. Its glittering sapphire tip contrasts with the brutality of the curse, emphasizing the contrast between beauty and darkness in the Thuggee cult’s rituals.

Before: In the Maharajah’s possession, used to stab the kryta doll and torture Indy.

After: Stabbed into the Maharajah’s hand, breaking the curse and freeing him from Kali’s influence.

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