The Ramayana (Adventures of Rama) narrates the epic saga of the valiant Prince Rama and his dutiful wife, Princess Sita, who was abducted by Ravana, the arrogant ten-headed King of Lanka (probably modern Sri Lanka), during Rama's unjust fourteen-year forest exile from his capital of Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. To rescue Sita, Rama and his faithful brother Lakshmana assembled a great army of monkeys and bears led by the Monkey-King Sugriva and his Monkey-General Hanuman. After several magical battles, the princess was freed, and the happy couple triumphantly returned home to rule their kingdom. Rama and Sita epitomize the ideal ruler and the paragon of fidelity in Hindu culture.
This preparatory sketch is likely from Book 1 (Bala kanda) when Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana meet with the sage Bharadvaja at his hermitage before proceeding to Mount Chitrakuta (Ramayana 1:1:26 and 1:3:8). Here, Rama and Sita dressed in forest garb and Lakshmana wearing a leaf hat sit beside a thatch hut, a Shivalinga, and a group of ascetics, presumably Bharadvaja. In the distance are two ascetics doing yoga near some buildings.
Two finished renditions of this composition attributed to Kangra circa 1830 and circa 1840 respectively are in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IM.82-1912 and IM.307-1927). The earlier image is closer to the LACMA drawing.
