PaintingsIndian19th century

Ravana's Abduction of Sita, folio from a Ramayana Series

1825-1850

Description

The painting represents a scene from the Sanskrit epic, the Ramayana (Story of Rama). Ravana, the demon king of Lanka, wants to abduct Sita, the wife of Rama, who is the seventh avatar of the Hindu god Vishnu. Rama had created a protective barrier around his wife to keep her out of harm’s way while they, and Rama’s brother, Lakshmana, were in exile. Ravana knew of this and devised a plan to force Sita to go beyond the barrier. He asks his minister, Maricha, to take the shape of a beautiful deer. Sita catches sight of this deer and longs for its hide. She asks Rama, a skilled archer, to kill it for her. Rama goes out into the forest to hunt the deer. He manages to deliver a fatal blow. Maricha, leaps out of the deer’s body, and, in his dying breath, mimics Rama and calls for Lakshmana’s help. Lakshmana leaves Sita to find his brother. While Sita is alone, Ravana comes disguised as an ascetic, asking for help. He lures Sita beyond the barrier and immediately transforms into his demonic self, with ten heads and twenty arms and abducts her to Lanka in his chariot. The painting depicts a continuous narrative. In the center, Sita is shown reluctantly leaves the hut to converse with Ravana in the form of a Hindu ascetic. Immediately to the right, Ravana depicted with his iconic ten heads and twenty arms, holds onto Sita while he rides away in his donkey-drawn chariot. In the top left corner, Rama is shown delivering the fatal shot to Maricha in the form of a deer. Maricha’s demonic form, with a blue head and orange body, tumbles on the left side. In the far right corner is Lakshmana his bow at the ready, coming towards Rama. The inscription below the painting describes the scene from the Ramayana that the rendering depicts. However, there are some errors in the description. Pahari Style, Kangra School.

Classification

Paintings

Medium

Ink, opaque watercolor and gold on paper; Pahari Style, Kangra School

Culture

Indian

Century

19th century

Division

Asian and Mediterranean Art

Department

Department of Islamic & Later Indian Art